Armagh Cricket Club: Your Facebook Privacy and Security Guide
A practical guide for all club members, junior parents, and the wider ACC community
Armagh Cricket Club: Your Facebook Privacy and Security Guide
A practical guide for all club members, junior parents, and the wider ACC community
Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms in the world, and for many Armagh Cricket Club members it is the primary way they follow club news, share match photos, and stay connected with the wider cricket community.
However, Facebook’s default privacy settings are historically among the most open of any major platform.
Most accounts were set up years ago - often in a hurry - and the default settings at the time shared far more information publicly than most people realised.
The platform has changed significantly since then, but those original settings often remain unchanged on older accounts.
The good news is that a ten-minute review of your Facebook privacy settings can significantly reduce your exposure. Here is everything worth checking - in plain language, with the exact steps to follow.
📋 Armagh CC Facebook Security & Privacy Checklist
🔵 Setting 1 - Turn On Two-Factor Authentication
The single most important Facebook security step - identical in principle to WhatsApp’s two-step verification.
Two-factor authentication means that even if someone gets hold of your password, they cannot log into your Facebook account without a second verification step - usually a code sent to your phone. Without it, a stolen or guessed password is all someone needs to take over your account completely.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Settings → Security and Login → Two-Factor Authentication → Edit → Get Started
Choose text message verification as your method if you want the simplest option, or use an authenticator app for stronger protection.
⚠️ Once enabled, keep your phone accessible when logging in from a new device - you will need it to verify your identity.
🔵 Setting 2 - Review Who Can See Your Posts
One of the most commonly overlooked Facebook settings - and one of the most important.
Facebook’s default audience for posts is often set to Friends, but many older accounts may still have posts set to Public - meaning anyone on the internet can read them, whether they are your friend or not. It is worth checking both your default setting for future posts and reviewing your past posts.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Settings → Privacy → Your Activity
Who can see your future posts - set this to Friends unless you have a specific reason for a wider audience
Limit the audience for old posts - this option changes all previous Public posts to Friends in one click. Worth doing if you have years of posts you have never reviewed.
⚠️ This cannot be undone individually once applied - it changes all past public posts to Friends at once.
🔵 Setting 3 - Control Who Can Find You on Facebook
Limits strangers from discovering your profile through search engines or phone number lookups.
By default, Facebook allows search engines like Google to link directly to your profile, and allows anyone who has your phone number or email address to find your account. Both of these are worth restricting.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Settings → Privacy → How People Find and Contact You
Who can send you friend requests - change to Friends of Friends
Who can look you up using your email address - change to Friends
Who can look you up using your phone number - change to Friends
Do you want search engines to link to your profile - select No
⚠️ Changing these settings will not affect existing friends or connections - only new searches.
🔵 Setting 4 - Review Your Profile Information Visibility
Check what personal information is publicly visible on your profile.
Your Facebook profile may contain your phone number, email address, date of birth, hometown, workplace, and relationship status - all of which may be visible to people outside your friends list without you realising. Each piece of information has its own audience setting.
📱 Your Profile → Edit Profile → scroll through each section and check the audience setting next to each item
For each item, consider whether it genuinely needs to be visible beyond your friends. Phone numbers and email addresses in particular are worth setting to Only Me or Friends at most.
⭐ Your date of birth is a commonly used piece of information for identity verification - worth restricting to Friends or Only Me.
🔵 Setting 5 - Manage Your Off-Facebook Activity
One of Facebook’s least-known but most significant privacy settings.
Even when you are not using Facebook, the platform tracks your activity across other websites and apps through embedded tracking tools. This information is used to build a detailed profile of your interests and behaviour for advertising purposes. The Off-Facebook Activity tool allows you to see this data and disconnect it from your account.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Settings → Your Facebook Information → Off-Facebook Activity → Manage Future Activity → Disconnect Future Activity
This does not delete the data Facebook has already collected, but it stops future off-platform activity from being linked to your account going forward.
⚠️ Disconnecting off-Facebook activity may make some ads less relevant but will not affect your ability to use Facebook normally.
🔵 Setting 6 - Review App and Website Permissions
Many apps and websites you connected to Facebook years ago may still have access to your account.
When you log into a third-party app or website using Facebook - “Log in with Facebook” - you grant that app access to certain parts of your profile. These permissions often remain active indefinitely even if you stopped using the app years ago. It is worth reviewing and removing any apps you no longer use or recognise.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Settings → Apps and Websites
Remove any app or website you do not recognise or no longer use. Pay particular attention to apps that have access to your friends list, posts, or personal information.
⚠️ Removing an app’s Facebook access does not delete your account with that app - it only disconnects it from Facebook.
🔵 Setting 7 - Turn Off Facial Recognition
A setting many people are unaware exists.
Facebook’s facial recognition feature automatically identifies you in photos uploaded by other people and suggests that you be tagged. While this can be convenient, it also means Facebook is building a detailed map of your face and its appearance across thousands of photographs. Turning it off prevents this.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Settings → Face Recognition → Do you want Facebook to be able to recognise you in photos and videos → No
⚠️ Note that this setting is being phased out in some regions as Facebook updates its systems - check whether it is still available on your account.
🔵 Setting 8 - Review Your Location Settings
Controls whether Facebook can access and store your location data.
Facebook requests access to your device’s location for features like checking in to places and finding local events. However, background location tracking goes beyond this - it can track your movements even when you are not actively using the app. This is worth restricting at both the Facebook settings level and your phone’s system settings.
📱 Within Facebook:
Settings & Privacy → Settings → Location → Location Access → set to While Using or Never
📱 On your phone:
iPhone: Settings → Facebook → Location → While Using the App
Android: Settings → Apps → Facebook → Permissions → Location → Allow only while using
⭐ Disabling background location access does not affect your ability to use Facebook normally - it simply stops the app tracking your movements when you are not actively using it.
🔵 Setting 9 - Check Your Active Sessions
See every device that is currently logged into your Facebook account.
Facebook keeps a record of every device and browser that is logged into your account. If you have ever logged in on a friend’s computer, a work device, or an old phone you no longer own, those sessions may still be active. Reviewing and ending unfamiliar sessions is a quick and important security step.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Settings → Security and Login → Where You’re Logged In
Review the list carefully. If you see any device or location you do not recognise, select it and choose Log Out. You can also select Log Out Of All Sessions to start fresh across all devices.
⚠️ This will log you out on all devices simultaneously - make sure you have your password and two-factor authentication set up before doing this.
🔵 Setting 10 - Set Up a Trusted Contact for Account Recovery
A safety net in case you ever lose access to your account.
Facebook allows you to nominate trusted contacts - friends who can help you recover your account if you are ever locked out. This is worth setting up now rather than trying to arrange it in a panic after a problem occurs.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Settings → Security and Login → Choose 3 to 5 Friends to Contact if You Get Locked Out → Edit
Choose people you trust completely and who are themselves active Facebook users.
⭐ Your trusted contacts do not have access to your account - they simply receive a recovery code on your behalf if you ever need one.
A Note on Facebook’s Privacy Checkup Tool
Facebook has its own built-in Privacy Checkup tool that walks you through several of the settings above in a simplified format. It is a useful starting point but does not cover everything in this guide - use it as a complement to the steps above rather than a replacement.
📱 Settings & Privacy → Privacy Checkup
A Final Word
Facebook can be a genuinely useful tool for staying connected with your club community - but only if your account is set up to protect you properly. Working through this checklist takes less than fifteen minutes and significantly reduces your exposure to the most common privacy and security risks on the platform.
If you have any questions about any of these settings, feel free to ask at training or get in touch through the club’s usual channels.
Stay safe online - and we’ll see you at The Mall! 🏏
Disclaimer
Please note that Facebook settings, menu locations, and available features may vary depending on your device, operating system, and the version of the Facebook app you have installed. The steps outlined in this guide are accurate at the time of publication but may change as Facebook updates its app. Armagh Cricket Club accepts no responsibility for any changes to Facebook’s settings or features that occur after publication.
This guide is provided for informational purposes only. For the most up to date security advice, visit Facebook’s official Help Centre at facebook.com/help
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Important Information - Please Read Carefully:
The training playbooks, guidance, and physical conditioning drills published within the Armagh Cricket Club Digital Academy are provided strictly for educational and informational purposes only. While all technical advice and training methodologies are compiled by qualified club coaches to support safe athletic development, participation in cricket involves inherent physical risks.
Armagh Cricket Club, its coaches, and its volunteers accept no liability for any injury, loss, or damage sustained by individuals practising these drills away from structured, official club-supervised sessions.
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By utilising these resources, you acknowledge that you are practising these training methods at your own risk.