Using Social Media

Media Monitoring Africa initiative

Learn to critically engage with social media

Tips and Tricks for using Social
Media Networks

Are you new to social media? Are there still some things that you would like to know regarding social media so that you are confident, knowledgeable and secure? Well, this section is definitely for you. It will give you the tips and tricks you need to make your journey on social networking sites a smooth and comfortable one. 

Easy Guide to Social Networking

Social networking

Social networking describes the act of developing new and old networks of friendships through a variety of services like FacebookYouTubeTumblr, and Twitter. These services also enable individuals to interact and communicate with one another anytime and anywhere. Individuals can meet new friends, post information about themselves, display photos and videos, tell people what they are up to, chat about their interests and play games. They offer different and fun ways of communicating. For example Instagram allows its users to communicate through photos and short videos. 

Am I old enough to be on social media?

Most social networking sites require their users to be a certain age in order to use their services. Thirteen is the minimum user age required by for example, FacebookInstagramYoutubeTumblr and Twitter.

Here we have compiled a list of information about the safety features of the different social networking sites.

Popular social media sites and what they are about

By clicking on the names for each site, you can learn how to adjust your privacy settings, report inappropriate content and find out more about other safety features.

Who can use it?

Facebook is available to people over the age of 13. Facebook will not create an account for a person who lists their age as under 13.

By creating an account, you agree to comply with Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. For a succinct explanation of what can and cannot be posted to Facebook, check out the Community Standards page.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings for users aged 13–17

Basic information you choose to share via the site (such as your name, profile picture and gender) is publicly available. However, by default, you can only share what you post with a maximum audience of the friends of your friends. Even if you change your privacy settings to Public, your information will only be shared with Friends and Friends of Friends. This is different from adults, who can choose to share publicly.

Some things, like your school, address, hometown or birthday may only be visible to your friends, friends of your friends, and/or other minors.

You can choose to limit the audience with whom you share to only your friends, or just some of those friends. The Custom privacy settings allow you to specify who is able and not able to view the content you share. You can choose to share with or exclude specific networks, friends and friend lists. You can also limit some of the information you post on Facebook to Only Me.

Public search listings are also unavailable for people aged 13-17. Unlike people aged 18 or over, the details of a person aged 13-17 will not appear in public search engine results. For Graph Search (search within Facebook), like adults, people aged 13-17 can appear in search results. Some information, such as your school, current city, hometown or birthday may only be visible to your friends, or friends of your friends who are also minors. Learn more at Facebook’s Graph Search page.

Default privacy settings for users aged 18+

If you create an account aged 18 or over, Facebook’s key privacy settings are PublicFriends, Only Me and Custom. By default, some of your privacy settings are set to Public including your name, profile picture, gender, status updates and photos you post to your profile. Other privacy settings are set to Friends by default including contact information and places you check in to. You can control who can see what you choose to share on Facebook by using the privacy settings.

You can also use Facebook’s Custom privacy settings to specify who is able and not able to view the content you share. You can choose to share with or exclude specific networks, friends and friend lists. You can also limit some of the information you post on Facebook to “Only Me”.

An overview of the differences between privacy settings and sharing options for people aged 13-17 and 18+ is available at Facebook’s Minors & Privacy page.

Adjusting your default privacy settings for all ages

You can adjust your default privacy settings for the following sections:

  • Control Privacy When You Post – you can manage the privacy of your status updates, photos and information through your inline audience selector settings.
  • How You Connect – manage how you connect with people you know.
  • Timeline and Tagging – what happens when friends tag you or your content, or post on your timeline.
  • Ads, Apps and Websites – the information you are willing to share with applications, games and websites.
  • Limit the Audience for Past Posts – you can manage past post visibility.
  • Blocked People and Apps – manage the people and apps you’ve blocked.

Privacy shortcuts for key settings on Facebook are available in the toolbar when you log in to your account. To access these privacy settings, you can:

  1. log into your Facebook account
  2. click the drop down menu with the lock on it in your toolbar
  3. access the key settings to manage Who can see my stuff?Who can contact me? and How do I stop someone from bothering me?. You can also access Help Center content from the privacy shortcuts.

For more information, you can go to Facebook’s Privacy Guide (Data Use Policy) and the Privacy Page.

Profile information settings

Facebook allows you to edit your profile information and control what groups of people (public, friends, only me or custom) can view this information. Your profile information includes basic information (for example, location, date of birth, about me) and contact information.

Above is an example of where to edit your profile information.

To access and adjust these settings, you can:

  1. log into your Facebook account
  2. click on your name located in the top right hand corner
  3. click on Update Info located underneath your cover photo
  4. edit your information and/or adjust who can see it by selecting public, friends, only me or custom from the drop down menu located next to the relevant information.

Controlling Privacy When You Post

When posting on Facebook you can choose who sees your status updates, photos and information using Facebook’s inline audience selector.

Below is an example of Facebook’s inline audience selector. The drop down menu (highlighted by the circle) shows you where you can select who can see your posts. The drop down menu will provide you a list of options that includes making the post viewable to the public, friends only, a list of friends you have already created or you can create a new customised list.

To learn more about the inline audience selector visit Facebook’s Sharing page.

Above is an example of Facebook’s inline audience selector.

Lists

Above is an example of Lists on Facebook.

Lists give you an optional way to share a post with a custom audience, or exclude some friends from a post based on how well you know them.

You can choose to share or hide content from one or more of your lists using the inline audience selector. For example, you can use Facebook’s default lists, including close friends or acquaintances, or you can create custom lists, for family members, work colleagues or team mates.

You can also add people to your Restricted list. When you add someone to your Restricted list, they will only be able to see your public content or your posts that you’ve tagged them in.

To do this you can:

  1. log into your Facebook account
  2. click on Home located in the top right hand corner
  3. find the list you want to edit in the left hand column, or click the More link next to friends.
  4. select the list you want to edit or click Create a List
  5. search for your friends in the search bar at the top of the page, or add people from the List Suggestions on the right.

Timeline and Activity Log

Timeline is your collection of the photos, stories, and experiences that tell your story on Facebook. You control who can see what’s on your Timeline. For more information about how to do this, check out Facebook’s Timeline Privacy page.

You can also see what your timeline looks like to other people by using the View As tool.

  1. go to your timeline and click  on the right, below your cover photo
  2. click View As… from the dropdown menu
  3. you’ll see what your profile looks to the public. To preview how your profile appears to a specific person, like a friend or coworker, type their name into the open field and press enter.

Keep in mind, posts and photos you’ve hidden on your timeline are still visible to the audience they’re shared with other places on Facebook, like in news feed and search. If you want to manage photos or posts that other people post to Facebook about you, please use the Remove/Request tool in Activity Log (discussed below).

At the top of your Timeline, you have a link to view activity in your private Activity Log. It is a list of everything you’ve done or posted on Facebook and is only visible to you.

For an overview of all of your posts and activity on Facebook, use Activity Log. Activity Log lets you easily review your own activity on Facebook, such as your likes and comments, photos of you and posts you’ve been tagged in. You can also sort information in your Activity Log to quickly see public photos you’re tagged in and have hidden from your timeline, but which still appear in other places on Facebook. Only you can see your Activity Log.

You can access your activity log by clicking the Activity Log button on your timeline, under your cover photo.

Above is an example Facebook’s Activity Log.

Above is an example of  Facebook’s security settings.

Adjusting your account security settings

You can adjust your browsing and login security to select browsing via a secure connection (https) whenever possible, or receive a notification when an unrecognised computer tries to access your account.

To adjust your security settings, you can:

  1. log into your Facebook account
  2. click on Account Settings from the drop-down menu located in the top right hand corner
  3. click on Security.

Removing a wall post or story

Above is an example of how to remove a wall post or story on Facebook.

You can remove anything that you have posted on your Facebook Timeline or anything you have posted on Facebook.

To remove a post, you can:

  1. hover over the post in question and click the symbol that appears in the top right hand corner of the post
  2. Select Report/Remove from the drop down menu.

In Activity Log, you also have a Request and Removal tool for taking action on multiple photos you’re tagged in. In Activity Log, go to the Photos of You tab, select multiple photos, and either untag yourself or ask friends to take down the shots you don’t like – you can even include a message about why this is important to you. The tool also lets you untag multiple photos at once, keeping in mind that while untagged photos don’t appear on your timeline, they can still appear in other places on Facebook, such as search, news feed, or your friends’ timelines.

How can I report cyberbullying and abuse?

Above is an example of how to report cyberbullying or abuse on Facebook.

Social Reporting Tool

If you want to report content you don’t like, but it doesn’t violate the Facebook Terms, you can use the report links to send a message to the person who posted it instead of reporting it to Facebook. You can also use this feature if you don’t want to report the person directly, but would like to ask them to remove the content.

For example, if you are reporting a photo of yourself, you can easily send the person who posted it a message letting them know you don’t like it.

To report to a person directly, you can:

  1. click the Report story or spam link locked in the top right hand corner of the post in question
  2. click file a report
  3. select I don’t like this post then click Continue
  4. You can then select to send a message to the person to remove the post,then click Continue.

In cases of bullying or harassment, where you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to the person directly, you can use social reporting to get help from a parent, teacher or trusted friend. You can share that piece of content and a message about the situation with someone you trust.

To report to someone you trust, you can:

  1. click the Report story or spam link locked in the top right hand corner of the post in question
  2. click file a report
  3. select It’s harassing me or It’s harassing a friend then click Continue
  4. you may then select Block the personGet Help from an authority figure or trusted friend and Report to Facebook and click Continue
  5. complete who you would like to send the message too and the message you would like to send to that person then click Continue
  6. Your trusted person will receive an email with a copy of the content you are reporting, along with your message. You also have the option to block the person.

Blocking a user

A block prevents specific people from viewing your profile, and you will not appear in their search results or friend lists. Blocking is mutual, so they will also become invisible to you as well.

To block a user, you can:

  1. click the account menu in the top right corner and select Privacy Settings
  2. find the Block Lists section and click Manage Block Lists
  3. Enter the name or email address of the person you want to block and click Block. People will not be notified when you block them.

For more information visit Facebook’s Blocking People page.

Where can I find more information?

  • Facebook’s Privacy and Safety Centre provides privacy and safety information.
  • Facebook Basics provides general information about Facebook.

Who can use it?

*Twitter is intended for people over the age of 13.

If a parent becomes aware that their child has provided Twitter with personal information without their consent, the parent may contact Twitter at privacy@twitter.com. Twitter states that they do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and if they become aware that a child under 13 has provided personal information, they take steps to remove such information and terminate the child’s account.

By creating an account, you agree to comply with Twitter’s Terms of Service.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings for users aged 13+

By default, Twitter’s privacy settings are set so most of your information can be seen by everyone. Twitter allows you to adjust your privacy settings to control what information you share, and who you share it with.

Adjust your privacy settings

Above is an example of how to adjust Twitter’s privacy settings.

You can adjust your privacy settings to select a protected account, which puts the following restrictions in place:

  • people will have to request to follow you and each follow request requires approval
  • your profile and tweets will only be visible to users you’ve approved
  • protected profile tweets will not appear in Twitter search
  • @replies sent to people who aren’t following you will not be seen
  • your static page’s URL cannot be shared with non-followers.

To access these settings, you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. select settings in the drop down menu located in the top right hand corner of the page
  3. scroll down and select the protect my tweets box
  4. click Save.

More information on public and protected accounts is available at Twitter’s Public and Protected Accounts page.

How can I report cyberbullying and abuse?

You can file a report that someone is posting abusive messages by going to Twitter’s forms page.

More information on Twitter’s policy on abusive behavior is available at the How to Report Abusive Behavior page.

Reporting Violations

Twitter’s Rules and Terms of Service outline guidelines people must follow when using Twitter. If you believe there has been a breach of these rules or guidelines, you can report a violation under one of the following categories:

To report a violation, you can visit Twitter’s Forms page. More information on reporting a violation is available at Twitter’s How to report a violation page.

Blocking a user

Above is an example of how to block a user on Twitter.

Twitter allows you to block other Twitter users. If you block someone, they will be unable to:

  • add your Twitter account to their lists
  • have their @replies or mentions show in the your mentions tab (although these tweets may still appear in a search)
  • follow you
  • see your profile picture on their profile page or in their timeline.

To block someone, you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. select the profile you wish to block
  3. click the silhouette icon and select block from the drop down menu.

Where can I find more information?

Twitter’s Help Center provides general support information.

Who can use it?

Tumblr is available to people over the age of 13. Tumblr will not create an account for a person who lists their age as under 13.

By creating an account, you agree to comply with Tumblr’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings for users aged 13+

By default, your privacy settings are set so:

  • your blogs are all public and primary blogs cannot be made private. However, you can adjust your settings to make a secondary blog private.
  • your blogs are locatable by Gmail and Facebook contact integrations, as well as your email address.

Adjust your privacy settings

Making your blog private

Above is an example of how to password protect your blog on Tumblr.

You can make a Tumblr blog private by protecting it with a password. This means other people will have to enter a password to view your blog.

To make a secondary blog private you can select the Password protect this blog box that appears when you create the blog.

Searchable by your registered email address

Above is an example of how to opt-out of being
searchable by your registered email address on Tumblr.

You can opt out of being searchable by your registered email address. To change this setting, you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. select the gear located in the top tool bar
  3. unselect the Let people look me up by this address box located underneath your email address
  4. Click Save.

Blog settings

Above is an example of how to adjust Tumblr’s blog settings.

When you create a blog, Tumblr allows you to control:

  • who can write replies to you
  • if people can ask you questions
  • if people can submit posts
  • if search engines can index your blog.

To access these settings, you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. click the gear located in the top tool bar
  3. click the name of your account on the left side.

How can I report cyberbullying and abuse?

To report a violation of Tumblr’s Community Guidelines, you can email the URL to abuse@tumblr.com

For violations of copyright, you can email a report to dmca@tumblr.com.

Blocking a user

You can ignore a user on Tumblr via the Ignore page. By ignoring someone, you will not see their messages and their content will not appear on your blog or Dashboard. Remember, your blog is still public unless you have password protected it.

Anonymous users can be blocked as well by clicking the ignore link on the message.

Where can I find more information?

Who can use it?

*Instagram is intended for people over the age of 13. It is not possible to sign up for an Instagram account on the website. You need to sign up for an account within the Apple or Android app.

By creating an account, you agree to comply with Instagram’s Terms of Service.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings for users aged 13+

By default, anyone can view your profile on Instagram or the Instagram.com website. If you do not wish to share your profile, you can set your photos to private and your photos will be visible only to those users you’ve allowed to follow you.

Some profile information is not visible to anyone but you. This includes your email address, phone number, sex and birthday.

Above is an example of how to make your profile private on Instagram.

Adjust your privacy settings

To make your profile private, you can:

  1. tap the far right address card icon to go to your profile
  2. tap the settings icon in the upper right icon
  3. Apple device – scroll to Photos are private and toggle the switch to ON to turn on privacy.
  4. Android device – tap on Photo privacy then tap the box to turn on privacy.

Above is an example of how to approve or ignore a follow request on Instagram.

Once you turn on Privacy, anyone who wants to see your photos, or followers and following lists, will have to send you a follow request that will appear in your news feed, which you can then approve or ignore.

To approve or deny a request, you can:

  1. tap the username that appears in the request
  2. tap the approve (tick icon) or ignore (cross icon) button.

More information is available at the Controlling Your Visibility page.

How do I report cyberbullying and abuse?

You can report inappropriate photos, comments, or users that are in violation of Instagram’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Use directly in Instagram with the built-in flagging feature.

Above is an example of how to report an inappropriate photo on Instagram.

Flag a Photo

In order to flag a photo, you can:

  1. tap the … icon below the photo you would like to report
  2. tap Report Inappropriate.

Above is an example of how to delete a comment and report abuse on Instagram.

Flag a Comment

In order to flag a comment on an Apple device, you can:

  1. tap the comment button below the photo
  2. swipe your finger to the right over the comment you’d like to flag in order to reveal a trash can icon and a reply icon
  3. tap the trash icon and select Delete & Report Abuse (Apple 3.0 users can flag any violating comment on Instagram).

In order to flag a comment on an Android device, you can:

  1. tap the comment button below your photo
  2. tap the pencil icon in the upper right
  3. tap the X icon next to the comment and
    select Delete & Report Abuse (Android 3.0 users can
    only flag violating comments left on their own images at this time).

Above is an example of how to flag a user on Instagram.

Flag a User

In order to flag a user, you can:

  1. navigate to their profile page
  2. tap the button in the top right corner of the screen
  3. tap Report for Spam.

Flagging inappropriate content on Instagram is totally anonymous; no information about the flagger is sent to the user whose content is being flagged.

More information is available at the Abuse and Spam page.

Above is an example of how to block a user on Instagram.

Blocking a User

When you block a user, the user cannot view your photos or search for your Instagram account. The blocked user is not notified when they are blocked.

To block a user, you can:

  1. navigate to their profile page (tap explore then search for the account by their name or username, then tap on their username)
  2. tap the button in the top right corner of the screen
  3. Tap Block user.

More information is available at the Blocking a User page.

Where can I find more information?

  • Instagram’s Help Centre provides general information and help about Instagram.
  • Instagram’s Tips for Parents has safety information for parents.
  • Instagram’s Privacy Policy outlines its privacy guidelines.

Who can use it?

YouTube is not intended for children under the age of 13. YouTube accounts are available to people over the age of 13. If a YouTube account is created, you then have access to additional functions including uploading and commenting on videos.

YouTube will not create account for anyone that lists their age as under 13.

All users of YouTube agree to comply with its Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings for users aged 13 +

By default, videos that you upload can be seen by anyone. If you upload a video, YouTube allows you to limit the exposure of that video by making it private.

Adjust your privacy settings

Above is an example of how to adjust YouTube’s privacy settings.

If a video is set to private, only the uploader and invited YouTube users can view the video. If a video is set to unlisted, then only users that have the link to the video will able to see it. Private and unlisted videos will not appear in search results.

You can visit YouTube’s Private Videos page to learn how to make your video private.

YouTube Safety mode

Safety Mode on YouTube is an opt-in setting that can help screen out potentially objectionable content. YouTube uses community flagging and other content signals to filter out inappropriate content.

By default, Safety Mode is switched off. To switch on Safety Mode, you can:

  1. click on Safety Mode located at the bottom of the YouTube page
  2. adjust the relevant settings within the pop-up box.

Above is an example of how to adjust YouTube’s Safety Mode settings.

Comments

Above is an example of how to control comments on your videos.

You can control which comments appear on your videos. YouTube offers the following three options:

  • you can approve each comment before it is posted publicly
  • all comments can be posted without approval (default setting)
  • comments can be turned off all together.

To access this setting, you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. click on the drop down menu located in the top right-hand corner and select Video Manager
  3. click on Edit next to the the video you would like to adjust your settings for
  4. click on Advanced settings and select one of the three options.
  5. click Save Changes located in the top right-hand corner.

More information on controlling your comments is available at YouTube’s Control Commenting on my Videos page.

How can I report abuse or cyberbullying and abuse?

You can report content that violates YouTube’s Community Guidelines by flagging it. Flagging videos does not take them down straight away, but sends a report back to YouTube staff to review the flagged video.

To flag a video, you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. navigate to the page the video is hosted on
  3. click the flag button located under the video player
  4. select a reason from the drop down menu and then click flag this video.
  5. click Submit.

More information on flagging videos is available at YouTube’s Community Guidelines Violations page.

To report a case of harassment, privacy or bullying, you can visit YouTube’s Help and Safety Tool page.

Where can I find more information?

YouTube’s Policy and Safety Hub provides a central resource to access YouTube’s policies, safety practices and reporting tools.

Who can access this site?

Pinterest is intended for people over the age of 13.

By creating an account, you agree to comply with Pinterest’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings users 13+

By default, anyone can view your profile on Pinterest. Some profile information is not visible to anyone but you. This includes your email address and gender.

Pinterest allows you to prevent search engines from including your profile in their search results.

Adjusting your privacy settings

Above is an example of how to adjust your privacy settings on Pinterest.

To hide your profile from external search engines, you can:

  1. click the profile menu
  2. click Settings
  3. switch Search Privacy to Yes
  4. click Save Settings.

How can i report cyberbullying and abuse?

You can report inappropriate pins, comments or users directly to Pinterest for review.

Report a pin

Above is an example of how to report a pin on Pinterest.

To report a pin, you can:

  1. click on the pin to view its full size
  2. position your mouse over the pin image for the reporting option to appear at the bottom of the pin
  3. click the flag at the bottom of the pin
  4. choose the reason for the report and click Report Pin.

Report a comment

Above is an example of how to report a comment on Pinterest.

To report a comment, you can:

  1. click on the pin to view its full size
  2. hover over the flag to the right of the comment
  3. click Flag Comment
  4. choose the reason for the report and click Flag Comment.

Report a user

To report a user, you can:

  1. go to his/her profile
  2. hover over the flag to the right of their profile information
  3. choose the reason for your report
  4. confirm that you want to report.

More information on how to report inappropriate content is available at Pinterest’s Report objectionable or spammy content, comments or people page.

Above is an example of how to report a user on Pinterest.

Blocking a user

When you block a user on Pinterest, that person can’t follow you or interact with your pins.

To block a user, you can:

  1. go to his/her profile
  2. click the flag to the right of their profile info
  3. click Block
  4. confirm that you want to block the person.

More information is available at Pinterest’s Block or unblock someone page.

Above is an example of how to block a user on Pinterest.

Where can I find more information ?

Pinterest’s Help Centre provides general information and help about Pinterest.

Who can use it?

Anyone can search and view public photos and videos on Flickr. If you have a Flickr account you can also post content.

Flickr accounts are available to people over the age of 13. Flickr will not create an account for anyone who lists their age as under 13.

By creating an account, you agree to comply with Flickr’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings for users aged 13+

By default, Flickr’s privacy settings are set so most of your information can be seen by everyone. Flickr allows you to adjust your privacy settings to control what information you share, and who you share it with.

Adjust your privacy settings

Above is an example of how to adjust Flickr’s privacy settings.

You can access your privacy settings to control:

  • whether the profile is public or private
  • what personal information is shared with other Flickr users
  • who can see, comment on or add tags to your photos
  • who can print your photos
  • if other people can share your photos.

You can also specify what privacy level you want (Public, Visible to friends, Visible to family or Private) for photos you upload.

To access Flickr’s privacy settings, you can visit Flickr’s Privacy & Permissions page.

SafeSearch

Above is an example of how to adjust Flickr’s SafeSearch settings.

Flickr’s SafeSearch tool allows you to filter search results or member pages to a level you think is appropriate.

  • SafeSearch on – you’d prefer to see photos and video that is safe for a global, public audience.
  • SafeSearch moderate – you’re okay with seeing the odd ‘artistic nude’, but that’s the limit.
  • SafeSearch off – you’re over 18 years old, and take full responsibility that you’re comfortable to see whatever turns up.

To set your search preferences, you can visit Flickr’s Search Filters page.

How do I report cyberbullying and abuse?

You can report content you believe requires review. To make a report, you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. click the flag photo link located in the bottom right hand corner of the page the photo appears on.

Flickr states that if enough members flag a photo, they will hide the page from public pages.

Inappropriate content or behaviour that warrants immediate attention can be reported at Flickr’s Report Abuse page. This link is also available at the bottom of every Flickr page. Flickr asks that you report from the specific page that the offensive content appears on.

Above is an example of how to report cyberbullying or abuse on Flickr.

Where can I find more information?

  • Flickr’s Help Forum provides general help information.
  • Yahoo!7’s Safely site provides specific information about using Flickr safely.
  • Yahoo!7’s Privacy Center allows people to review and adjust their marketing preferences and turn behavioural advertising off.

Who can use this site?

Myspace is available to people over 13 years of age. Myspace will not create an account for anyone who lists their age as under 13.

By creating an account, members agree to comply with Myspace’s Terms of Use Agreement.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings for users aged 13-17

By default, if you are aged 13-17 your account is set so only accepted friends can view your profile. If you are over 18, most of your information can be seen by everyone. Myspace allows you to adjust your privacy settings to control what information you share, and who you share it with.

Default privacy settings for users aged 18+

By default, if you are aged 18 or over, most of your information can be seen by everyone.

Adjust your privacy settings

If you are over 18, you can make your account private. This means that only you and people you’ve added and approved as friends can see the details of your profile, including blogs, photos, interests and more.

To set a profile to private you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. click on the My Stuff drop down menu located in the top toolbar
  3. select Privacy Settings
  4. select My Friends Only located next to Profile Viewable By
  5. scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.

Above is an example of how to adjust Myspace’s privacy settings.

Pre-approve comments

Above is an example of how to adjust the comments settings on Myspace.

The default setting for comments on Myspace profiles does not require comments to be approved prior to appearing on your profile.

To change your settings to be able to pre-approve comments you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. click on the My Stuff drop down menu located in the top tool bar
  3. select Account Settings
  4. in the left-hand navigation bar select Comments then Require approval before comments are posted
  5. scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.

Appear offline

Above is an example of adjust your settings to appear offline on Myspace.

Myspace offers the option of turning off the online now status icon so other people can’t see when you’re on the site.

To conceal your status you can:

  1. log into your account
  2. click on the My Stuff drop down menu located in the top toolbar
  3. select Privacy Settings
  4. next to Online Now un-select Show People When I’m Online
  5. scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.

How can I report cyberyullying and abuse?

You can report a violation of Myspace’s Terms of Use by visiting the File an Abuse Report page.

Blocking a user

Myspace allows you to block interaction with another user.

You can block a user by visiting their page, and clicking on the Block User link under their profile picture.

Where can I find more information?

  • Myspace’s Safety page provides additional safety information and resources for Myspace.
  • Myspace’s Privacy Policy outlines its privacy guidelines.

Who can use it?

Snapchat is intended for people over the age of 13. If you are aged 13-17 years old, you should seek permission from a parent or legal guardian before using Snapchat.

By creating an account, you agree to comply with Snapchat’s Terms of Use.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

Default privacy settings for users 13+

By default, anyone who knows your username can send you a message.

In order to message someone on Snapchat, you need to know their username and add them to your My Friends list.

Adjusting your privacy settings

Above is an example of how to adjust your privacy settings on Snapchat.

You can configure your Snapchat profile to only receive messages from users on your My Friends list. To adjust this setting, you can:

  1. open the Snapchat application
  2. tap the square button on the bottom right corner of the screen
  3. select Settings
  4. select Who Can Send me Snaps
  5. select My Friends.

Saving Snapchat messages

Prior to transmitting a message, the sender is able to save a copy of the image they have composed. After sending a message, the sender can no longer view it through the Snapchat application.

Although the ability to save received messages is not part of the Snapchat application, it may be possible for recipients to use built-in features of the Android and Apple iOS operating systems to take a screenshot or screen-capture. It is also possible to use a second device to take a picture of the message as it displays on the screen.

Snapchat attempts to detect if a recipient takes a screenshot or screen-capture and sends a notification to the sender when possible.

How can I report cyberbullying and abuse?

If you receive an unwanted, sexually explicit message or are the subject of harassment you can report it by sending an email to support@snapchat.com. Please be sure to include:

  1. Recipients username (you)
  2. Sender’s username
  3. Ages of the users involved (if known)
  4. Time and Date of message(s)
  5. Nature of the Message(s)

For more information on reporting abuse and safety issues, you can visit Snapchat Support and select your issue from the menu.

Blocking and Deleting a User

Above is an example of how to block or delete a user on Snapchat.

Snapchat allows you to block contact and/or delete a user. To block and/or delete a user, you can:

  1. open the Snapchat application
  2. tap the square button on the bottom right corner of the screen
  3. select My Friends
  4. locate their name in the list and swipe across their name (or in Android, long-press the name)
  5. tap edit and then block
  6. tap delete if you would like to delete a friend from your contacts.

Where can I find more information?

  • Snapchat’s Guide for Parents provides information on how to handle safety issues and concerns that may arise.
  • Snapchat’s FAQ and support page provides general assistance about the application.
  • Snapchat’s Privacy Policy outlines its privacy guidelines.

Who can use it?

Whatsapp is available for children over the age of 16. It clearly states that service is not intended for children under 16. If you are under 16 years of age, you are not permitted to use the WhatsApp Service.

By using the service, you acknowledge and agree to these terms of service, and whatsapp’s privacy policy, which can be found at http://www.whatsapp.com/legal/#privacy

How can I protect my information and privacy?

By default, WhatsApp will automatically set your Privacy Settings to allow any WhatsApp user to view your last seenprofile photo and status. If you don’t share your last seen, you won’t be able to see other people’s last seen. Please note there is no way to hide your online status.

To change these settings, simply go to WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Account > Privacy.

You can set the following options separately for last seen, profile photo and/or status:

  • Everyone –Your last seen, profile photo and/or status will be available to all WhatsApp users.
  • My Contacts- Your last seen, profile photo and/or status will be available to your contacts from your address book only.
  • Nobody- Your last seen, profile photo and/or status will not be available to anyone.

How can I report cyberbullying or abuse?

Bullying or abuse can be reported by sending an email to: support@whatsapp.com.

Blocking a User

WhatsApp allows you to block/ end your interaction with another user.

When you block people on WhatsApp, you will no longer receive WhatsApp messages from them.

In more detail, here is what happens when you block someone

  • WhatsApp messages sent by a blocked contact will not show up on your phone and will never be delivered to you. Learn how to block/unblock a contact on your mobile phone
  • Your last seen and online information will no longer be visible to contacts you have blocked. More details about last seen and online can be found here.
  • Your status message updates will not be visible to any blocked contacts. Learn more about the status message feature here.
  • Any changes made to your profile picture will no longer be visible to contacts you have blocked.
  • You will not be able to send messages to a blocked contact until you unblock them.

However, there is one important feature blocking does not change

  • Blocking someone will not remove this contact from your WhatsApp list, nor will it remove you from the list on this contact’s phone. To delete a contact in WhatsApp, you must delete the contact from your phone’s address book.

If you unblock a contact, you will not receive any messages that person sent you during the time they were blocked.

Where can I find more information?

You can read more about Whatsapp’s functions, and terms of service.

Who can use it?

Wechat is intended for people over the age of 13. . If the user is between the ages of 13 and 18 (or the relevant age in your jurisdiction where you are considered a minor), their parent or guardian must agree to these Terms (both for themselves and on your behalf) before the user can use Wechat services.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

You can adjust your privacy so strangers can’t find you. For example, you can disable your WeChat’s location based services (Shake, Look around) so that Wechat does not use your current location to find people.

You can also set the visibility to Private; so that only you will be able to see the photo.

How can I report cyberbullying and abuse?

Bullying or abuse can be reported by sending an email to: support@wechat.com.

Blocking a user

Wechat also allows you to block/ end your interaction with another user. This is how you can do it.

  1. Go to your contact list and press on the profile of the person you want to block.
  2. Look for the three dots up on the top right: You can block from your contact list or from People Nearby.
  3. After you press the dots, this will come up. Choose Block. Choose block and then confirm it. That contact can’t see you now at all.
  4. Once blocked, the users can’t send you a message and they won’t see your Moments.

Where can I get more information?

You can read more about Wechat’s functions, and terms of service.

Who can use it?

MXit’terms and conditions state that a user’s minimum age has to be 13 years. When you sign up to Mix It you agree to their terms and conditions.

How can I protect my information and privacy?

A user can set up their own chatroom with their friends and password-protect it. This ensures that access is by invitation only – and after 36 hours of inactivity the room will shut down.

A user’s identity automatically remains anonymous when he or she is in a (public) Chat Zone.

How can I report cyberbullying and abuse?

A Chatroom Blocking feature is available for parents with children of a sensitive age, which enables them to block access to this environment on MXit.

Typing in a “.rat” command, when in a chat room on MXit, will allow a user to report any abuse they may experience on MXit. MXit then receives the authority to see the last 30 strings of this conversation; and will follow up within 6 to 12 working/office hours.

Defamatory material circulating on MXit must be reported to support@mxit.com

Where can I find more information?

Mxit’s terms and conditions outline their privacy policies.