Whether you like spending time on Facebook or merely achieve this out of obligation, there are many methods to make the expertise extra tolerable.

I’ve been spending a bit extra time on the positioning these days, having been roped right into a handful of Facebook Groups that I have to maintain tabs on. As such, I’ve additionally dug into Facebook’s labyrinthine settings menu, searching for methods to guard privateness, lock down profile entry, and usually make the positioning really feel much less obnoxious.

Below are the 11 fast modifications that I ended up making, and that I like to recommend for anybody who spends time on Facebook as nicely:

Finding Facebook settings

Most of the tweaks under reside inside Facebook’s important settings menu, so right here’s a fast refresher on get there:

• In the cell app: Tap the “More” tab, then faucet the gear icon on the prime of the display screen.
• On the net: Click the down arrow within the top-right nook, then choose Settings & privateness > Settings.

I’ll simply refer to those menus as “Facebook Settings” from right here on.

Eliminate annoyances

Jared Newman / Foundry

Turn off exterior notifications: Head to Facebook Settings > Notifications, and also you’ll discover a record of controls so granular that I can solely assume Facebook desires to scare individuals away.

I’d counsel scrolling proper previous these settings to the “Where you’ll receive notifications” part. For each the Email and SMS choices, choose “Required notifications,” and also you gained’t get any texts or emails about standing updates, feedback, and the like. Then, you may scroll again up and play with the choices for in-app notifications (although I want to disable all these alerts in my cellphone’s settings menu).

No extra video nags: In a shameless try and juice its viewership numbers, Facebook places slightly dot above its video tab even when it has nothing vital to share. To conceal the dot, head to Settings > Navigation bar > Manage notification dots, then uncheck “Videos.”

Customize the menu bar: Alternatively, you may conceal movies and different undesirable tabs by heading to Facebook Settings > Shortcuts > Navigation bar within the cell app. Select “Pin” for the sections you care about and “Hide” for those you don’t.

Disable autoplay: To additional scale back video-related annoyances, flip off autoplay by heading to Facebook Settings > Media, then choosing “Never Autoplay Videos.” On the net, head to Settings > Videos, then change “Auto-Play Videos” to “Off.”

Protect your privateness

Jared Newman / Foundry

Stop creepy information assortment: By default, Facebook collects all types of information from the apps you employ, web sites you go to, and companies you patronize, all for ad-targeting functions. If you’ve ever felt like Facebook is recording your actual life conversations, this widespread tracking is probably why.

To cease it, head to the “Off-Facebook Activity” web page (within the cell app, you’ll discover this beneath Facebook Settings > Off-Facebook exercise), then, observe these two steps:

• Select “Clear History” or “Clear Previous Activity.”
• Select “Disconnect future activity,” then ensure “Future Off-Facebook Activity” is unchecked.

You might be logged out of any web sites the place you employ the “Sign in with Facebook” choice, however I’d counsel utilizing different sign-in strategies anyway to additional reduce what Facebook is aware of about you.

Disable autofill: If you faucet on an internet hyperlink within the Facebook cell app, it may gather any kind information you enter—resembling emails or addresses—for focused adverts. To disable this, head to Facebook Settings > Browser, then hit “Clear” on the prime and uncheck the “Autofill” toggles beneath.

Delete your cellphone quantity: Facebook can use your phone number for targeted ads even when you solely offered it for account safety functions. Assuming you’ve set up a different two-factor authentication method, think about deleting your quantity from Facebook by heading to Facebook Settings > Accounts Center > Personal Details > Contact Info. Select your quantity, then hit “Delete number.”

Control who sees what

Jared Newman / Foundry

Restrict your posts: Want to stop sure connections from seeing a few of your posts? Here’s my most well-liked technique:

• On Facebook’s web site, go to your Friends record, choose “Custom Lists,” then “Create List.” Give it a reputation, like “Work Colleagues” or “Barely Know.”
• Click the “Add Friends” button, then select who you need to exclude.
• When posting, click on the drop-down menu beneath your identify, then choose “Friends except…” Select your newly-created created record, and hit “Save Changes.” All future posts will now be hidden from individuals on that record except you modify this setting later.

Clean up previous posts: In Facebook Settings, hit “Privacy Checkup” on the prime, then choose “Who Can See What You Share.” From right here you may management who has entry to your profile information and future posts, however it’s also possible to prohibit previous posts to simply your mates with the “Limit past posts” perform.

Don’t do free advertising: To stop associates from seeing that you just’ve “liked” a model in Facebook adverts, head again to the “Privacy Checkup” part and choose “Your ad preferences on Facebook.” On the final web page of this part, select “Only me” from the drop-down.

Hide your standing: To cease associates from seeing while you’re lively on Facebook, open the cell app and head to Settings > Active standing, then uncheck “Show when you’re active.” (On the net, you’ll discover this feature by clicking the Messenger icon, choosing the “…” button, and clicking “Active Status.” Just be aware when that is disabled, you gained’t be capable of see associates’ statuses both.

While these settings tweaks gained’t make Facebook drastically extra pleasant to make use of, they do not less than make it really feel considerably calmer and fewer privacy-invasive.

This story first appeared in Advisorator, Jared’s weekly tech recommendation e-newsletter. Sign up to get new ideas each Tuesday.