Facebook Has Made All Your Posts Searchable, Here’s How To Stop Them

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It seems rarely a month goes by without Facebook finding a way to make your “personal” life awfully public.

Facebook Has Made All Your Posts Searchable, Here's How To Stop Them

Facebook rationalizes its decision

In a loosely veiled attempt to keep users on its platform rather than reaching out to Google or Twitter’s newly launched news feature “Moments,” the social media giant has made over two trillion public posts searchable to anyone.

The move began in earnest last year but did limit a user to searches of their friends posts. No longer.

“With over 1.5 billion searches per day and over 2 trillion posts in our index, search is an important, long-term effort at Facebook,” Tom Stocky, Facebook’s vice president of search, said in a blog post on yesterday.

“When something happens in the world, people often turn to Facebook to see how their friends and family are reacting. Today, we’re updating Facebook Search so that in addition to friends and family, you can find out what the world is saying about topics that matter to you.”

Essentially, no matter how long ago you posted something, someone can now find it.

While some country in Europe will undoubtedly attack or even sue Facebook over the decision, for those who don’t wish for their posts to become public it’s time to act now.

Or don’t. But don’t tell us you weren’t warned.

Time to change those Facebook settings (again)

If you don’t much care that your views on just about anything just became part of a global town hall meeting, by all means stop reading. If, however, you’re interested it won’t take long.

Dealing with future posts:

  1. Find the lock symbol in the top right corner of your News Feed and click it.
  2. Wait for that Barney looking critter to pop up and click “Who can see my stuff?”

You’ll be given the self-explanatory options of: “Only Me”, “Public” and “Friends.” Simply choose wisely.

Once you’ve battened down the hatches on the future by default, you have options going forward. On a post by post basis, just before you hit “Post” you will see who can see this based on your decision above by simply looking left of the “Post” button. Feel free to change this if you want more or less of an audience to view it.

Finally, to make sure your past posts are no longer searchable.

  1. Head back to that key and its blue dinosaur caretaker.
  2. Click “See More Settings” at bottom of pop-up menu.
  3. Click “Limit Past Posts”
  4. Facebook will now blather on about how you’ve screwed yourself and you won’t be able to undo this. Well since this was the point, shake it off and click “Limit Old Posts”

Job done.

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