Are you my friend or a ‘friend’? (Facebook)
UPDATED: Photo security is handled separately. Details are added to the bottom of the post.
During two recent presentations about social media both groups expressed their desire to keep personal and professional activity separate. By the end of the session they all realized that those lines are quickly blurring as more and more organization setup Facebook pages and work associates request to be friends.
Although somewhat obscure there is a mechanism in Facebook that will allow you to have friends and ‘friends’. Here is how you can ‘friend’ someone without sharing photos of your recent antics with friends and family.
Select the Friends menu item across the top bar to show your Friends Lists. Initially there are two Friend Lists All Friends and Limited Profile. I’ve change the name of my Limited Profile to ‘friends’. You can do this by selecting Limited Profile and then using the edit link on the right.
To add people to your ‘friends’ list you can either start typing their name like below or use the Select Multiple Friends link on the right.
Once selected your friends are now members of your ‘friends’ list. ** CAUTION** At this point the list has the same access as your All Friends list. Don’t be fooled by the initial name of Limited Profile, they are not actually limited yet.
Next mouse over Settings in the top bar and select Privacy Settings > Profile and you will see the default settings for your profile.
Select the drop down for any item you want to limit access and choose customize. Here you can either select a Friend List or an individual person to add then to the list.
My ‘friends’ list is not allowed to see my Personal Info.
As you can see from my updated profile page I have limited access to Personal Information, Photos, and Videos. As an added precaution I have removed the right for any friend to post on my wall.
UPDATED: Photo security is handled separately.
To restrict photo access select Profile > Photos Tab > Album Privacy
As before limit access to each album by adding Friend Lists or individual names. As an added privacy measure I have unchecked the top boxes and removed access to Everyone on Facebook.
When done you can review the access permission to all your albums.
** CAUTION ** These credentials may not be honored by all Facebook Applications. IAW you might limit access to photos but through a photo application your ‘friends’ might have access.
Here is a great video to put this all in perspective - FaceBook In Reality
