Protecting Your Family and Friends on Facebook

Facebook is an excellent way to connect with family and friends on the Internet. You can proudly proclaim on your profile the number of people you know and your relationships with them. However, this exposes the people you care about to strangers who may not have the best of intentions, annoying exes and friends who they may not want to contact, and marketers who want those names for their email lists. Recognizing this privacy issue, Facebook has offered the ability to hide this information since May 2010, but in two different ways.

You can hide your primary relationship, your family members or both.

1. Sign into your Facebook page and click the Account dropdown in the top right corner and then choose the Privacy Settings option. The Choose Your Privacy Settings page appears, showing who can view Profile items such as family and relationships.
2. Click Customize Settings near the bottom of the page. The Customize Settings page appears with a list of the things you share, and a dropdown by each option.
3. Click the Family dropdown and choose Only Me to display only that information to yourself. Choose the Relationships dropdown and choose the same option. You can also specify whether to show that information to everyone, to friends of friends or just to your friends.
4. Click the Preview My Profile button in the upper right to preview your Profile page. It should not show the information you just hid. Click the back button of your browser to make additional changes. Otherwise, click any Facebook option at the top right to save your selections.

To hide your friends, do the following:

1. Click the Account dropdown in the top right corner and then choose the Privacy Settings option. The Choose Your Privacy Settings page appears, showing who can view Profile items such as family and relationships.
2. Look for the Connecting on Facebook title near the top right. Underneath that, click View Settings to display the Connecting on Facebook page. This lists settings for how people can contact you.
3. Click the See Your Friend List dropdown, which is about the fourth option down, and choose Only Me. You can also specify whether to show that information to everyone, to friends of friends or just to your friends.
4. Click the Preview My Profile button in the upper right to preview your Profile page. It should not show the information you just hid. Click the back button of your browser to make additional changes. Otherwise, click any Facebook option at the top right to save your selections.

As a final test, sign out of your Facebook account to browse your profile as a stranger would. Your hidden information should not appear.