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You'll Want To See This Before You Start Searching On Facebook

You'll Want To See This Before You Start Searching On Facebook
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Here's a PSA for anyone on Facebook: go have a look-see at what you've been searching.

Before users get too excited about Facebook's new search engine and start tracking down fellow "Girls" fans or single coworkers, they'd be advised to check out an oft-overlooked section of their profiles that documents every search performed on Facebook since September 2012.

Every high-school sweetheart stalked, every ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend examined, every job candidate scoped out is listed in chronological order, together with the date and time of the search.

This search data isn't public, but at least a few Facebook users were shocked to see an unadulturated list of all the people they'd been stalking. "This makes me want to die," tweeted @katiecamp5. Another user remarked she'd "die if this was ever public." Of course, if that list is visible to you, as the owner of the profile, it's also visible to any one who might happen to have access to your profile while you're logged in -- a spouse or significant other, say.

As Facebook rolls out its search engine, Graph Search, and pushes its users to perform more queries on the social network, it's worth bearing in mind that those queries are not only logged, but stored in an easily-accessible way.

Lars Rasmussen, Facebook search head and a former Google employee, noted in the company's press conference Tuesday that searches "will be tracked in your activity log," according to Engadget. Facebook updated its Activity Log to include search queries in September 2012.

To review your search history, go to your Facebook profile, navigate to the "Activity Log" button on the right-hand side of the page, click the "Search" tab in the column on the left-hand side of the page and gasp in horror. (To find the "Search" tab, you may need to click "More" under the section that begins with "Photos.") You can delete individual queries or clear the search activity by clicking "Clear Searches" at the top of the page.

Let us know what you found when you checked out your search history.

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Before You Go

7 Things We Forget We Do Online
We Tell Everyone Where We Are(01 of07)
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Some platforms, like FourSquare, were designed to show the world our locations. Others, like photo-sharing app Instagram, make it too easy for us to inadvertently give ourselves away. In fact, we're so accustomed to snapping "artsy" pics of puppies and salads that it's possible we're unintentionally sharing our whereabouts, particularly if the photos aren't categorized as "private." So if you call out of work sick, make sure you don't accidentally post a picture of yourself relaxing at the local beach. Or, if you're feeling paranoid and want to minimize unwanted attention, go to your Instagram "Options" page and select the "Photos Are Private" button.
We Don't Respond When We're Being Watched(02 of07)
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For many years, we were able to read Facebook messages at our leisure -- and then promptly ignore them. But the social network rolled out a new feature that lets users see when a recipient has read a chat or message they've sent. So if you want to avoid the awkward realization you've ignored someone, type a message back, don't open the message to begin with, or use this Chat Undected extension to regain your excuse for not responding.
We Stalk In Plain Sight(03 of07)
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OkCupid and LinkedIn are used for notably different purposes, but these social networking sites share a potentially embarrassing feature. Both platforms show who has viewed your profile. When you're checking out someone else's profile they can see you, too, which makes cyberstalking a not-so-anonymous act. In order to privately dig into another person's information, both websites offer premium memberships that'll cost you a few extra bucks a month but will let you check out as many profiles as you want on the sly. Creepy? Nah...
We Tell The World We Love Sideboob News(04 of07)
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On a given day, we might read a few news articles online, "Like" a slew of photos on Instagram or listen to a couple of tunes via Spotify. Thanks to Facebook's Timeline apps, all these activities can be posted to your Facebook profile without the use of a manual "share" button. That's right, all your co-workers know that you've been reading stories about celebrity sideboob sightings. Every app has different preferences, so be sure to read the details of what you're allowing Facebook to publish. (credit:AP)
We Live-Tweet Our Commutes(05 of07)
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Sometimes we want people to know where we are. And sometimes we forget to turn off Twitter's geo-location feature, which publishes the location where we're tweeting. Too many times we've left a digital footprint mapping out our route to work, along with our favorite coffee shops and our favorite after-work watering holes. Be wary of oversharing. A simple Google search for your name will probably call up your Twitter handle. If you want to limit who can see your profile, go to Twitter's "Settings" page and check the "Protect my Tweets" box, or turn the location feature off (seen in the image to the left).
We Turn Ourselves Into Walking Advertisements(06 of07)
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Occasionally, companies will offer customers rewards for "Liking" their brand on Facebook. You might be a sucker for incentives, but don't forget that once you "Like" an organization's Page, you'll receive corporate updates that have the potential to litter your News Feed. Your "Likes" might also show up in your friends' News Feeds.So "Like" accordingly!
We Neglect Our 'Other' Inboxes(07 of07)
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When was the last time you checked your "Other" Messages on Facebook? This hidden folder displayed in the top left corner of the Messages screen holds posts from people you're not connected with on Facebook. But who remembers to look there? Not us.The same rings true for Direct Messages on Twitter, or InMail on LinkedIn. While these modes of communication can be awesome resources, sometimes we forget they exist. (credit:AP)
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