Whatever You Do, Don't Ignore Facebook's Privacy Notification

It might transform how you share information.
Facebook

Facebook is rolling out a notification to smartphone users that you shouldn't miss.

If you use the company's official app, you may soon receive a reminder to do a "Privacy Checkup." Opt into the checkup and you'll go through a simple, three-step process that will help you understand how you're sharing information on the social network.

Privacy Checkup was first introduced on the desktop version of Facebook back in 2014, but the mobile edition is new. Users started to receive the notification earlier this month.

Here's how it works. You might see a little blue dinosaur at the top of your News Feed that suggests you run the checkup. Tap into the feature and you'll see a screen like this:

Facebook

Next, it'll ask you how you choose to share posts by default. I share a lot of articles on Facebook that I want my followers to see, so I set "Public" as my default, but you might want to only share to your friends.

Facebook

In the next screen, Facebook will display some of your personal details and show who can see that info. You can shift your settings to keep your phone number private, say.

Facebook

Finally, in the last screen, you'll see all of the apps and services you've allowed to access your personal details. You can remove those services outright if you no longer use them, or you can shift how the apps can post to your profile.

Facebook

After that, you're done. The entire process takes probably a minute to complete, and it might help you discover that you're sharing things to people you'd rather keep out of your private life.

If you haven't received the notification, hang tight: It should be coming to your phone soon.

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