Communicating Safely

This resource provides some practical first steps for communicating safely online to avoid common forms of online tracking and covers actions such as signing out of accounts, turning off location sharing, reviewing privacy settings, and changing passwords.

These are general tips on keeping your devices secure. The exact steps may be different for different devices and may change over time.

On iPhones and iPads, you can usually find a setting by tapping “Settings” on the Home Screen, then swiping down to show the search bar. (For help, see https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/iph079e1fe9d/ios.

On Android devices, swipe up from the Home Screen: a search bar will appear that says “Search Your Phone and More”. Type the setting you’re looking for in the search bar.

Sign out of all accounts

You may be signed in to some apps on more than one device. Here’s how to sign out everywhere on Facebook: tap Three dots and then Settings, then “Password and Security” and then “Accounts Center”. Tap “Password and Security” and then “Where You’re Logged In”.

Now you’ll see all your Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp accounts. Tap each one to see which devices you’re logged in to, and then tap “Log Out” for each one that isn’t your phone.

Turn off location sharing in social media

This is important if you use Snapchat, which shows where you are on a map. To do that, open Snapchat and tap your profile icon. Next tap the three vertical dots at top right and scroll down to the “Who Can…” section. If you tap “See My Location” a pop-up will appear that says “Ghost Mode.” Toggle that to “On”.

On Facebook or Instagram, you can turn location off by tapping Settings > Privacy > Location Services and then tapping the Toggle next to it. Most other social networks put it in similar places within settings like “Privacy” or “Safety”.

Review privacy settings

All of your social network accounts have privacy settings, which you usually access by tapping Settings and then something like “Privacy,” “Privacy and Security” or “Audience.” Make sure that it is set to only show what you post to Friends.

Change passwords on cloud storage

If you use any cloud storage for your photos or videos, like iCloud or Google Drive, make sure that you’ve changed the password so nobody else can access it.