Staying safe on social media isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Social media is a part of everyday life for many people now. Plenty of young people use it as their main point of contact with their friends and others, and many no longer use email outside of work or school when they can use social media and messaging apps instead. But just because social media is everywhere, it doesn’t mean it’s always safe. There are risks that you need to take into account if you’re a social media user, no matter what your age is. You need to be staying safe on social media, and here’s how you can do it.
Protect Your Accounts
If you’ve been using computers for a long time, which most people have, you’ll know it’s important to use strong passwords whenever you create an account. It’s even more important online compared to when you create an offline account for anything. If you don’t protect your social media accounts, they could easily be hacked and hijacked, which might reveal your personal information or result in spam on your account. Try to use passwords that have different types of characters and make them longer. Use different passwords for different social media accounts too.
Keep Your Private Information Safe
Social media platforms can encourage you to reveal a lot of information about yourself, even if they’re telling you to stay safe and secure at the same time. It’s much easier than you might think for someone to find out sensitive information about your from your social media accounts. Firstly, try to keep your accounts private and only add people that you trust to your friends or followers. Think carefully about what information you share, keeping personal details to yourself as much as you can. Be careful about the photos you share too, and think about not just your own privacy but that of the other people in your photos too.
Understand Common Scams
The thing about online scams is that many of them aren’t too different from the scams people use out in the “real world”, and have used since the beginning of time. You just need to know what signs to look out for to keep yourself safe. For example, you might find that people try to trick you into clicking a dodgy link. Be careful what you click on, and think before you click. One old rule to keep in mind is that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. If you see a Facebook post offering a huge prize from Disneyland, for example, do some research before assuming that it’s real.
Be Careful with Your Business
Many businesses use social media to promote their brand and to reach out to their audience. If you do this, you need to protect both your business and your employees, as well as your customers. Social media marketing can be difficult to get right, but when you have professionals to help you out, it’s a lot easier. Keep in mind that you’re not just protecting sensitive information about your business but also its reputation. If you do something that makes your brand look bad to the public, it could be hard to recover from it.
Update Apps
If you use social media apps on your phone or other devices, be sure to keep them updated. Security issues can occur, which can leave your phone vulnerable to attacks. However, if you make sure to update your apps, you can ensure you have the latest version of it and that any possible security issues have been patched up. You can set up your devices so that updates install automatically, and you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself. Another thing to remember with your phone or other devices is to set a password or pin code so that no one can just pick up your device and start using it.
Be Careful Who You Talk To
Social media can be great for making friends, and some sites are specifically designed to make it easier to get to know new people. But as with any other situation in life, it’s important to be careful about who you’re talking to. In fact, it’s even more important online because you often can’t really know who is on the other side of your conversation. If you start talking to someone new, be careful with what you reveal to them. And if you ever plan to meet them, take precautions, such as meeting in public. Making sure you are staying safe on social media by making your accounts secure and being aware of the behavior of both yourself and others is crucial. If you need any advice then please contact Click Through Digital
As you can see, the most important aspects of staying safe online are to protect your accounts and to keep your private information secure. Besides, you should also be aware of common scams, like winning a cheque for a grocery store.
If you own a business, you must know how to keep yourself and your employees safe. It helps to keep your apps updated, and if you are careful with the information you share when talking to strangers. If you feel like you may need to read more information or advice on how to protect yourself, have a look at this blog on staying safe in cyberspace.