Facebook: The best tips to stay anonymous

Use Facebook, but still remain anonymous - many have this wish. Here we explain which options you have to protect your privacy from the social network.

Facebook: anonymity towards the social network

One thing is clear: anyone with a Facebook account cannot hope for complete anonymity. If only because you cannot avoid certain information if you want to create a profile.

• According to the terms and conditions of the social network, you are obliged to provide truthful information about yourself. Facebook would of course like to know your full name, date of birth and gender, among other things.
• If you cheat in this regard, your account can be blocked on the social network if your false information is discovered.
• The more you use Facebook and the more personal details you voluntarily disclose or reveal, for example, through postings from your friends, the greater the risk of "exposure".
• Tip: You should also delete your cookies very regularly, as they also allow a lot of conclusions.

Your personal data on the social network Facebook

Even if you can't really save yourself from Facebook's data frenzy, at least you have the option to preserve a little privacy from other Facebook users. Under "Settings" you can discover a lot of options to be a little more anonymous on Facebook.

• If you use Facebook via smartphone, click on the gear in your account. There you will find the "Settings" option. Behind it you will find the privacy settings, which you can also find again under the account settings. You can access the "Settings" on the PC by clicking on the down arrow at the top right of the screen, to the right of the quick help.
• It is also worthwhile to disclose as little information as possible in your profile. It is best to start with your date of birth, which is used, for example, in many matters together with your name to identify you. Therefore, it should never be published on a social network. To turn off public birthday information, go to your profile page under "Info"> "Overview" and click on "Edit contact information and general information".
• If you are currently in the area with your personal data, you should also check very critically with all other information such as school career, training, job etc. whether you absolutely want to disclose the information in detail. For example, the more personal information you have about fraudsters, the easier it will be for you to impersonate yourself.

Protect Facebook privacy

The following settings, which can be found in the "Settings", can provide a little more anonymity.

• It is also worth considering whether you want to allow search engines to display your profile. Under "Settings"> "Privacy" you have the option to regulate this according to your wishes. You will find the corresponding menu item in the category "How to be found and contacted"
• In addition, under "Settings"> "Privacy" you can also control who can see which posts from you or not. The selection can be carried out quite comfortably through lists of people such as the list of friends. You can create the corresponding lists under "Chronicle".
• If you do not want someone to draw conclusions about you by looking at who you are all friends with, you should also deactivate the option "Friends: Show all" right below the chronicle.
• The greed for information from various apps is also very questionable. For this reason, you should also immediately check which game has access to your personal data. You can make the appropriate settings under "Settings"> "Apps". Simply move the mouse pointer over one of the apps displayed and then click on the pen that appears. Then you will see a list of the data that the app has access to. By clicking on the checkmark, you can revoke access permissions individually. If you click on the cross, you can even completely remove apps.
• When you are finished with the settings, you can look at your chronicle under "Show from the perspective of" how anonymous your public profile has become.
• Finally, you should perhaps think briefly about whether it really serves your privacy if you act as a free advertising medium for Facebook, especially since it also allows conclusions to be drawn about you. If necessary, you can end this under "Ads". How exactly they do this is explained in more detail in the following paragraph.
• Tip: You should also exercise a special sense of proportion in the published images if you prefer to be anonymous on the social network.

Facebook doesn't just collect data on its website

It depends not only on what you post, but also from where.

• For example, if you use Facebook frequently on your smartphone, information can be collected about where you prefer to be. The only way to prevent this is to delete the app from your mobile devices.
• Facebook also remembers which other websites they frequent, in order to then place targeted advertising. You can prevent this by clicking on the "Ads" category in the settings. There are two important settings here that you should change.
• First expand the "Settings for advertisements" tab by clicking on it. Then click on "Ads based on your use of websites and apps" and change the setting to No.
• The "Your interests" and "Your information" tabs are also interesting. This shows which of your information Facebook ads are based on for you. By moving the mouse pointer over the corresponding entry and then clicking on the cross - or in the case of "Your information"> "About yourself" the slider.

More about data protection & privacy: Anonymous and secure on the Internet

On 46 pages you will learn how to properly encrypt files on PC and in the cloud and to protect your privacy. In selected articles from the CHIP archive, we show how you can lock out data collectors and snoopers, how you can leave as few traces on the Internet as possible and how you give Google a private mode.

• Go to the CHIP kiosk and get the exclusive CHIP guide "Anonymous & secure on the Internet" for 5.49 euros. Then download the PDF and get started right away.
• From simple instructions for beginners to professional tips, such as how to encrypt your Dropbox with OpenPGP, there is something for everyone.

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