Securing Your Account in Facebook
Passwords
Passwords help to protect your accounts.
-
Use passwords that are hard to guess. Make sure they are at least 6 characters long and use a combination of numbers, letters and special characters.
-
Use a different password for each of your accounts. That way, if someone learns your password, they don’t have access to all your accounts.
-
Don’t share your passwords with other people.
Login
Facebook offers you tools to make your account more secure.
Alerts about unrecognized logins
-
You can choose to get an alert when someone tries logging in from a computer, phone or tablet that Facebook doesn’t recognize. These alerts will tell you which device tried logging in and where it’s located.
-
To get alerts about unrecognized logins, go to your “Settings,” click on “Security and Login,” then click “Edit” next to “Get alerts about unrecognized logins.” Choose the types of alerts (ex: email alerts) that you’d like to receive and click “Save Changes.”
Two-factor authentication
-
When you turn on two-factor authentication, you’ll be asked to enter a special security code each time you try to access your Facebook account from a new computer, phone or tablet.
-
To turn on two-factor authentication, go to your “Settings,” click on “Security and Login,” then click “Edit” next to “Use two-factor authentication.” Click “Enable” next to “Two-Factor Authentication is currently disabled.” Confirm that you’d like to turn on two-factor authentication, click “Enable”, then click “Close.”
Logging out
-
The “Where You’re Logged In” section of your “Security and Login” settings shows you a list of computers, phones and tablets that have been used recently to log in to your account.
-
To log out of Facebook on another computer, phone or tablet, go to your “Settings,” then click on “Security and Login.” In the “Where You’re Logged In” section, find the session you want to end and click
, then click “Log Out.”
Scams
The Internet allows many different people to communicate with you. You may receive messages telling you that you’ve won money or a prize. These messages may sometimes say that someone needs your help or needs you to look after their money. They usually will ask you for personal details like your bank account or identification number. These kinds of suspicious messages are scams. It’s very unlikely that you’ve won something, even if you did enter a competition.
To protect yourself from scams, watch out for the following:
-
People who you don’t know asking for money
-
People asking you for advance fees to receive a loan, prize or other winnings
-
People claiming to be a friend or relative in an emergency
-
Messages or posts with poor spelling and grammar errors
Hacked Accounts
Requiring people to use their authentic names on Facebook helps motivate all of us to act responsibly, since our names and reputations are visibly linked to our words and actions. If we discover that people have multiple personal profiles, we might ask them to close any additional profiles. We also remove accounts that impersonate other people. If you believe someone has created a Facebook account pretending to be you or someone you know, please use this form to file a report. If you believe your account has been compromised, please secure your account.
