Social Media
How the big networks work, and the privacy settings that matter.
- FacebookThe 5-Minute Facebook Privacy Checkup: What to Review and ChangeA fast, practical walk through Facebook's Privacy Checkup: who sees your posts, how people find you, account security, app connections and ad settings.
- FacebookFacebook App Privacy: How Your Data Is Shared With Apps and WebsitesHow Facebook Login and connected apps share your data, how to review and remove them, and what Meta's activity from other businesses setting actually controls.
- FacebookHow to Distance Yourself on Facebook Without Unfriending AnyoneUnfollow, Snooze, the Restricted list, Take a Break and audience controls: quiet ways to see less of someone on Facebook or show them less, without unfriending.
- FacebookFacebook for Older Adults: A Plain-English Guide to Getting Started SafelyA friendly guide to Facebook for seniors and grandparents: setting up, seeing family photos, privacy basics, spotting scams, and settings that make it easier.
- FacebookFacebook HTTPS: Is Your Connection Secure, and What Still Needs Doing?Facebook has used HTTPS for everyone since 2013, so there's nothing to switch on. What HTTPS protects, what it doesn't, and the security steps that matter now.
- FacebookHow to Use Facebook Lists and the Audience Selector to Target Your PostsChoose who sees each Facebook post with the audience selector, Friends except, Specific friends and friend lists, plus tips for parents sharing kids' photos.
- FacebookFacebook Login Notifications: How to Turn On Login Alerts and What to DoHow to turn on Facebook login alerts in Accounts Center, what an unrecognized login alert means, how to spot a phishing copy, and the steps to take next.
- FacebookFacebook's Newer Features Explained: A Parent's Guide for 2026A plain guide to recent Facebook features: the Friends tab, Reels, Meta AI, Teen Accounts, passkeys and Marketplace, and what each one means for families.
- FacebookFacebook Status Update Options Explained: Tags, Check-Ins, Feelings and AudienceWhat each option in Facebook's post composer does, from tags and check-ins to feelings, backgrounds and live video, and the privacy angle parents should know.
- FacebookFacebook Notification Settings: How to Control What Alerts You GetWhere Facebook's notification settings are, how to switch categories on or off for push, email and SMS, mute alerts for a while, and calm a teen's phone.
- FacebookFacebook Notifications: What They Mean and Which Ones Actually MatterWhat the Facebook bell shows, the main types of notifications, how to spot fake notification scams, and which alerts parents should always keep turned on.
- FacebookFacebook Privacy Settings, Updated: Where Everything Lives NowFacebook's privacy settings keep moving. This updated map shows where audience, tagging, search, security and data settings live now, and what to choose.
- FacebookWhen Facebook Timeline Replaced Profiles: What Changed and What Your Profile Shows NowFacebook Timeline replaced the old profile in 2011 and 2012. What it was, how today's profile grew out of it, and how to review what your profile shows.
- FacebookFacebook Friend Lists: Close Friends, Acquaintances, Restricted and Custom ListsHow Facebook friend lists work, what Close Friends, Acquaintances and Restricted do, how to add people, and how to hide your own friend list from others.
- FacebookHow to Quit Facebook: Deactivate or Permanently Delete Your AccountStep-by-step guide to quitting Facebook in 2026: deactivating vs. deleting, downloading your data first, the 30-day grace period, and what happens to Messenger.
- FacebookHow to Keep Your Facebook Profile Off Google and Other Search EnginesHow to stop search engines from linking to your Facebook profile, what the setting does and doesn't hide, and how to remove old results from Google faster.
- FacebookShould Your Kid Be on Facebook? Yes, No or MaybeFacebook's age rules, how Teen Accounts and parental supervision work in 2026, the real risks, and questions to help you decide whether your child is ready.
- FacebookFacebook Nearby Friends: What Happened to It and What Replaced ItFacebook shut down Nearby Friends in May 2022. Here is what the feature did, why it ended, and how location sharing works for families on today's apps.
- FacebookFacebook Privacy Shortcuts: The Fastest Way to Your Privacy SettingsWhere Facebook's privacy shortcuts went and the quickest routes to the settings that matter most: who sees your posts, who can contact you and who can find you.
- FacebookHow to Protect Your Facebook Account From HackersPractical steps to keep a Facebook account safe: passkeys, two-factor authentication, login alerts, spotting phishing, and what to do if you are hacked.
- FacebookCommenting on Public Facebook Pages: Who Can See What You ShareLikes, comments and shares on public Facebook Pages can be seen far beyond your friends. Here is what is public and how to keep a teen's activity private.
- FacebookHow to Download a Copy of Your Facebook DataStep-by-step guide to downloading your Facebook photos, posts and messages in Accounts Center, choosing a format, and keeping the file safe afterward.
- FacebookFacebook Save: Keep Posts for Later Instead of Sharing ThemHow to use Facebook's Save feature and Collections to keep links, videos and posts for later without sharing them, plus who can see the things you save.
- FacebookPosting to Facebook From Your Phone: Privacy Tips for Mobile UpdatesHow posting a Facebook update from your phone works today, and the audience, location and tagging settings to check before you tap Post on a mobile device.
- FacebookHow to Use Facebook's Acquaintances List to Hide UpdatesFacebook's Acquaintances list lets you share less with some friends without unfriending them. How it works, how to add people, and how it compares to others.
- FacebookHow to View Your Facebook Profile as Someone Else Sees ItUse Facebook's View As tool to see your profile the way the public sees it, what changed after 2018, and how to fix anything that should be kept private.
- Social MediaHooligan Bear Books and Kids' Characters on Social Media: A Parent's GuideThe Hooligan Bear picture books invited families to follow the characters online. What the series was, and how to share kids' book characters online safely.
- Social MediaInstagram Video: From 15-Second Clips to Reels, Explained for ParentsInstagram added video in 2013. Here is how video on Instagram works now, from Reels and Stories to Live, and the settings parents should know for teen accounts.
- InstagramFive Unofficial Rules for Following Your Teen on InstagramHow to follow your teen on Instagram without embarrassing them: etiquette for comments, tags and their friends, and how supervision tools fit alongside.
- InstagramInstagram Stories Privacy Settings: Who Can See, Reply and ShareA parent's guide to Instagram Stories privacy: Close Friends, hiding stories, reply and sharing controls, Highlights, and how Teen Accounts help protect kids.
- InstagramWhat Is a Finsta? What Parents Should Know About Second Instagram AccountsA finsta is a second, more private Instagram account teens share with close friends. What it is, why teens make one, the real risks, and how to talk about it.
- InstagramWhy You're Not Seeing All Your Kid's Instagram ActivityFollowing your child on Instagram does not show everything. Why posts, stories and activity go missing from your feed, and what supervision tools show.
- Social MediaInstagram on the Web: What Anyone Can See on Your ProfileInstagram profiles have had web pages since 2012. What a browser visitor sees today, how search engines treat Instagram, and how to keep teens private.
- Social MediaKid-Friendly Social Networking Options for Children Under 13Social apps for kids under 13 in 2026: what is available, how parent controls work, what happened to Club Penguin, and how to choose a good first app.
- Social MediaKids and Instagram: Age Rules, Teen Accounts and What Parents Should KnowInstagram's minimum age is 13. How Teen Accounts work in 2026, what supervision shows parents, the main risks, and how to tell if your child is ready.
- Social MediaHow to Protect Your Social Media Profiles: A Visual ChecklistA one-page checklist for protecting social media profiles on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and more: passwords, privacy, location, tags and scams.
- Social MediaIt's Complicated by danah boyd: A Parent's Guide to the Bookdanah boyd's It's Complicated explores why teens use social media the way they do. A summary of its main ideas and what they mean for parents in 2026.
- Social MediaHow to Stay Private on Pinterest: Settings for Parents and TeensHow to make a Pinterest profile private, use secret boards, hide from search engines and limit messages, plus the default protections for teens under 16.
- Twitter / XTeens and Twitter (Now X): What Parents Should Know in 2026Twitter is now X. Here is what parents should know about teens on X: the age rules, protected posts, sensitive content, messaging, and how to set it up safely.
- Social MediauKnowKids Review: What Happened to It and What to Use NowuKnowKids was a social media monitoring service for parents that stopped operating on its own in 2020. Here's what it did and what to use in its place today.
- Social MediaWhat Does It Mean to Be Tagged on Social Media?Being tagged links your name or account to someone else's post or photo. Here is how tagging works on Instagram, Facebook and other apps, and how to control it.
- Social MediaWhat Is Keek? The Short-Video App Parents Asked AboutKeek was an early short-video social app popular with teens. Here's what it was, what happened to it, and what parents should know about short-video apps now.
- Social MediaWhat Is Pinterest? A Parent's Guide to How It WorksPinterest is a visual search and idea-saving app. Here's how pins and boards work, the age rules, what teens use it for, and the risks parents should know.
- Social MediaYouTube Videos on Kik With Kik Cards: What Happened and What Parents Should KnowKik Cards once let users share YouTube videos inside Kik chats. The feature is gone, and Kik is now rated 18+ on Apple's App Store. What parents should know.
- Social MediaHow to Actually Block Someone on Facebook or InstagramStep-by-step instructions to block someone on Facebook and Instagram in 2026, including new accounts they create, plus Restrict, unfollow and when to report.
- Social MediaHow to Buy Instagram Followers Safely: A Buyer's GuideHow buying Instagram followers works, what separates premium from standard tiers, what to check in a service, how many to buy and what Instagram's rules say.
- Social MediaHow to Buy Instagram Likes Safely: A Buyer's GuideHow buying Instagram likes works, premium vs standard likes, auto-likes, what to check in a service, how many to buy per post and what Instagram's rules say.
- Social MediaHow to Buy Instagram Views Safely: A Buyer's GuideHow buying Instagram Reel and story views works, premium vs standard views, what to check in a service, how many to buy and what Instagram's rules say about it.
- Social MediaHow to Buy YouTube Views Safely: A Buyer's GuideHow buying YouTube views works, retention vs view count, what to check in a service, how to pace orders, YouTube's fake engagement rules and monetization.