Quick Facebook Security Tip – Hide Your Friends List

In another Hoax-Slayer report, I discuss Facebook cloning in some detail and outline tips you can implement to help protect yourself from this type of scam. To clarify, Facebook cloning describes a technique in which scammers create a fake Facebook profile by using images and other information stolen from a targeted user’s real Facebook profile. Once the scammers have created a fake profile, they can send friend requests to people on the targeted person’s friends list.

One of the tips I include in this cloning scam report – hiding your friends list – is especially important and is thus worth highlighting in a separate article.

If clone scammers cannot see who you are friends with, they will not be able to send out fake invites to your friends. So, hiding your friends list can certainly help to thwart these scammers.

Report continued below…

Moreover, cloning scams aside, hiding your friends list is advisable for both security and privacy reasons. Certainly, you do not want strangers to be able to view who you are friends with. People intent on gathering information about you may make assumptions about you based purely on who you associate with on Facebook. They may be able to fill in gaps and discover new sources of information about you by examining your list of Facebook friends.

So, if you have not already done so, it is worth taking the time to hide your friends list. Don’t worry. It’s quick and easy!

[Please note that these instructions describe accessing Facebook from a computer web browser. If you are using Facebook on a mobile device or via an app, you may need to use a different method to access your friends list settings.]

To hide your friends list, open your profile and click on the “Friends” tab. Then, click the pencil icon on the right side and click “Edit Privacy”:

In the “Who can see your friends list?” section, select “Only me” in the drop down list:

That’s it! Making this change only takes a few seconds now, but it could well save you from becoming a Facebook cloning victim and should enhance your overall privacy and security.