I’m always a bit skeptical when I hear people bitching about Facebook or offering conspiracy theories on how this “evil” company is using our information (see “You Oughta Know: Facebook and Your Copyright“) but in this case, I’m about to advocate being very vigilant about one feature.
Your Activity Log.
Ask yourself this…would you be embarrassed/bummed/freaked out if someone were able to see who and what you search for on Facebook?
I’m no Facebook stalker, but like everyone else, I’ve poked around to see what former friends and boyfriends have been up to in the years since we parted. I’ve looked for some items that, out of context, might seem a bit off (Hippie Peace Freaks, for example). I also tend to use it to jump to specific friend’s profile pages so I can message them or leave a note on their Timeline.
With Facebook’s upcoming graph search (which does have the potential to be very cool), while that information still won’t be public, it could be used to help make connections and recommendations automatically.
And that’s enough to make me clear the ol’ search log.
The Huffington Post has a good tutorial here, but it’s pretty simple.
1. Go to your profile page and look for the “Activity Log” button near the right side of the screen. Click it.
2. You’ll see a dashboard for every click, search and upload you’ve ever made (yikes). Along the left sidebar, look for the “search” option — you’ll probably have to click the “more” button that is below the section that starts with “photos.”
3. Voila! Every search you’ve made. You can delete one by one or clear all, which is what I did.
4. Do this every once in a while, because when you clear it, it only gets rid of past items and doesn’t block the activity log from recording new searches.
Note that you can do this with other activity, so if you’re concerned, you might want to do a little housekeeping.
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Whewwwie! Great tip! That is crazy creepy how much information is stored!
wow! thank you so much for this! I didn’t even know!
Wow, I had no idea! Thanks for this post….definitely just did a little clean up!
Eek! So glad you posted this. I’m no stalker (would I admit if I was?), but like you, Katy, I use FB search to quickly go to certain friends’ timelines to leave a message. Just cleared that way-too-big boy.
You are a lifesaver. That is terrible. Facebook just keeps getting creepier and creepier.
Thanks for posting this! I don’t even use facebook that much (except to post pictures of my dogs
) but I’ve definitely searched around a time or two and I’m glad that’s now cleared!
like you, I use it mostly to look up friends to get to their page quickly, to post or message them… I think that’s all I do… off to check now
Thanks for this Katy! Did it immediately after reading this.
Interesting! And I am so loving your blog right now. It looks amazing!
wow, stalker XD hehehe
Immediately cleared! Merci for the heads up!!
So glad I saw this! Question, this information is still all private though, right? No one can see it unless they are logged into your account?
Yup, it’s private — but the info is used for making connections with the new open graph. So, let’s say you searched 100 times for Billy Bob. When FB is looking to connect you with new people or with pages, it will assume that you’re interested in Billy Bob and might make some embarrassing recommendations
Got it, thanks!
Great post, Katy! We sometimes search people for our outdoor trips with young adult cancer survivors to get a feel for them during our “interview” process before the trips (I’m sure they do it to us!); good to know and I just told my husband – searches, cleared! (glad to see the ex-boyfriend didn’t show up on there much! lol)
so good to know- just did it
oh dear lord. thank you, thank you, thank you.
Love the new blog look! Thanks for the heads up about Facebook!
Don’t freak out. You can set yours to private and only you can see it.
Well, I personally wouldn’t be embarassed if people saw what I searched for on Facebook but I think the real issue here is about privacy. I do want my privacy respected and secure on Facebook. Good alert too.
Wow I had no idea!
Eek. I saw a notice go out about this but didn’t really pay it any attention. Cleaned up!
just cleared it…thanks for sharing!!
OMG I didnt see the button you were talking about but I went into privacy settings and found it that way. EEEKK! the problem is…. I don’t have a delete or clear button at all
How do I clear it?
Let me make sure you’re taking these steps, because I’m not sure why you’re not seeing the button.
1) use Facebook as your personal account, not a page
2) go to your profile page and click the “Activity Log” button (it’s to the right of “update profile,” above your photos and other apps
3) on the left, find the “search” link — you will probably have to click the “more” button under photos, likes, comments
Once you click the search button, you should a “clear searches” link at the top/right.
I don’t think you’ll have the same success going through your privacy settings, so I hope this helps!
Wow, I had no idea! Good to know. I don’t get why EVERYTHING has to save all your searches. I guess they want that information, but I wish we as users didn’t have access to it.
EEK!! This is scary stuff. I’m not so sure this clearing the search helps though! :’( I have been periodically stalking the FB page of a guy I like, and he has only met me a couple of times and probably doesn’t even know my name. HOWEVER, he (well, his profile pic) started popping up every time I started a new search. Naturally I was horrified by this, due to the terrible thought “what if I am now popping up in his searches?”. In blind panic I searched for info and advice and was found my way here. Cleared all of my searches (took at least a minute!) and did a little test. He is STILL popping up whenever I start a new search with the first letter of his name!! HEEEEEEELP!!! I am worried to ever cross paths with him again – the shame!!! :’( x
Seriously, I know…there are a few old boyfriends that I like to keep tabs on and I’d be mortified if they found out.
Try clearing your browser cache and searches — chances are, it’s just Chrome/Firefox/Safari/whatever keeping a record of your search, not Facebook.
Thank you so much Katy for posting this really useful information. I followed your instructions on this and it worked I will continue to do this on a regular basis. Thank you again for sharing this information!!