How to quickly delete your old Facebook posts that could embarrass you
IF you're embarrassed by some of your old Facebook posts then it may be time to delete them.
Luckily, this process can be quick and easy, just follow the steps below.
How to delete a Facebook post
Go to your profile on either your smartphone, tablet or PC and click on the ellipsis icon - the three horizontal dots to the bottom right of your profile picture.
You'll be taken to a menu where you will need to click "Activity Log".
You can then use the filters at the top to select what posts you want to see and from what year.
Scroll through and if you see anything you want to delete just click the ellipsis next to it and you'll be given the option to delete or edit.
How to hide a Facebook post from your Timeline
If you don't want to delete a post completely but don't want other people to see it then you can choose to hide it from view.
Scroll to the post you want to hide, click the ellipsis and select the "Hide from Timeline" option.
You can also hide the post from select people by clicking "Edit audience" on desktop or "Edit privacy" on your phone app.
Archive or delete Facebook posts in bulk
You can also delete or archive in bulk.
Follow the steps above to get to your "Activity Log" on your smartphone.
Then click "Manage Activity"; and "Your Posts".
Each post of yours should give you the option to "Archive" or "Trash".
To do this on a PC you may want to use a browser extension like for Chrome.
You should be careful with these though as they can delete a lot of your posts instantly.
Limit your old Facebook posts
If you have a lot of posts to hide and just want to limit your Timeline then this step is for you.
On a PC go to "Settings", "Privacy" and then "Limit Past Posts".
Clicking this will warn you that all your public posts will be converted to private ones.
If you're okay with this then click the button again and all public posts will now be for your friends only.
This could be useful if you don't want future employers seeing some of your old photos or comments.
On your smartphone app, go to "Settings & Privacy > Privacy Shortcuts".
Under the Privacy section is the option to "Review a few important privacy settings".
Here you can click "Who can see what you share" and you'll be given some limiting options.
Facebook's biggest cyber-security mistakes
Here's some of the major times Facebook let us down...
- In 2007, Facebook's first targetted advertising product, Beacon, caused outrage because there was initally no opt-in option about the kinds of information users wanted to share
- In 2009, a Federal Trade Commission investigation was triggered because Facebook users complained that the new privacy tools were too confusing and pushed users to make more of their personal information public
- In 2010, it was revealed that advertisers were using a privacy loophole to retrieve revealing personal information about Facebook users and the company had to change its software
- In 2011, the FTC charged Facebook with lying to customers about how their information could be kept private but making it public anyway
- 2018 saw Facebook's biggest privacy scandal to date with reports that Cambridge Analytica misused user data and Facebook had to admit that it had failed to protect its users
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In other news, a Windows 10 update has been bugging users with false security warnings about apps that don't exist.
TikTok has been accused of 'spying' on Apple users along with a host of other popular apps.
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And, scammers are using Google Alerts to send out links to malware.
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