How to Protect Your Social Media Profiles: A Visual Checklist
A one-page checklist for protecting social media profiles on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and more: passwords, privacy, location, tags and scams.
Every app has its own menus, but protecting a social media profile comes down to the same handful of steps everywhere. This page collects them into a checklist you can work through with your kids, one account at a time. Print it, save it, or keep it open while you go through the apps together.
The seven layers of a protected profile
Think of a profile as having layers, from the login on the outside to the content in the middle. Each layer stops a different problem.
| Layer | What it protects against | Key action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Login | Account takeover | Unique password plus two-factor authentication or a passkey |
| 2. Audience | Strangers seeing posts | Private account or friends-only posts |
| 3. Profile basics | Being identified or located | Neutral username, photo and bio |
| 4. Contact | Unwanted messages and requests | Limit who can message, follow and add you |
| 5. Location | Revealing where you are | Turn off location sharing and tags |
| 6. Tags and mentions | Others widening your audience | Review tags before they appear |
| 7. Connected apps | Data leaking through third parties | Remove old apps and logins |
Layer 1: Lock the door
- Use a different password for every account. A password manager makes this easy.
- Turn on two-factor authentication on every app that offers it. An authenticator app is safer than text-message codes.
- Use passkeys where available. Facebook, Messenger and many other services now support signing in with your phone's face, fingerprint or PIN.
- Never share login codes with anyone, including friends.
Our guide to protecting your Facebook account from hackers walks through these steps for Facebook in detail.
Layer 2: Choose the audience
- Set accounts to private where possible. On Instagram and Facebook, teen accounts are private by default.
- On Facebook, set the default post audience to Friends and limit past posts.
- On TikTok, check that the account is private and review who can view, duet or stitch videos.
- On Snapchat, set who can view your story to My Friends or a custom list.
Layer 3: Clean up the basics
Usernames, profile photos and bios are often visible even on private accounts.
- Avoid full names, birth years, school names and team numbers in usernames.
- Choose a profile photo without a school logo, uniform or recognizable house.
- Keep bios free of school, grade, city and links to other accounts.
Layer 4: Control contact
- Limit who can send messages and friend or follow requests.
- Turn on filters for offensive comments and messages, such as Instagram's Hidden Words.
- Know how to block, restrict and report on every app your child uses.
- Agree on a family rule: only accept requests from people you know in real life.
Layer 5: Keep location private
- Review location permissions on the phone itself. On an iPhone, check Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
- On Snapchat, consider Ghost Mode on Snap Map.
- On Instagram, leave location sharing on the map turned off.
- Skip location tags on posts until after leaving a place.
Our guide to turning off location services has the step-by-step for iPhones.
Layer 6: Manage tags and mentions
- Turn on tag review so tags need approval before they appear on a profile.
- Limit who can tag and mention you.
- Ask before tagging other people, especially other children.
See what it means to be tagged for how tags spread a post beyond your own audience.
Layer 7: Remove old connections
- Review apps and websites connected through "Log in with Facebook," Google or Apple, and remove the ones you no longer use.
- Delete accounts on apps you have stopped using rather than leaving them dormant.
- Watch for quizzes and games that ask for access to your profile.
Where to start on each app
| App | First place to look |
|---|---|
| Settings and activity, especially account privacy and messages | |
| Privacy Checkup under Settings & privacy | |
| TikTok | Settings and privacy, then Privacy |
| Snapchat | Settings, then the privacy controls for contact, stories and location |
| YouTube | Channel settings and the visibility of uploads and playlists |
Menu labels change often, so if something has moved, use the search box in the app's settings.
Spotting the most common scams
Teach kids to stop and ask before acting on any message that:
- Claims their account will be deleted or suspended unless they log in
- Comes from a friend but feels unusual, especially if it asks for money, a code or a vote in a contest
- Promises free followers, likes, gift cards or in-game currency
- Asks them to move a conversation to another app
- Pushes for photos or personal information, especially from someone they met online
A family routine
- Pick one account and sit down together.
- Work through the seven layers in order.
- View the profile from the outside, using Facebook's View As or a logged-out browser. Our guide on viewing your profile as someone else explains how.
- Repeat for each app, including games with chat.
- Set a reminder to check again in six months.
The one-minute version
- Unique password, two-factor authentication, never share codes.
- Private account, friends-only posts.
- Neutral username, photo and bio.
- Limit who can contact, tag and follow.
- Location off.
- Remove old apps.
- Ask before acting on any message that feels urgent or too good to be true.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important step to protect a social media account?
Turn on two-factor authentication or a passkey and use a unique password for every account. That stops most account takeovers.
Should my teen's social media accounts be private?
Yes, for most teens. Instagram and Facebook already make teen accounts private by default, and other apps offer similar settings.
How often should we review social media settings?
Every six months is a good rhythm, plus any time your child joins a new app or a major app update changes the menus.