Posted on / by GEO HITS

How to hide your phone number on Facebook (and why you need to do so immediately)

Facebook encourages users to add their phone numbers for security, but actually doing so makes them more vulnerable. Here’s how to hide your phone number on Facebook – and why you should do so immediately.

Have you added your phone number to your Facebook account? If the answer to that question is yes, did you know that anyone can find out information about you simply by typing your phone number into Google? They don’t even need to know it’s your phone number – they can just enter a string of digits and the results returned will be your data on a plate.

When you first create a Facebook account or when you upload pictures or videos from your phone, Facebook will usually prompt you to add your phone number. Your phone number can also be used for additional security, such as to prevent others from entering your account.

However, if you don’t customise your privacy settings, anyone can type your number into a search engine and then collect information about you that might seem harmless (such as your profile picture, name, job title, location etc), but when combined with other snippets can build up a picture of you that is easy for them to sell on or otherwise benefit from.

You don’t have to provide your phone number at all, but if that advice comes too late, and you’ve already submitted your number, don’t worry. There are still steps you can take to protect your data on Facebook.

Here we tell you step-by-step how to hide your phone number on Facebook. Follow our easy guide to prevent those nosey parkers from getting hold of information about you.

How to hide your phone number on Facebook

1. Log into your Facebook account and click on the down arrow that appears at the top right of the page on the blue bar   facebook_1

 

2. Scroll down to and select the Settings option.

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3. Select the Privacy menu from the lefthand pane.

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4. In the ‘Who can find me’ section, select ‘Who can find you using the phone number you provided?’

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5. Here there are two options. The first lets you choose who can find your mobile number.

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6. The second refers to whether search engines are allowed to link to your Timeline.

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7. If you want to hide your phone number on Facebook, make sure the option to ‘Allow other search engines to defer to your Timeline’ is disabled.

8. Validate your choice by clicking on ‘Confirm’.

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Source: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/social-networks/how-to-hide-phone-number-facebook-3623122/

 

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