How to avoid doxing (Facebook):

How to avoid doxing (Facebook):

Doxing is a favourite tactic of certain reactionary types (especially the ones from 4chan). They find your name, employment info, contact info, photos, family info, or anything else that they can use against you. They will post this info online, inviting other users to harass you.

Most doxing starts with your Facebook account, so it's incredibly important that you're clamping down on your settings.

Let's start with the basics. Go through your profile information.

Have you listed:
- your employment info? (this is inadvisable to have on your profile to begin with, remove it if you're able to)
- your current school?
- your actual location, or real place of origin?
- your real family members or partners?
- your birth date?
- your real name? (Facebook has a real name policy, but selecting something plausible but fake will usually trip up people reporting for fake names and fake name algorithms)
- any other information that might reliably give them any more information about where you live, what you do, or who you're related to.

This information is generally not good to have accurately on Facebook to begin with, but if you want to keep it, ensure it is visible to friends only.

Once you've done that, let's move onto the less obvious giveaways.

To check what your profile looks like to someone else, view your profile. On mobile, there will be a button allowing you to "View as". On desktop this is buried under the three dots menu next to "Activity Log". From there, it will automatically default to showing you what your profile looks like to the general public.

From here, you need to check a few sections:

1. Check ins -- if a check in is anywhere you frequently habit, or is in the vicinity of places you do, delete it.

2. Reviews -- these are public and cannot be hiddren. If they about a place you habitually frequent, near where you habitually frequent, or if you live in a small enough town that it would be easy to deduce, you want to delete it.

3. "Likes" and Groups -- if you keep scrolling, Facebook has a section to list the Pages you've liked, and Groups you've joined. Ensure that these sections are not visible to the public. If you like any location specific Pages or Groups, these can tell someone where you're located.

4. Profile & Cover Photos -- if possible, put up photos that are not easily identifiable of you. Ensure that you delete or hide previous ones from visibility.

5. Past Posts -- lots of personal information can be past posts and comments you've made. You can mass change the audience for your past posts to friends only (instructions: https://www.facebook.com/help/236898969688346/)