Privacy checkup: control who sees you on social media
Every app hides its privacy settings in a different place. Pick the apps you use and, if you like, what you want to keep private, and get one checklist: who sees your posts, who can message or find you, tags, online status, location and ads. It covers 14 apps and saves your progress, and nothing connects to your accounts.
- Never connects to your accounts or sees your settings.
- Your ticks are saved only in this browser.
- Every step links to our guide, based on each app’s own help pages and screens.
What each setting does
- Choose who sees what you post. Most apps let you pick an audience for posts, stories or likes. Our tip: set a default you’re comfortable with, so you don’t have to remember each time.
- Make your profile private or locked. A private or locked profile keeps most of your posts to people you approve.
- Know what stays public anyway. Even on a private account, some things (often your name, photo or username) can still be seen. Knowing them helps you choose what to put there.
- Choose who can message or add you. Limit messages, requests and invites from people you don’t know.
- Control who can find you. Stop the app suggesting you to others, hide your phone number, or stop people finding you by your number, email, username or a search engine.
- Control tags, mentions, comments and remixes. Decide who can tag or mention you, comment on your posts, or reuse your videos, and review tags before they show.
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message. Turn off online status, last seen or read receipts. On most of these apps, turning yours off also hides other people’s from you.
- Keep your location private. Stop sharing where you are on maps or in your posts.
- Lock the app or your chats on your phone. A passcode, fingerprint or face lock helps if someone else picks up your phone.
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI. Turn off ads based on your activity where the app allows it (you’ll still see ads, just less tailored ones), or opt out of or object to your information being used for AI.
- Clear your history or download your data. Delete watch or search history, set it to delete automatically, or see what the app keeps about you.
- Know how to block or restrict someone. Blocking, restricting and muting are quick ways to cut off one person without changing everything else.
Our note: privacy settings change what people can see in the app, but anyone who can see something can still screenshot or share it. If someone is threatening or harassing you, use the app’s report tools and see our guides on blocking and reporting.
Privacy settings by app: 93 steps across 14 apps
Each checkmark links to the step in our guide. A dash means we haven’t covered that setting for the app yet, not that it doesn’t exist. The steps come from 53 of our guides.
| App | Audience | Private profile | Still public | Who can contact | Who can find you | Tags & comments | Online status | Location | App lock | Ads & AI | History & data | Block |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | ||||||||||
| – | – | – | ||||||||||
| TikTok | – | – | ||||||||||
| YouTube | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| X (Twitter) | – | – | ||||||||||
| – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| Messenger | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||
| Snapchat | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Discord | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| Twitch | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Telegram | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| – | – | – | – | – |
Updated automatically when our guides change. You’re welcome to cite this table with a link to this page.
Every app’s steps
Facebook (12 steps)
Profile lock is only offered in some countries. If you don’t see it, set your post audience instead (the first two steps). Objecting to Meta’s use of your information for AI is a request to Meta, not a setting. Meta’s objections help page describes the right to object under the GDPR for people in the EU and UK, and doesn’t say how it applies elsewhere.
- Choose who sees what you post: Set a default audience for future posts (Who can see my posts)
- Choose who sees what you post: Make all your past posts Friends-only (Limit Past Posts) (Who can see my posts)
- Make your profile private or locked: Lock your profile (Lock your profile)
- Know what stays public anyway: Control what’s on your profile (Who can see my posts)
- Control who can find you: Stop Facebook suggesting you by your phone number or email (People You May Know)
- Choose who can message or add you: No Add Friend button? Check the friends-of-friends setting (Can’t add a friend)
- Clear your history or download your data: Delete your Facebook search history (Search not finding someone)
- Control tags, mentions, comments and remixes: Review posts you’re tagged in before they show on your profile (Can’t tag someone)
- Control tags, mentions, comments and remixes: Approve tags people add to your own posts (tag review) (Can’t tag someone)
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI: Object to Meta using your information for its AI (Turn off Meta AI)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Add someone to your Restricted list (Restricted list and friend lists)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block from their profile or Page (Block someone on Facebook)
Instagram (10 steps)
- Make your profile private or locked: Make your Instagram account private (Private account)
- Know what stays public anyway: What stays visible even when you’re private (Private account)
- Choose who sees what you post: Choose who can see the posts you like (Hide likes and sensitive content)
- Control who can find you: Stop your profile appearing in suggestions on other profiles (Private account)
- Control tags, mentions, comments and remixes: Control who can tag or @mention you (Instagram scams and reporting)
- Choose who can message or add you: Choose who can send you message requests (Instagram messages not sending)
- Choose who sees what you post: Add or remove people from Close Friends (Instagram story not uploading)
- Clear your history or download your data: Before deleting: export your information (Delete or deactivate Instagram)
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message: Hide when you’re online: Activity Status (Private account)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Restrict someone (quieter than blocking) (Instagram scams and reporting)
TikTok (11 steps)
- Make your profile private or locked: Make your TikTok account private (or public) (Privacy settings)
- Know what stays public anyway: What’s always visible, even on a private account (Privacy settings)
- Choose who sees what you post: Hide your liked videos and following list (Privacy settings)
- Control who can find you: Stop TikTok suggesting your account to contacts (Privacy settings)
- Control tags, mentions, comments and remixes: Choose who can comment, or turn comments off (Comments not working)
- Control tags, mentions, comments and remixes: Stop Duets and Stitches, or remove Duets of your video (Privacy settings)
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message: Activity Status: the green dot and “last active” (Privacy settings)
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI: Stop ads based on what you do outside TikTok (Privacy settings)
- Choose who can message or add you: Not receiving messages? (Messages not working)
- Keep your location private: The Nearby (Local) feed: missing, wrong region, or keeping your posts out (Privacy settings)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block, unblock and find your blocked list (Privacy settings)
YouTube (4 steps)
Your YouTube watch history is managed in your Google Account; these steps cover history and blocking.
- Clear your history or download your data: Turn watch history on (or off) (Watch history)
- Clear your history or download your data: Delete watch history (Watch history)
- Clear your history or download your data: Set history to delete automatically (Watch history)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block (or unblock) a channel (Report or block on YouTube)
X (Twitter) (11 steps)
- Make your profile private or locked: Turn protected posts on or off (Protected (private) posts)
- Know what stays public anyway: What changes when you protect your posts (Protected (private) posts)
- Control who can find you: Can people see my email or phone, or find me with them? (Change or confirm email)
- Keep your location private: Turn precise location on or off (Profile photo not uploading)
- Choose who can message or add you: Stop strangers messaging you (DMs not working)
- Control tags, mentions, comments and remixes: Control what others see about you (Mute, block and filters)
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message: Read receipts (“seen”) (DMs not working)
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI: Turn off personalized ads (Profile photo not uploading)
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI: Opt out of Grok training (Grok privacy and settings)
- Clear your history or download your data: Request and download your archive (Download your archive)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block an account (Mute, block and filters)
WhatsApp (7 steps)
- Know what stays public anyway: What you can’t hide (Privacy settings)
- Choose who can message or add you: Change who sees your last seen, online, photo, about or status, or who can add you to groups (Privacy settings)
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message: Turn off read receipts (blue ticks) (Privacy settings)
- Choose who can message or add you: Getting lots of messages from unknown numbers? (Block and report)
- Lock the app or your chats on your phone: Chat lock: hide and lock chats (and a chat that’s “disappeared”) (Privacy settings)
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI: Ads in WhatsApp, and your ads report (Privacy settings)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block a contact, unknown number or business (Block and report)
Messenger (8 steps)
Messenger uses your Facebook account: blocking someone’s profile on Facebook also blocks them here, and your Messenger story shows on Facebook too. Active status is separate, so turn it off in each app.
- Choose who can message or add you: Choose who can message you (Message requests)
- Choose who sees what you post: Who can see your Messenger story (Privacy settings)
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message: Turn off your active status (Privacy settings)
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message: Stop someone seeing when you’ve read their messages (Privacy settings)
- Lock the app or your chats on your phone: Lock Messenger with Face ID or a fingerprint (Privacy settings)
- Clear your history or download your data: Clear your Messenger search history (Privacy settings)
- Clear your history or download your data: Export a copy to your device (Messenger app) (Download your data)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block someone on Messenger (Block someone)
Snapchat (8 steps)
- Choose who can message or add you: Choose who can contact you (Privacy settings & ads)
- Choose who sees what you post: Choose who can view your Story (Privacy settings & ads)
- Keep your location private: Turn on Ghost Mode (Snap Map and Ghost Mode)
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message: The green dot on friends’ avatars (and hiding yours) (Privacy settings & ads)
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI: Control how ads are targeted (Privacy settings & ads)
- Control who can find you: Where did Quick Add go? It’s now Find Friends (Add friends)
- Clear your history or download your data: Request your data from My Data (Download my data)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block a friend in the Snapchat app (Block someone)
LinkedIn (4 steps)
- Choose who sees what you post: Turn Open to Work on, change who sees it, or turn it off (Easy Apply & Open to Work)
- Choose who sees what you post: Who can see your profile photo (Profile & cover photo)
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI: Turn off personalized ads (Ad settings)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block or unblock someone (Block & report)
Discord (3 steps)
- Choose who can message or add you: Your own DM and friend request settings (DM not going through)
- Choose who can message or add you: Choose who can send you friend requests (Friend request failed)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block someone (Report or block someone)
Reddit (2 steps)
- Know what stays public anyway: Why moderators can still see your full history (Profile settings and privacy)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block someone (Block, unblock or report)
Twitch (1 step)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Blocking someone (Banned from a channel or blocking)
Telegram (5 steps)
Only Telegram Premium users can limit who starts new chats. For everyone else, hiding your phone number and not setting a public username are the main controls.
- Control who can find you: Choose who sees your phone number (Privacy settings)
- Control who can find you: Delete your username (Usernames)
- Hide when you’re online or have read a message: Hide your last seen and online status (Privacy settings)
- Choose who can message or add you: Who can message you (Privacy settings)
- Lock the app or your chats on your phone: Lock Telegram on a shared device (Privacy settings)
Pinterest (7 steps)
- Make your profile private or locked: Make your profile private (Privacy settings)
- Choose who sees what you post: Make a board private (Privacy settings)
- Control who can find you: Keep your profile out of Google and other search engines (Privacy settings)
- Limit how your data is used for ads and AI: Ads personalization and data settings (Privacy settings)
- Clear your history or download your data: Download, edit or delete your Pinterest data (Privacy settings)
- Choose who can message or add you: Choose who can message you (Messages)
- Know how to block or restrict someone: Block someone (Report or block someone)
Questions about the privacy checkup
Does the checkup look at my accounts or settings?
No. It never connects to any app and can’t see your settings. It only builds a checklist from the apps and goals you pick. Your ticks are saved only in your browser, and the apps and goals you pick appear in the page address so you can bookmark the list.
If I make my account private, is everything hidden?
No. Many apps keep a few things visible to everyone even on a private or locked account, such as your name, profile photo or username (on WhatsApp, your phone number). Where we cover it, the app’s “Know what stays public anyway” step lists what that app says stays visible.
Will people know if I block, restrict or mute them?
Most apps we cover say the person isn’t notified, but they may still be able to tell. For example, X says a blocked account sees it’s blocked if it visits your profile. Each “Know how to block or restrict someone” step links to our guide, which explains what the other person can still see on that app.
What’s the difference between this and the Security Checkup?
The Security Checkup keeps other people out of your account (two-factor, passkeys, logged-in devices). This Privacy Checkup helps you set what people can see about you, who can reach you, and how apps use your data.
Is this Facebook’s, WhatsApp’s or Google’s Privacy Checkup?
No. It’s our own checklist that links to each app’s settings. Facebook and WhatsApp also have a built-in privacy checkup in their settings.
Why doesn’t every app have every goal?
We only list settings our guides explain from each app’s own help pages and screens. A dash in the table means we haven’t covered that setting for the app yet, not that the app doesn’t have it.
Maintained by Michael Michael. See our editorial policy.
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