The next time you open Facebook or Instagram, make sure your profile picture has not been digitally tampered with.
“It’s a really big deal to make sure the photos you post don’t get posted to people’s profiles,” says Kristina Kiely, who heads the security group at a cybersecurity firm called Cyberscanner.
If you’re in the US, you should probably check your local laws first to make certain the pictures are not being shared by your friends and family.
If that’s not possible, it’s better to use the Facebook app’s privacy settings to block people from seeing your photos.
To do that, open the app, tap on your photos, and then tap “Block”.
“Facebook will send you a notification that says, ‘We’re blocking a photo on your account, and you should block it’,” says Kielys.
If the photo has been uploaded to a private Facebook group or page, you can block the group or group by editing its rules.
For example, if you’re a member of the group, you could change the rule to prohibit people from posting to the group.
This way, you won’t see anyone else’s photos, but will be blocked from seeing others’ photos.
If your photos aren’t being shared, you’ll have to use a different option to block your friends’ photos from appearing in your feed.
For instance, if a friend of yours is posting to your group, tap “block”.
The next step is to delete the photos from the photo-sharing service.
This can be done through your Facebook app or the Facebook website, or by tapping the gear icon in the upper-right corner of your Facebook page.
“If you’re not on Facebook, then you can delete your photo from your account and then delete your account,” says Kies.
“Facebook is pretty good at protecting people’s privacy, but sometimes people do things that are illegal.”
