Objective: Learn how to protect personal information and avoid risks on social media platforms.
Social media security refers to the set of practices and measures that help protect your personal information, digital identity, and privacy when using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, and others.
It is important because we share photos, opinions, location, routines, and more on social media. If we do not protect this information properly, it can be used to:
- Steal your identity
- Carry out phishing attacks or scams
- Impersonate you to deceive others
- Commit extortion or cyberbullying
- Steal passwords or other confidential information
Best practices for staying safe:
- Use strong and unique passwords
- Avoid passwords such as “123456,” “yourName2024,” or “password.” Use combinations of letters, numbers, spaces, and symbols.
- Enable two-step verification
- Even if someone gets your password, they will not be able to log in without a second code, which is sent to your phone or email.
- Review your privacy settings
- Make sure that only your friends or authorized people can see your posts, photos, and personal information.
- Be careful about what you share
- Avoid posting sensitive information such as your real-time location, documents, cards, or daily routines.
- Do not accept requests from strangers
- Attackers sometimes create fake profiles to get close to you or spy on your information.
- Do not click on suspicious links
- Even if they appear to come from friends or well-known brands. They could be phishing attempts.
- Keep your apps updated
- Updates fix security vulnerabilities.
- Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks to access your social media accounts
- They can be easy for hackers to intercept.
Extra tip:
Be wary of messages asking for personal information, verification codes, or money. Even if the message appears to come from someone you know, their account may have been hacked.
