How to Keep Your Facebook Messenger Private with New Privacy Settings

Facebook Messenger has introduced a range of new privacy settings that can help you maintain your online privacy. These settings allow you to control who can see your status, who can contact you, and how your information is shared. Follow these steps to enhance your privacy and ensure your communications remain secure.

Update Privacy Settings

Open the Messenger App: Tap on your profile picture in the top left corner to access your profile. Go to Privacy Settings: From your profile, navigate to the Privacy section to view and adjust your privacy settings.

Review and modify the following privacy options:

Active Status: Toggle off the option to show when you’re active to prevent others from knowing when you are online. Who Can See Your Status: Adjust who can see your active status to limit it to specific contacts or friends only. Who Can Send You Messages: Customize who can message you or send you message requests. Limit it to friends or other authorized contacts. Who Can Call You: Restrict who can call you or request to video chat with you. Ensure only trusted contacts have this access.

Manage Message Requests

Access your Privacy settings to manage incoming message requests. Here, you can limit who can send you message requests:

Adjust Message Requests: Choose to limit message requests to friends only or customize your settings further to fit your preferences.

Turn Off Active Status

One of the most effective ways to enhance your privacy on Messenger is to turn off your active status:

Go to the Active Status Section: In the Privacy settings, find the Active Status section. Toggle it Off: Disable the option to show when you are online. This prevents others from knowing when you are available to chat.

Limit Profile Visibility

To further enhance your privacy, adjust your overall Facebook privacy settings to limit who can see your profile and posts:

Adjust Facebook Privacy Settings: Go to your Facebook profile and review your privacy settings to control the visibility of your profile and posts. Limit Information Access: By limiting who can see your profile and posts, you can reduce the amount of information available to anyone who might contact you on Messenger.

Block or Restrict Contacts

If you need to avoid specific users, you can block or restrict them:

Go to Their Profile: Open the profile of the user you want to avoid. Select Block or Restrict: Tap on the three dots and select either Block or Restrict to prevent them from contacting or messaging you.

Use Secret Conversations

For highly sensitive discussions, use the Secret Conversations feature:

Encrypt Your Messages: Secret Conversations provide end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only you and the recipient can read the messages.

Be Cautious with Links and Attachments

To protect your privacy and security, be cautious with links and attachments from unknown users:

Avoid Clicking on Links: Do not click on links from unknown users as they may lead to malicious websites or phishing attacks. Do Not Download Attachments: Resist the temptation to download attachments from unknown sources as they can contain viruses or spyware.

Regularly Review App Permissions

Ensure that the Messenger app has access only to the information you want it to access:

Check App Permissions: Regularly review the app permissions granted to Messenger in your device settings.

Stay Informed

To stay ahead of any potential privacy issues, keep an eye on updates from Facebook regarding their privacy settings:

Update Regularly: Subscribe to Facebook’s official channels to stay informed about any updates or changes to their privacy policies. Stay Alert: Be aware of any new features or settings that may affect your privacy and adjust them accordingly.

By following these steps, you can significantly enhance your privacy on Facebook Messenger and ensure that your communications remain secure and personal.