Facebook

Created by Michelle for OLLI@WVU 1

Facebook

User Tracking .................................................... 1

Unique Identifiers ............................................. 1

Web Cookies ..................................................... 2

Privacy .............................................................. 2

Facebook Controversies ................................... 2

World-Wide Election Meddling ....................... 3

Cambridge Analytica (2014-2018) ................... 4

Anti-Trust? ....................................................... 4

Censorship ........................................................ 5

Public Discourse and Mental Health ............... 6

And Yet… .......................................................... 6

Making Your Facebook Use More Secure ........ 7

Using Facebook ................................................ 8

Posts .................................................................. 8

News Feed ......................................................... 8

Facebook Settings ............................................. 9

Notifications ................................................... 10

How to Delete Facebook .................................. 11

Facebook Website ............................................ 12

News Feed (Browser) ...................................... 12

News Feed Preferences (Browser) .................. 12

Writing Posts (Browser) ................................. 14

Editing Posts (Browser) .................................. 14

Settings (Browser) ........................................... 15

Apps within Facebook (Browser) ................... 20

Messenger (Browser) ...................................... 20

Facebook App on Android .............................. 23

News Feed (Android)...................................... 24

Posts (Android) ............................................... 26

Facebook App on iOS ..................................... 28

News Feed (iOS) ............................................. 29

Posts (iOS) ...................................................... 29

Facebook Settings (iOS) ................................. 30

Location Settings (iOS) .................................. 30

Web Browsers ................................................. 32

Web Browser Add-Ons ................................... 32

Phone Apps ..................................................... 32

Emoticons ....................................................... 33

Acronyms ........................................................ 34

Technology Glossary ....................................... 35

References ....................................................... 48

Index ................................................................ 51

Jump directly to the section on Using Facebook

User Tracking

You’ve probably noticed that when you shop for something on one website, ads in Facebook

immediately appear for whatever it is you were just looking for. This is not a coincidence but it’s not

black magic either. In short, it comes down to primarily two things (there are others, but these are the

important ones): unique identifiers and web cookies.

Unique Identifiers

If you want to understand how to make your online presence more secure and more private, you need

to understand the basics of how companies collect and collate your data in the first place.

When you log into Facebook, your login credentials require your email address. This email address is

your unique identifier.

How do companies use this to collect information? Because this email address is associated only with

you, every time this email address appears in an advertiser database, it can be directly linked to your

Facebook account. So if you use the same email address for everything, all data you have shared with

each of those companies could become aggregated into a single file.

Just how important are these unique identifiers to Facebooks business model? When Apple rolled out

its iOS with App Tracking Transparency in 2021, Facebook estimated that change would cause

Facebook to lose around $10 billion dollars.

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Web Cookies

In electronic terms, cookies are not a delicious baked good, but are instead bits of code that hold

information about what you are doing. Cookies are what allow you to place an item in your online

shopping cart, browse around for other items, and then purchase all those items at one time. Without

cookies, the web would not be particularly interactive, because your information could not be saved

from one page view to another.

Unfortunately, cookies can be used by “third parties” to track what you are doing, and Facebook does

a lot of this. If you see a Facebook “Like and Share” button on a web page, then Facebook is collecting

information about what you are doing on that page.

Facebook collects this information whether you have a Facebook account or not.

Facebook collates and uses this information whether you have a Facebook account or not.

Privacy

In 2022, Facebook turned over Messenger chat records to the Nebraska police after being served with

a warrant.

Apps Sharing Personal Data ( - 2019)

• Apps shared data with Facebook, including private health information like women’s periods

and pregnancy attempts.

• Apps shared this data with Facebook even if the user DID NOT have a FB account.

Facebook Controversies

Facebook requires that users be who they say they are, which theoretically allows the company to

remove suspicious users and fake accounts, however, that has not stemmed the tide of fake news,

violence, fake accounts, and hate speech that has been one of the more controversial aspects of the

site.

Many major controversies stem from privacy and issues and concerns and scandals, where Facebook

has made the supposedly private data of users available to advertisers and analysts.

Scams

• Scam ads

• Hidden statistics about people viewing your profile

• Look at this embarrassing video of you!

• Shocking news & headlines

Retaining users’ deleted videos (2018)

Even if a user deleted their video, that content still remained on Facebook’s servers.

Data-Breaches 2018-2021

A data breach is when protected information is accessed by unauthorized parties. This can come from

a bad actor breaking into a database, or from a security failure, such as a website failing to protect and

encrypt data tables.

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• June 2013: personal data of 6 million users (1%) exposed

• May 2018: private posts of 14 million users (1%) made public

• September 2018: attackers gained access to 50-90 million user (2-4%) accounts

• March 2019: 600 million (25%) passwords saved in plaintext

• April 2019: 540 million (22%) records found on a public server

• April 2019: Facebook harvested email contacts of 1.5 million new users

• September 2019: 419 million (17%) user ID, phone number full name, gender, location found

on an exposed server

• December 2019: 309 million (12%) phone numbers, names, user IDs found on an exposed

server

• April 2020: 267 million profiles sold on the dark web for $540 (five hundred and forty dollars).

• April 2021: 533 million profiles (19%) names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays etc from

users in 106 countries were posted for free on a forum.

(%) the percent of all active Facebook users affected

Scraping Public Profiles

At one point this data could have included: email address, phone number, location, attended events,

liked pages, groups, photos, and all public comments and posts. This data can then be linked to all

other kinds of public records (ie voter records) as well as behavior on other websites.

Even if a person leaves social media—or never joins—the posts of their friends give “potential

predictive accuracy” of 95% of their future activity.

World-Wide Election Meddling

In 2020, low-level data scientist Sophie Zhang turned down a $64k severance package requiring an

NDA to write an 8,000-word exit memo when she left Facebook. In it she gave evidence of how

Facebook has made election interference both common and easy, and how Facebook ignored the

problem.

Rohingya (2018-2019)

Incitement of genocide against Rohingya in Myanmar (2018) resulting in the murder of over 24,000

Rohingya and the creation of over 700,000 refugees in Bangladesh.

In Myanmar, the Facebook app was so popular, people used Facebook and internet interchangeably.

India (2019-2021)

An anonymous Facebook employee created a test account to follow groups and pages in India that

were promoted by the platform (and only those groups and pages). In less than three weeks their feed

was swamped with hate speech and viral content, including violence and gore (such as a beheaded

man). Additionally, both Facebook and WhatsApp were accused of helping to spread hate speech and

fake news, including posts that led to a riot that killed 53 people.

Russian Meddling

Russians created thousands of social media accounts pretending to be Americans, paid for Facebook

ads during the 2016 campaign that reached 126 million FB users. These ads were not just pro-Trump

and anti-Clinton, but aimed at manipulating Democratic voters as well, with campaigns to skip voting

or use bogus voting methods. See also: Cambridge Analytica.

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Cambridge Analytica (2014-2018)

Readers took a “personality” survey through a downloaded app, which also scraped data from their

profile AND the profiles of their friends. Only 270k users took the survey and consented to data

harvesting, however Cambridge Analytica collected data on over 50 MILLION users.

• 2016 US Election (Trump, Cruz)

• Brexit Vote

• 2018 Mexican General Election (IDP)

We also got access to census data. Unlike developing nations with less stringent privacy controls, the U.S.

government won’t provide raw data on specific individuals, but you can get information, down to the county

or neighborhood level, on crime, obesity, and illnesses such as diabetes and asthma. A census block

typically contains six hundred to three thousand people, which means that by combining many sources of

data, we could build models that infer those attributes about individuals. For example, by referencing risk or

protective factors for diabetes, such as age, race, location, income, interest in health food, restaurant

preference, gym membership, and past use of weight-loss products (all of which are available in most U.S.

consumer files), we could match that data against aggregated statistics about a locality’s diabetes rates.

We could then create a score for each person in a given neighborhood measuring the likelihood that they

had a health issue like diabetes—even if the census or consumer file never directly provided that data on

its own.

-- Wylie, Christopher. Mindf*ck (2019)

Anti-Trust?

Facebook (like most other tech companies) has a record of gobbling up smaller companies. However,

it is documented that Facebook acquired many of these smaller companies because they saw them as

competition.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, owns the following companies:

Facebook

Giphy

Instagram

Messenger

Oculus VR

Threadsy

Onavo

CTRL-labs

It also owns a number of companies you have never heard of, such as those for created for marketing,

advertising, mobile, and many many more.

Theoretically, these purchases could be seen as allowing Facebook to create a better product, however,

there are two important things to note.

First, in a pending case filed in 2021, the FTC alleged:

“Facebook’s actions have suppressed innovation and product quality improvements. And they have

degraded the social network experience, subjecting users to lower levels of privacy and data

protections and more intrusive ads. The FTC’s action today seeks to put an end to this illegal activity

and restore competition for the benefit of Americans and honest businesses alike.”

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This case is still ongoing.

Second, some of this can be glimpsed in actions taken by Facebook after acquisition, when the

company took actions that were often in direct opposition to stated goals of the founders.

Advertising isn't just the disruption of aesthetics, the insults to your intelligence and the interruption of

your train of thought. At every company that sells ads, a significant portion of their engineering team

spends their day tuning data mining, writing better code to collect all your personal data, upgrading the

servers that hold all the data and making sure it's all being logged and collated and sliced and

packaged and shipped out... And at the end of the day the result of it all is a slightly different advertising

banner in your browser or on your mobile screen.

Remember, when advertising is involved you the user are the product.

-- WhatsApp Blog, 2012

A re-share button would give Instagram less power to demonstrate model behavior; everyone would

just be focused on going viral.

…

The founders thought it would violate the expectations you had when you followed someone. You

followed them because you wanted to see what they saw and experienced and created. Not someone

else.

-- Sarah Frier No Filter (2020)

Censorship

Censorship is defined as “a system in which an authority limits the ideas that people are allowed to

express and prevents books, movies, works of art, documents, or other kinds of communication from

being seen or made available to the public, because they include or support certain ideas”

It is important to note that censorship is illegal only when the government engages in it.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise

thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to

assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

– The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Categories of speech that fall outside protection are:

• hate speech

• child pornography

• defamation / slander

• incitement to violence

• true threats of violence.

Individuals and non-governmental groups (which includes social media sites such as Facebook) are

entirely within their rights to remove any content they want.

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The problem with Facebook’s content moderation is that it is uneven and frequently biased. There are

a variety of reasons for this, including (but not limited to):

• Community moderators are generally outsourced to other countries

• Automatic bans certain types of pictures, such as breasts, even of those pictures are historical

artwork or medical posts

Additionally, problems are caused by Facebooks algorithm which populates news feed. This algorithm

promotes content that gains attention (likes, shares, and comments) rather than content based upon

your interests.

• Elites are regularly exempt from content moderation by the sites “cross check” or XCheck,

which at one point exempted 5.8 million users

• Activists are often suspended for pointing out hate speech and racism

Is Facebook now a quasi-public space? Chuck Johnson lost a similar case against Twitter in 2018.

Public Discourse and Mental Health

In 2021, whistleblower Frances Haugen released copies of confidential documents, showing that

Facebook hid the harms it knew the site was causing, instead focusing on growth rather than

safeguarding its users.

How does this work?

A post that receives high “engagement” (likes, shares, and comments) is promoted in user feeds, and

research found the posts that have the most engagement are negative ones—posts that are “hateful,

divisive and polarising.”

Facebook made a heralded change to its algorithm in 2018 designed to improve its platform—and

arrest signs of declining user engagement. Mr. Zuckerberg declared his aim was to strengthen bonds

between users and improve their well-being by fostering interactions between friends and family. Within

the company, the documents show, staffers warned the change was having the opposite effect. It was

making Facebook, and those who used it, angrier. Mr. Zuckerberg resisted some fixes proposed by his

team, the documents show, because he worried they would lead people to interact with Facebook less.

-- The Wall Street Journal (2021) The Facebook Files

Emotional Manipulation

A 2014 study published in the PNAS found that user responded to the tone and emotion of posts they

saw in the Facebook News Feed. When the feed was manipulated to show more positive items, users

responded with more positive posts of their own. When the feed was manipulated to display negative

items, users were more likely to post their own more negative content.

And Yet…

Despite these issues, Facebook does have the potential to be a force for good, allowing people to

remain in contact across distances in a manner that was unimaginable a half century ago. It has also

been useful in emergencies, allowing affected individuals to “check in” and let friends and family

know they are safe, which could help to reduce some of the burden on phone lines and cell towers

during such times.

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Making Your Facebook Use More Secure

Here are the top things you can do to make using Facebook safer:

• Do NOT use the Facebook app on your phone. Use a web browser on your phone instead.

• Do NOT use the Facebook Messenger app on your phone.

• Install a browser on your computer / device that you ONLY use for Facebook.

• Go through all your Facebook privacy settings.

• Do NOT use Facebook to log into other websites; create unique login credentials for every site.

• Regularly remove third-party apps permissions.

• Use privacy and security add-ons to restrict access to your browsing history.

• Create and use an email account that is unique for Facebook.

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Using Facebook

Facebook looks (and sometimes works) differently, depending upon whether you are using a

computer or a mobile device. And the Facebook app does not look the same on iOS devices as it does

on Android devices.

The rest of the document is divided into parts: Facebook on a computer, the Facebook app on an

Android device, and the Facebook app on an iOS (apple) device.

At the end of the document are and references to help you translate a little bit of what you’ll see

online.

Posts

There are typically two ways you can post to your timeline: writing a post, or sharing a post from

another person or group. When you create or share something on your timeline / wall, that post is

displayed on your wall.

Anything you post on your wall—even something you are sharing from someone else’s wall, gets its

own comment section on your wall. This means that comments you make on posts on other people’s

walls will not appear on your wall.

Public vs Friends vs Groups

Your posts can have four levels of accessibility: public, friends, specific friends, and only me.

Public

Friends

Selected Friends

Only Me

Posting something to the public means that anyone in the world who access Facebook can see what

you posted. Friends means that the post will be visible to everyone in your friends list. Selected

Friends posts are displayed to a group or a handful of friends. Only Me is precisely what it sounds like.

If you change the post visibility when you are creating the post, that setting will “stick” and be the

setting for all posts going forward. You do have the ability to change the visibility of a post after it has

been created, and in usually this is easier than trying to remember to change the visibility the next

time you post.

News Feed

Your News Feed displays posts from family and friends as well as groups and businesses you have

liked and/or followed. The News Feed is the main part of Facebook—it’s what you see when you first

log into the website.

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You have two options to make minor modifications to this. One is to hide posts by specific groups or

individuals, and the other is to toggle see first for specific pages or individuals.

Hiding Posts

Hide post

Hide this specific post from your wall / news feed. This is good if you want to ignore a single,

specific post.

Snooze for 30 days

Hide posts from this person for a month. This is something that is useful in the month before an

election.

Hide all from / Unfollow

This allows you to stop seeing posts from someone, but still remain friends with them; you can see

their posts by going to their wall.

Facebook Settings

Over the years, Facebook settings have gotten more and more complicated making it is sometimes

difficult to find a specific setting. Use the search function whenever possible—the location of any

setting has probably changed since they last time you checked it.

Activity Settings

Friend Requests

Setting this to Friends of friends limits the audience of people who can make friend requests,

however, it means that if you don’t have friends in common, you can’t receive a friend request from

someone.

Friends List

This sets who can see your list of friends.

Profile Visibility to Search Engines

Do you want your Facebook page to come up in a google search of your name? My answer is no. You

have to decide this for yourself.

Who Can Post on your Timeline

This allows you to restrict who want leave messages on your wall / timeline. If you have family

members who passive-aggressively share things on your timeline, restricting this might be useful.

Tagged Post Visibility

If someone tags you in a post, who do you want to see that post?

Review of Tagged Posts

If someone tags you in a post, do you want to OK it before other people can see it?

Off-Facebook Activity

Facebook has a privacy / security setting that allows you to see how you are being tracked by third

parties when you are not actively using the Facebook site. I highly recommend you peruse and clear

this list, as well as turning off future tracking (Disconnect future activity). Off-Facebook activity

Location History

Location history is for the Facebook app on your mobile device. Through the website you can toggle it

on or off.

Comments

Notifications when someone comments on one of your posts.

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Tags

Notifications when someone names in a comment on a post.

Logged Actions

Why does Facebook seem to know everything about you? Because it tracks and logs everything you

do. I recommend going through your logged actions and clearing all history.

Ad Preferences

Ad Preferences are where you can set your ad preferences. Unfortunately, this does not stop Facebook

from collecting data on you from other websites, it only keeps Facebook from (theoretically) using

that data to give you tailored ads.

To reduce the amount of tracking Facebook does, you will need to delete the Facebook apps from your

smart devices, change your unique identifiers (email and phone number), and takes steps to block

Facebook cookies within your web browser(s).

Partner Data

Personalized ads based on your activity on other websites, apps or offline.

Demographic Categories

Ads shown off of Facebook

Can advertisers choose to reach you through ads off Facebook.

Social Interactions

This allows your friends to see if you have liked or interacted with a product or brand.

Video Auto-Play

Does a video automatically start playing as you scroll past?

Password

Two-Factor Authentication

Do you use two-factor authentication to access the website?

Notifications

Notifications are updates you can receive about what has happened on Facebook. By default,

Facebook wants you to know ABSOUTELY EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. This is designed to keep

you using Facebook and can be overwhelming.

I highly recommend turning off SMS and Email notifications. This helps keep you from being

constantly pulled back into Facebook.

• Red Alert Notifications: Notifications that appear above the bell icon. When you have a new

notification, a red bubble will appear with the number of new notifications you've received.

• SMS Notifications: Notifications that are sent to your phone via text message.

• Email Notifications: Notifications you receive via email. Facebook sends a message to your

email to let you know you have been tagged in a post or something similar.

• Push Notifications: Notifications that appear when you're not actively using Facebook.

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How to Delete Facebook

First, remember that Facebook and Messenger are linked, so deleting your Facebook account also

deletes your access to Messenger. If you currently use Messenger you will want to make sure you have

a new messaging app in place before ditching Facebook. You will also want to inform your family and

friends you are deleting messenger, so you can come up with an alternate way of keeping in touch.

Secondly, you may want to download and save all your Facebook data. You will need to do this

through a web browser, not the phone or tablet app.

Thirdly, you will want to make sure you do not have any accounts, apps, or websites that use your

Facebook login. If you do, you will need to change the login information for every site or app you want

to keep after deleting your Facebook account.

Once you’ve got your backups and alternatives in place, delete (or inactivate) Facebook and

Messenger from your phone and/or tablet. This does NOT delete your account, it just makes it harder

for Facebook to track you and collect data about you.

Some people believe in going through and deleting all your past Facebook posts and pictures,

however, if you have been on Facebook for a while, this process could take days, meanwhile all your

data is still backed up somewhere on one of Facebook’s servers.

Finally, you can deactivate or delete your account. Deactivating means the account is taken down

temporarily—and you can also use Messenger even with a deactivated Facebook account.

Once you’ve done all that, it’s time to do the same thing for Instagram and Whatsapp.

Because Facebook is constantly changing its format and settings around, here are several different

links with step-by-step instructions for deactivating or deleting your Facebook Account.

How to deactivate or delete your Facebook account

https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2021/06/how-to-deactivate-or-delete-your-facebook-

account

How to Delete Your Facebook Account https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-delete-your-

facebook-account

Deleting Facebook? Follow These Steps Carefully https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-

software/deleting-facebook-follow-these-steps-carefully

How to delete Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp—and take your data with you

https://www.popsci.com/diy/how-to-delete-facebook

How to Permanently Delete Your Facebook Account https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-delete-

your-facebook-account

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Facebook Website

You can access the Facebook website on any device—including a phone or tablet. Facebook has

worked to make the app a more user-friendly and has deliberately broken Messenger if you attempt to

access it via the website on a phone. But otherwise you can do anything on the website you can on the

phone or tablet app.

News Feed (Browser)

Hiding Posts (Browser)

1. Click on the ellipse (…) beside the post that offends you.

2. From the menu, select your desired option.

Hide post

Hide this specific post from your wall / news feed. This is

good if you want to ignore a single, specific post.

Snooze for 30 days

Hide posts from this person for a month. This is something

that is useful in the month before an election.

Hide all from / Unfollow

This allows you to stop seeing posts from someone, but still

remain friends with them; you can see their posts by going to

their wall.

News Feed Preferences (Browser)

1. In the top right corner of the Facebook window, click on your

Account icon (the circle with your profile picture).

2. From the drop-down menu select Settings & privacy.

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3. In the Settings & Privacy section, select Feed.

4. In the What’s in Your Feed dialog box,

select Favorites.

5. Click the star icon beside the picture of

someone whose posts you want to make

sure you see.

6. Once you’re finished, click the bracket

icon in the top left corner to return to

your settings or the X icon in the top right

corner to close all the settings.

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Writing Posts (Browser)

1. In your newsfeed or on your profile, click

in the post area.

2. Where it says What’s on your mind, enter what you

want to say. Click the links to add pictures, tag friends,

or add emoticons. You can also drag pictures from

windows explorer into the post to add them.

3. Once you’ve added everything, click Post.

Editing Posts (Browser)

1. Once you have created a post, you can edit or delete it.

In the top right corner of your live post, click the

ellipse (…).

2. From the pop-up menu, select the desired option.

3. These options are also available on comments you

make to other’s posts.

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Settings (Browser)

Settings are where you will go to check on your privacy and security, as well as to do things like tweak

your notifications.

Accessing Your Facebook Settings (Browser)

1. In the top right corner of the Facebook window, click

on your Account icon (the circle with your profile

picture).

2. Select Settings & privacy.

3. From the menu, select Settings.

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Privacy (Browser)

1. Open your Facebook Settings (p 15).

2. In the left pane, select Privacy Center.

Privacy Center (Browser)

Facebook has created “Privacy Center” which has guides for learning more about the various options

in the right pane. Unfortunately this can create extra clicking around to find specific settings.

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To quickly find specific options, in the left pane click Settings

and then Facebook Settings.

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Laptop or Desktop Modifying (Many) Privacy Settings (Browser)

1. Find a setting you want to modify.

2. Click Edit.

3. At the bottom of explainer, select an option.

4. Once you have selected the desired option DO NOT CLICK Close. Clicking close will NOT save

your desired option. Instead click on a different setting (any other Edit button, for instance)

Friend Requests

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Privacy Settings and Tools > How people find

and contact you > Who can send you friend requests?

Your List Facebook Friends

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Privacy Settings and Tools > Who can see your

friends list?

Profile Visibility to Search Engines

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Privacy Settings and Tools > Do you want

search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?

Who Can Post on your Timeline

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Profile and Tagging > Profile

Tagged Post Visibility

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Profile and Tagging > Tagging

Review of Tagged Posts

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Profile and Tagging > Reviewing

Location History

Location history is for the Facebook app on your mobile device. Through the website you can toggle it

on or off

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Notifications (Browser)

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications

• Comments

• Tags

• Friend Requests

• Browser Notifications

• Email Notifications

Logged Actions

Account > Settings & Privacy > Activity Log

Ad Preferences

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Ads > Ad Settings

• Partner Data

• Demographic Categories

• Ads shown off of

Facebook

• Social Interactions

Video Auto-Play

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Videos

Changing Your Password

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Security and login > Login

Two-Factor Authentication

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Security and login > Two-Factor Authentication

Close Your Account

Account > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Your Facebook information > Deactivation

and deletion

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Apps within Facebook (Browser)

As we saw with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook apps have disseminated your data in ways

you probably are not comfortable with. It’s important to see what apps have access to your

information, and to remove apps that are not integral to your Facebook experience.

Seeing Your Facebook Apps & Games (Browser)

1. Open your Settings.

2. Select Settings & privacy, then click Settings.

3. Select Apps and Websites in the left side menu.

Removing Apps & Games (Browser)

1. In the list of active apps, find the app you want to remove.

2. To the right of the app is a very faint check box. Click inside that box to select the app (or apps) to

be deleted.

3. Click the Remove button.

4. A dialog box opens making sure you want to remove the app. Place a check in the box beside the

text asking if you want to delete all posts, photos and videos.

5. Click Remove.

Blocking Apps & Games (Browser)

1. Click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook.

2. Select Settings & privacy, then click Settings.

3. Click Security and login in the left menu.

4. Click Apps and Websites in the left menu.

5. Scroll down to Preferences, then next to Apps, websites and games, click Turn Off.

Messenger (Browser)

Using Facebook Messenger generally gives people the ability to see if you are online. I do not

recommend using the Facebook Messenger App on your mobile device, for privacy and security

reasons, so we’re going to look at FB messenger in the web browser.

Facebook Chat Options (Browser)

One of the ways Facebook pushes you to use Facebook Chat / Messenger is by putting it right in your

face. Luckily, you can close your chat box and turn off your active status. This will keep people from

knowing when you are online.

Using Facebook Messenger in Your Browser

If you are not using the Messenger app or the chat box, Facebook is going to make it more annoying

for you by forcing you to go to a separate page. Just keep in mind that Facebook is making things less

easy precisely so you will use the app. Although it is not as convenient, I recommend having private

conversations through a messaging app, such as Skype or Signal.

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Using Messenger in Your Browser

1. In the top left corner of the Facebook window, beneath

your news feed, click on the Messenger link.

2. A list of ongoing chats appears in the left pane. Click on

any chat to add to the message thread.

Click the New Message icon to create being a new

chat.

Turning off Active Status

1. Open Messenger.

2. Click the Options (ellipse) icon

3. From the drop-down menu, select Preferences.

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4. Toggle Show when you’re active.

5. Click the X in the top right corner.

Finding Missed Chat Messages

1. If you are not already a friend with someone, Facebook

hides those conversations in a folder called Message

Requests.

2. Check this folder occasionally to see if anyone has tried

to contact you.

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Facebook App on Android

Messenger

Settings

Notifications

News Feed

Write New

Post

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News Feed (Android)

Hiding Posts (Android)

1. Click on the ellipse (…) beside the post that offends

you.

2. From the menu, select your desired option.

Hide post

Hide this specific post from your wall / news feed. This is

good if you want to ignore a single, specific post.

Snooze for 30 days

Hide posts from this person for a month. This is

something that is useful in the month before an election.

Hide all from / Unfollow

This allows you to stop seeing posts from someone, but

still remain friends with them; you can see their posts by going to their wall.

Facebook Settings (Android)

Facebook is constantly modifying and changing their website and app, so the easiest way to find

anything is to go to settings and then search for the specific setting you want to change.

Settings (Android)

1. In the upper right corner of the Facebook window, click the

Settings icon.

2. In the menu that appears, click the Gear (settings) icon.

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3. Tap in the Search Settings box.

4. Start to tap in the name of the settings you want to modify,

but as “notifications” or “privacy”.

5. As soon as you see your desired option appear, tap it.

Some of the important settings you will want to check are listed on page 8.

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Posts (Android)

Writing Posts (Android)

1. In your newsfeed or on your profile, tap in the post area.

2. Type whatever you want to say. Tap the links to add pictures,

tag friends, or add emoticons.

3. Once you’ve added everything, tap Post in the top right

corner.

4. Once you have created a post, you have the option to edit or

delete what you posted. In the top right corner of your live

post, click the ellipse (…).

5. From the menu that appears, select the desired option.

6. The ellipse is also available to edit or delete comments you

make to others’ posts.

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Location Settings (Android)

1. Open your Settings.

2. Search for Location.

3. Facebook will act like it is vitally important it knows

where you are at all times. It is NOT.

4. Toggle OFF the setting to give Facebook Background

Location. Facebook definitely does NOT need to know

where you are when you are not using the app.

5. Select Location Services (under Device Setting) and

change this setting to Never. Or if you use Check-in,

you can set it to when you are actively using the app.

But I highly recommend Never.

6. You should also clear your location history and tell

Facebook is cannot build a location history. This won’t

change what information Facebook has used in the

past, but it will keep Facebook from using your location

going forward.

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Facebook App on iOS

Notifications

Home

Settings

Write

Post

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News Feed (iOS)

Hiding Posts (iOS)

1. Click on the ellipse (…) beside the post that offends you.

2. From the menu, select your desired option.

Posts (iOS)

Writing Posts (iOS)

1. In your newsfeed or on your profile, tap in the

post area.

2. Tap in the What’s on your mind area and

type what you want to say. Click the links along

the bottom to add pictures, tag friends, or add

emoticons.

3. Once you’ve added everything, tap Post.

4. Once you have created a post, you have the

option to edit or delete what you posted. In the

top right corner of your live post, click the

ellipse (…).

5. From the menu that appears, select the desired

option.

6. The ellipse is also available on comments you

make to others posts to edit or delete.

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Facebook Settings (iOS)

Obviously, my first recommendation is to NOT use the Facebook app on your phone, but if you are

going to use the app, there are definitely settings you should delve into.

Accessing Facebook Settings (iOS)

1. Open the Facebook app.

2. In the lower right corner, click the three parallel lines over the word More and then select

Settings & privacy.

3. Scroll down through the list until you see Settings & Privacy.

4. The menu expands out, select Settings.

1. In the top right corner click the down arrow beside your name, and from the menu select

Settings.

Some of the important settings you will want to check are listed on page 8.

Location Settings (iOS)

In general, unless you use Check-in, there is no reason to allow Facebook to know your location. I

recommend turning all location settings off. If this setting has been on, assume that Facebook knows

precisely where you live, and all the places you frequently visit, including the homes and family

members and your favorite stores.

Accessing Your Location Settings (iOS)

1. Open your Settings, then scroll down to the Security section.

2. Select Location.

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3. Facebook will act like it is vitally important it knows

where you are at all times. It is NOT.

4. Toggle OFF the setting to give Facebook Background

Location. Facebook definitely does NOT need to know

where you are when you are not using the app.

5. Select Location Services (under Device Setting) and

change this setting to Never. Or if you use Check-in,

you can set it to when you are actively using the app.

But I highly recommend Never.

6. You should also clear your location history and tell

Facebook is cannot build a location history. This won’t

change what information Facebook has used in the

past, but it will keep Facebook from using your location

going forward.

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Web Browsers

Product

Site

Chrome

https://www.google.com/chrome/

Firefox

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Opera

https://www.opera.com/

Web Browser Add-Ons

Product

Availability

Site

AdBlock Plus

Firefox, Chrome, Safari

https://adblockplus.org/

Disconnect

Firefox, Chrome, Safari, IE

https://disconnect.me/disconnect

Do Not Track Me

Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari, IE

https://abine.com/index.html

Ghostery

Firefox, Chrome, Safari, IE

https://www.ghostery.com/

HTTPS Everywhere

Firefox, Chrome, Opera

https://www.ghostery.com/

Texting Apps that Work over WiFi

Whatsapp: https://www.whatsapp.com/

Telegram: https://telegram.org/

Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/

Skype: https://www.skype.com/en/

Signal: https://signal.org/

Hangouts: https://hangouts.google.com/

Phone Apps

Closing Apps on an Android Device

1. Tap the Recent Applications Menu button, usually at the lower left of the screen. A list of open

apps appears

2. To close an individual app, click the x beside the app or swipe right on the app.

3. To close all open apps, if available, tap Close All.

To be clear, stopping an app frequently leaves parts of that app still running in the background. To

end all processes of that app, you need to force stop the app.

To Force Stop Apps on an Android Device

1. Open your device settings. (Typically available from the list off all applications or by pulling down

from the top of the screen to open the system tray, and tapping the gear icon.)

2. From the list of available settings, choose Apps or Applications. (Depending upon your phone.)

3. Scroll through the list to find the specific app you want to close and/or keep from running in the

background.

4. Towards the top of the screen, tap the Force Stop button.

5. The device asks if you are sure you want to do this, tap Force Stop.

Closing Apps on an iOS Device

1. Double tap on the home button to bring up a screen that displays the open apps.

Swipe up twice from the bottom of the screen.

2. Drag an app up towards the top of the screen to close it.

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Emoticons

(.V.)

Alien

O:-)

Angel

X-(

Angry

~:0

Baby

:-D

Big Grin

(*v*)

Bird

:-#

Braces

</3

Broken

Heart

=^.^=

Cat

*<:o)

Clown

O.o

Confused

B-)

Cool

:_(

Crying

:'(

Crying

\:D/

Dancing

*-*

Dazed

:o3

Dog

#-o

Doh!

:*)

Drunk

//_^

Emo

>:)

Evil Grin

<><

Fish

:-(

Frown

:-(

Frowning

Frustrated

:-P

Frustrated

8-)

Glasses

$_$

Greedy

:->

Grin

Happy

:-)

Happy

Hashtag

Heart

{}

Hug

:-|

Indifferent

X-p

Joking

:-)*

Kiss

:-*

Kiss

(-}{-)

Kissing

Laughing

Out Loud

)-:

Left-

handed

Sad Face

(-:

Left-

handed

Smiley

Face

Love

Mad

:-)(-:

Married

Mention

<:3)~

Mouse

~,~

Napping

:-B

Nerd

^_^

Overjoyed

<l:0

Partying

:-/

Perplexed

=8)

Pig

@~)~~~~

Rose

Sad

:-(

Sad

Sarcastic

:-@

Screaming

Shocked

:-o

Shocked

:-)

Smile

:-Q

Smoking

Smug

Sticking

Tongue

Out

Surprised

:-J

Tongue in

Cheek

:-&

Tongue

Tied

=-O

Uh-oh

:-\

Undecided

:-E

Vampire

Very

Happy

;-)

Winking

;)

Winking

|-O

Yawn

8-#

Zombie

Acronyms

AF: As (naughty word)

AFK: Away from Keyboard

BTW: By the Way

B/C: Because

BFF: Best Friends Forever

BRB: Be Right Back

CU: See You

CYT: See You Tomorrow

DGMW: Don’t Get Me Wrong

EOD: End of Discussion

EOM: End of Message

F2F: Face to Face

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

(pronounced fak to rhyme with pack)

FREX: For Example

FTW: For the Win

FWIW: For What It’s Worth

FYI: For Your Information

GR8: Great

HTH: Hope This Helps

ICYMI: In Case You Missed It

IDC: I Don’t Care

IDK: I Don’t Know

IIRC: If I Remember/Recall Correctly

IMHO: In My Humble Opinion

IMO: In My Opinion

IOW: In Other Words

IRL: In Real Life

J/K: Just Kidding

L8R: Later

LOL: Laugh(ing) Out Loud

MYOB: Mind Your Own Business

noob / n00b: Newbie

NNTR: No Need to Reply

NOYB: None of Your Business

NP: No Problem

NRN: No Reply Needed

NSFW: Not Safe for Work

OMG: Oh My God

OMY: On My Way

OTOH: On the Other Hand

OT: Off Topic

OTP: On the Phone

ROTFL: Rolling on the Floor Laughing

RTFM: Read the Fantastic Manual

RU: Are You

SFLR: Sorry for Late Reply

SO: Significant Other

TBC: To Be Continued

THX: Thanks

TIA: Thanks in Advance

TL;DR: Too Long Didn’t Read

TMI: Too Much Information

TTYL: Talk to You Later

TUVM: Thank You Very Much

TYT: Take Your Time

UR: You Are / Your

w00t / W00T: Hooray! Yay! Yippee!

W8: Wait

WFM: Works for Me

WRT: With Regard To

WTH: What the H(eck)

WTF: What the (naughty word)

YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary

Technology Glossary

Add-on

An accessory piece of software designed to increase the capability of the software to which it is

appended.

Address Bar

In a web browser or windows explorer, it is a rectangle, usually towards the top of the window, that

shows you the current location or address of your web page or file.

Address Book

See Contacts

Alexa

Amazon’s virtual assistant.

Algorithm

A set-of rules to be followed in calculations or problem-solving operations. Algorithms are frequently

used to manipulate data sets.

Android

Googles mobile operating system, built on open source software.

Anti-Virus

A program that protects you from malicious software. Most anti-virus programs have options for

purchasing additional security measures such as firewalls, email scanning, etc.

App

Short for Application.

Apple ID

This is the username and password that you create with Apple to link a specific device to your Apple

account. If you have an iPad and an iPhone, you use the same Apple ID with both of those devices.

Apple

Technology company that designs and develops hardware and software.

Application

An application is a piece of software that lets your device do something, like play music or give

directions. An application is the same thing is a program.

Autocorrect

Auto correct is when your phone automatically changes what you were typing to what it thought you

wanted to type.

Autoplay

When you visit a website and music or video starts playing without asking.

AVI

Audio Video Interleave. A multimedia format for audio and video files.

Backup

A copy of computer data that is taken and stored somewhere else, to be used in the event of data loss.

BCC

Blind carbon copy. Covertly send a copy of the message to a third party. The primary recipient cannot

see the person was added.

Biometric

Unique physical characteristics that are be used for recognition. The most common types of biometric

identifiers are fingerprints, voice, face, iris, and palm/finger veins.

Blockchain

Also Block Chain. A list of records (blocks) linked using cryptography. These records are a

cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Blockchains are

generally used on a peer-to-peer network. Data in one block cannot be altered without changing all

other blocks.

Bluetooth

A wireless technology that allows data to be shared over short distances using short-wave UHF radio

signal. The name comes from Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, king of Denmark and Norway, who

united the Scandinavians.

Boolean

A system of logical propositions. Common Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT, “ “, ( ) . Based on the

work of George Boole.

Browser Add-on

See Browser Extension.

Browser Extension

A small software module that is used to customize a web browser.

Browser Hijack

Where a malicious piece of software modifies a web browser’s settings without your permission.

Browser

Short for Web Browser.

Brute Force Attack

Where a hacker tries many passwords for passphrases in an attempt to break into an account. The

longer the password (or passphrase) the harder it is for someone to succeed with this type of attack.

Byte

A unit of digital information that consists of eight bits. A byte is the number of bits used to encode a

single character of text.

Cache

Temporary storage space that allows your computer to quickly bring up information, such as

previously viewed web pages.

Cambridge Analytica

A British political consulting firm that used misappropriated digital assets, data mining, and other

processes to influence political elections around the world.

Carbon copy. Send a copy of the message to someone else. The primary recipient can see this person

received the message.

Cellular Data

The connection a cell phone makes to a cell tower that allows you to do things like surf the internet,

download emails, and send MMS messages.

Cloud

Storage that is physically somewhere other than where you are. Cloud storage is generally accessible

from multiple devices, because those files are stored on a hard drive that belongs to a company that

hosts the cloud service. Cloud storage is like a self-storage unit for your electronic files, except you can

access your stuff from anywhere.

Cloud Service

A service provided by a third party or company that allows you to provide access to files and

applications remotely.

Codec

A device or program that encodes/decodes a data stream, such as an audio file, for storage.

Contacts / Contact List

A collection of screen names and the various data associated with them, such as email addresses and

telephone numbers.

A piece of data that a website saves on your computer. Cookies were designed to save user

information such as preferences or logins but can sometimes be read by third parties. Cookies are also

used to collect browsing data long-term.

Cortana

Microsoft’s virtual assistant.

CPU

Central Processing Unit. The bit of a computer or electronic device that processes information.

Cryptocurrency

A digital asset that uses strong cryptography and is designed to work as a form of money. They used

decentralized control, or a public financial database to keep track of who owns what.

Cryptography

Greek for “hidden writing”, it is the study of secure communication—creating protocols to keep third

parties from reading private messages.

Data Breach

The release of secure or private information. A data breach can be accidental or malicious, such as

when an individual hacks into a system to steal information.

Database

An organized collection of information. Complicated databases link information between multiple

tables allowing for analysis of the contained information. An address book is a basic database.

Denial of Service Attack (DOS)

A cyber-attack where the malefactor seeks to make a network resource (such as a website) unavailable

by flooding the target with requests or visits.

Directory

A system that catalogs / organizes computer files.

Displayport

A high-quality audio-visual cable capable of transmitting HD and 4k.

DNS

Domain Name System. The phonebook of the Internet.

DNS Hijacking

Where a malefactor redirects visitors from a valid website to a different destination—often one that

exists to steal data.

Domain Name

The string of text that identifies a place on the Web. A basic domain name is a word or abbreviation

followed by a period followed by the domain extension: wvu.edu

Domain

The sometimes arbitrary grouping that designates what a website does or where it is based. The most

common domains are .com .net .edu and .org. The domain is what you should check first when you

want to verify the authenticity of a website.

Download

To move data and files from the internet or a server to your computer or mobile device.

DRM

Digital Rights Management. A format that protects electronic media from being illegally copied.

DVD

Digital Video Disc / Digital Versatile Disc. A digital optical disc data storage system.

DVI

Digital Video Interface. A video display interface that connects your computer to your monitor.

Email Header

The portion of an email message that contains the routing information. The header can be used to

help determine if a message is fraudulent.

Email is an electronic letter sent from one email address to another email address. Email addresses

always have an @ (at sign) in them. Sending an email on your phone requires the use of cellular data.

Each email address is unique, and email addresses are often used as unique identifiers or login

credentials by databases.

Emoji

Small images used to represent emotions, ideas, or expressions.

Emoticons

Representations of facial expressions using keyboard characters. These are used to portray moods or

feelings. For example, a smiling face could be :) or 

Encryption

The encoding of data so that only authorized persons or devices can read/view the information. The

stronger the encryption, the more unlikely it is that a malfeasant could decode the intercepted data

through a brute force attack.

EPUB

Electronic Publication. A digital book format that allows you to read your eBook on any electronic

device. EPUB files are reflowable.

eReader

eBook reader that use black and white eInk screens that give a similar reading experience to physical

books.

Ethernet

Wired networking technology that allows multiple computers to talk to one another via a protocol (set

of rules). Ethernet is used when speed, stability, and security are needed.

EULA

End-User License Agreement. The legal contract between a software vendor and the user of that

software. It specifies the rights and restrictions which apply to the use of the software.

External Storage

Devices that store data outside of a computer or other electronic device. They are often removable,

such as USB thumb drives.

Facebook

An online media and networking company.

Facial Recognition

Technology capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image. Facial recognition can be

used to unlock an electronic device.

File Extension

Also called a filename extension or file type, is the identifier suffix for a computer file name, and tells

you the kind of program needed to open the file. By default, these extensions are hidden, but can still

be used in search. If you change a file extension, that file will most often break.

Firewall

A security system that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic to prevent unauthorized

access to a system.

Folder

See Directory.

Choose to see another user’s posts in their content feed.

Force Stop

A way to completely stop an app that is running in the background. An app that has been closed may

still have bits active and collecting data.

Gigabyte. A computer memory unit equal to 1000 megabytes. The prefix giga means 10

GIF

Graphics Interchange Format. An image format that is often used in logos and animated pictures.

Google

A technology company that specializes in services and products related to the internet.

GPS

Global Positioning System is a piece of hardware that allows a device to contact a satellite to

determine the location of the device in latitude and longitude. On most devices, software makes these

data points usable to the end user by placing them on a map.

GUI

Graphical User Interface (pronounced gooey). The windows, icons, menus, and pictures that allow

you to interact with your computer using your mouse. Windows 10 and Mac OS (Big Sur) are

operating system GUIs.

Hard Drive

A data storage devices that stores and retrieves digital data. In your computer, this is where all your

programs are installed and files saved.

Hardware

The electronic components of a device; the bits you can touch. A cell phone, a keyboard, and a CPU

are all hardware.

High Definition. Generally a higher resolution and quality than standard definition video.

HDMI

High-Definition Multimedia Interface. Audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed data.

Cable that connects your computer to your monitor, or your DVD player to your TV.

HDR

High Dynamic Range. A photographic process where a camera takes multiple pictures at different

exposures and combines them into a single image—this allows all areas of your image to be well-

exposed, but can also look unreal if used too much.

Heat Map

A heat map is a visual representation of data that allows you to see phenomenon as clusters or over

space.

Home Screen

The main screen of a computer or mobile device. Home screens are typically personalized by the user

so that no two home screens will look alike.

Hotspot

A type of Wireless Access Point. A device that allows you access the internet from a public place.

Hotspots are generally open and unsecured and you should assume any data you submit is visible to

people with ill-intent.

Hover text

When you hold your cursor over a hyperlink, the document should display the URL for that link. This

allows you to verify links.

http

Hypertext Transfer Protocol is how data is moved between a website and an end user.

https

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (Secure) is an encrypted form of http. This protects against interference

or snooping by third parties.

iCloud

Apple’s cloud service.

Icon

A graphic representation of a program, file or function.

Information Security

The protection of data and the mitigation of risks, generally on computer networks.

Install

A process that writes the code used to run the program (application) onto the hard drive of your

device. Installing a piece of software embeds it into the device and allows it to work.

Internet

A system of inter-connected computer networks.

iOS

Apple’s mobile operating system.

iPad

Apple’s tablet computer, running iOS.

iPhone

Apple’s cellular phone, running iOS.

iPod

Apple’s music player. The iPod is general similar to an iPhone, only without cellular service.

ISBN

International Standard Book Number. A numeric commercial book identifier that is unique for every

edition and variation of a book.

ISP

Internet Service Provider. Company you pay so you can have internet at home.

iTunes

Apple’s music service.

JPG / JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Group. A lossy compression format for digital images.

Keylogger

Keystroke logger (also keyboard capture). A piece of hardware or a software program that can record

every key struck on the keyboard.

LAN

Local Area Network. A group of computers / devices that share a common communications line.

Location Bar

See address bar.

Location Services

Information from GPS, wireless access points, cell towers, and Bluetooth devices that helps your

phone know where you are.

Lock Screen

The opening screen or interface of an operating system. A lock screen keeps unauthorized users from

accessing the data and information on a device.

Lossless Compression

A form of data encoding that maintains the original quality of the file but at the cost of having a large

file size.

Lossy Compression

A form of data encoding used to reduce file size at the cost of data quality.

Mbps

Megabits Per Second. The speed of your internet service.

Messenger

An app that allows users to send text messages and images to other users in a system.

Metadata

A data set that give you information about other data. A card catalog contains metadata.

Micro-SD

Micro-Secure Digital Card. Smaller size SD card, used in phones and lightweight devices. Comes with

an adapter that allows for the transfer for files from a portable device to a computer.

MMS

Multimedia Messaging Service is a kind of text messaging that allows you to send text messages that

contain pictures or audio, as well as messages longer than 160 characters or to multiple people.

MOBI

Mobipocket. The proprietary ebook format for the Amazon Kindle. MOBI files are reflowable.

Mobile Carrier

A wireless service provider that allows users to connect portable devices (such as phones) to the

internet through a cellular service.

Mobile Data

Wireless internet access through a cellular data connection.

MP3

Moving Pictures Experts Group Layer-3. A coding format for digital audio.

MP4 / MPEG4

Moving Pictures Experts Group Layer-4. A coding format for digital multi-media, commonly video.

MPEG

Motion Picture Experts Group. A standard for encoding and compressing video.

NDA

Non-Disclosure Agreement. A legally binding contract where parties agree not to share sensitive or

confidential information.

Network

A group of computers connected for the purpose of sharing resources. A network can be as small as

two computers or as vast as the Internet.

News Feed

The main page of Facebook, where you see content posted by users you have chosen to follow. These

content can be text or images.

Notification

A message displayed by an electronic device to provide an alert, reminder, or other communication.

Online Chat

Real time communication over the internet through (generally short) text messages.

Operating System. The base upon which software and apps are added. An Apple device generally uses

iOS (iPhones) or macOS (laptop computers). PCs typically used the Windows OS, but there are other

operating systems, such as Linux that can be installed. Non-Apple cell phones frequently use some

form of the Android OS. How your device looks and works is dependent upon the operating system

installed.

P2P

Peer-to-Peer

Passcode

This is the secret code to get into a specific device. If you have an iPhone and an iPad, they can have

different passcodes. You can sometimes use a fingerprint instead of a passcode to get into a device.

Password Manager

A program that stores electronic passwords.

Password

The secret code to access a restricted resources. Passwords are usually required to use a minimum of

eight characters, and contain special characters, such as numbers or upper case letters.

PayPal

A method of online money transfer and payments.

PDF

Portable Document Format. Once an Adobe proprietary format, now one of the most common

formats for sharing digital documents.

Peer-to-Peer

A distributed that shares tasks or work between devices of the same level.

Phishing

A fraudulent attempt to gain personal or sensitive information, by sending an email or creating a

website that pretends to be from a real company or person, but is not.

Play Store

Goggle’s app store, where users can download or purchase programs to run on their Android devices.

PNG

Portable Network Graphics. A lossless compression type for digital images.

Podcast

A digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device,

typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically.

Post

A message, comment, image, or other item that is placed on the internet, generally on a website.

Predictive Text

An input technology that guesses what you want to type both from what you are currently typing and,

if you have allowed the software to learn, from what you have typed in the past. Predictive text makes

typing faster and easier if you have good software on the back end.

Privacy

The information that is shared between your device and the external resources to which it is

connected, as well as how that information is used, and with whom that information is shared.

Program

A program is a piece of software that lets your device do something like send a text message or video

chat. A program is the same thing as an application.

Public Network

An electronic connection where the traffic between devices is visible to anyone.

Reflowable

An ebook format that layout depending upon the output device. MOBI and EPUB are reflowable

formats, which means the number of words on the page change, depending upon the page / text size.

Reply All

A response to an electronic message that is returned to ALL recipients of the original message.

A response to an electronic message.

Ripping

Extracting digital content from a container, such as a CD or DVD. Ripping a CD means that the music

is copied without loss from the CD to your computer.

ROT-13

One of the most basic forms of encryption; a substitution encryption where characters are rotated 13

places.

Router

A networking device that forwards data between networks.

RTFM

Read The Fantastic Manual.

Scraping

Web scraping, web harvesting, web data extraction is extracting data from websites—gathering up

information available on a public website.

Standard Definition. The lowest quality rating for digital streaming.

SD Card

Secure Digital Card. Removable memory that is used in devices like cameras, because it can be easily

switched out when full. Allows for easy transfer of files from device to computer without a cable.

A computer command that allows you to find specific files on your computer that meet a designated

category, such as file type, or date modified.

Search Engine

A software system designed to find information on the web. The results from a search engine can be

webpages, files, or images. Generally, behind the scenes a program runs an algorithm that crawls

through the web cataloging everything it sees. This catalog is then organized by a different program

where pages are associated with various terms.

Security

Protecting electronic systems from theft or damage. This can be protection from physical theft, but

often refers to electronic damage, where systems can be disrupted or data stolen.

Server

A device (or program) that allows you to access something not on the device you are physically

touching. A mail server stores your email and drops it to your device upon request. A web server

allows you to connect to the internet.

Settings

An app that allows you to customize your computer, device, or program.

Siri

Apple’s personal assistant.

Smart Device

An electronic device that connects to other devices or the internet through a wireless protocol such as

Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Smart TV

A television with a network port to allow you to watch streaming services (and other internet content)

without having to use an additional device.

SMS

Short Messaging Service. A brief message that is sent from one phone number to another phone

number. SMS does not use cellular data.

Snooping

Unauthorized listening in to data transmission.

Snopes

One of the first internet fact-checking resources, Snopes started as a site to debunk urban legends, but

expanded into general fact-checking. (https://www.snopes.com/)

Social Media

Interactive computer technologies and websites that allow for the sharing of information. Facebook is

the most famous social media site, and allows friends to connect automatically, but LinkedIn is

another type of social networking site, that focuses on career and job networking.

Software

The programs that run on your computer or phone. Can also be called an application.

Sort

To organize information in a prescribed sequence, such as alphabetically, or oldest to newest.

Spam

Unsolicited electronic messages (especially advertising).

Spoofing

When a person or program pretends to be someone else, by falsifying data, to gain access to your

account or data.

Spyware

A piece of malicious software that secretly installs itself to gather information about the user or

device.

SSD

Solid State Drive. A storage device for your computer that saves data on chips instead of a mechanical

platters.

Status Bar

A graphical element, usually at the top or bottom of a device’s screen, that displays information about

the state of the device. Some settings commonly found on the status bar are sound/volume, time, and

battery life.

Streaming Device

An object, such as Roku stick or Fire stick, you purchase that plugs into your existing TV so you watch

video through the device on your existing television.

Streaming Service

An online provider of entertainment (music, movies, etc.) that delivers the content via an Internet

connection to the subscriber's computer

Sync

See synchronize.

Synchronize

When a file is synced, changes to that file are saved are pushed from one device to all other devices

with access to that file, via a remote server.

Tag / Tagging

A keyword or term added to the metadata of a piece of information. In social media, when someone is

tagged, they are alerted to a post made by another user.

Taskbar

A graphical user interface (GUI) that is typically along the bottom of your window, and usually shows

you what programs are actively running as well as important information about the operating system.

Terabyte. A measure of computer storage equal to 1000 gigabytes or trillion bytes. The prefix tera

means 10

The rules you agree to abide by when you sign up use an online service.

Text Message

A brief message that is sent from one phone number to another phone number via a protocol called

SMS. Text messages are generally limited to 160 characters, and messages with more characters than

that will be broken down into multiple messages when sent. Text messages are asynchronous:

a message sent to someone whose phone is off is delivered when their phone is turned back on. Text

messages generally do not require cellular data but do require a cellular connection.

Thumb Drive

USB Flash Drive

TIFF / TIF

Tag Image File Format. Lossless digital image format that was developed originally for scanners as an

alternative to multiple proprietary formats.

Timeline

A display of items in chronological order. Twitter has a timeline; Facebook has a news feed.

TL;DR

Too Long, Didn’t Read

TOS

Trojans

A type of malicious computer virus that presents itself as a useful item, such as a document.

Two-Factor Authentication

This is a way to make both your device and your account more secure. When you log into your Apple

ID on a new iPad (or iPhone) for the first time OR you log into iCloud from a computer you have

never used before, Apple wants you to verify that YOU are the person attempting to access your

account.

TXT

Text message.

Unfollow

To stop seeing a user’s posts in your timeline or news feed. On Facebook, you can unfollow someone

by still remain friends with them.

Uninstall

The removal or a software program or application from the operating system of a device. Although

uninstall removes the visible aspects of a program, there are often bits and pieces of the program left

behind.

Unique Identifier

A piece of data that is unique to a record. Telephone numbers and email addresses are often used as

unique identifiers, because no two individuals have the same ones. Unique identifiers allow data

records to be linked across databases.

Upload

To move files from your computer to a cloud service or network.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator is the address of a space on the web. Every website has a unique address,

and that address can often tell you something about the web page you are visiting.

URL Bar

See address bar.

USB

Universal Serial Bus. This is the industry standard for cables that connect devices and their

peripherals through a wire. This connection can be used for both communication and power. There

are several types of USB connections: USB-A, USB-A 3.0, mini-USB, micro-USB, and the newest

standard, USB-C.

USB Flash Drive

Also: USB thumb drive. A small USB data storage device that is removable, rewritable, and can be

easily carried in a pocket.

User Data

Any type of data generated by people interacting with software programs. User data includes:

Explicit Data, which is given by a user directly such as name, address, email, and phone number;

Implicit Data, which is not provided by the user directly but gleaned through analysis of user

interactions, such as pages visited, session duration, or type of device; and finally External Data which

has been gathered from third parties with whom an organization has a relationship.

Username

Also called account name, login ID, user ID. The credentials you use to access an electronic resources,

such as your computer or a website. Every account on a website or device must be unique to that

service, so as to keep account information separate.

VGA

Video Graphics Array. A connector that takes video signal from a computer and takes it to the monitor

(or projector).

Virtual Personal Assistant

A software program that preforms tasks or services based upon verbal commands. Some of the most

well-known services are Siri and Alexa.

Viruses

A piece of malicious software that inserts itself into another software program that it uses to replicate

itself. Ransomware is a software virus.

WAV

Waveform Audio File Format. An audio file standard for uncompressed audio.

Web

Also called the World Wide Web, this is an information space on the Internet that is accessible from

devices such as computers, cell phones, and tablets, using a URL as the address.

Web Browser

A software program that allows you to access sites on the Internet, or web.

Web Cookie

See Cookie.

Website

a location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web

Wi-Fi

Short for wireless (the “fi” is an arbitrary syllable added on)

Widget

A graphical element that displays information or provides quick access to certain parts of an app.

Mobile devices frequently have a weather widget that is linked to your weather app, and which tells

you the current temperature and forecast.

Wireless Access Point

A device that allows your device to access the internet. If a wireless access point (or router) does not

have a password, it is unsecure, and you should assume that anyone can see what you are doing on

your device.

Wireless Router

A piece of hardware that allows devices to connect to the internet without being plugged into the wall.

Your wireless at home should be password protected, so that strangers cannot access all devices in

your home using that wireless network.

Wireless

A technology that allows computers to connect to a network and/or the internet without using a

physical connection. Wireless is available in an area when a wireless access point (also called a

hotspot) has been created and made accessible to devices. Public wireless is less secure and caution

should be used (ie, don’t make purchases or send private emails over a wireless network). Private

wireless networks (such as in your home) should be secured with a password.

World Wide Web

An information system on the Internet which allows documents to be connected to other documents

by hypertext links, enabling the user to search for information by moving from one document to

another.

References

An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination (2021) Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang

Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America (2019) Wylie, Christopher

A recent history of Facebook scandals (2019)

https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/a-recent-history-of-facebook-scandals-26157

Adam D. I. Kramer, Jamie E. Guillory, and Jeffrey T. Hancock “Experimental evidence of massive-

scale emotional contagion through social networks” (2014) PNAS 111 (24) 8788–8790

Censorship by Elizabeth R. Purdy (The First Amendment Encyclopedia) https://www.mtsu.edu/first-

amendment/article/896/censorship

Everything you've ever posted publicly on Facebook has probably been harvested. So what?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/facebook-scraping-public-profile-data-so-what-where-why-

1.4610146

Explained: All about Facebook's biggest controversy since Cambridge Analytica (2021)

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/explained-all-about-facebooks-biggest-controversy-

since-cambridge-analytica-7542651.html

Facebook Approved Ads With Coronavirus Misinformation (Consumer Reports – 2020)

https://www.consumerreports.org/social-media/facebook-approved-ads-with-coronavirus-

misinformation

Facebook attacked over app that reveals period dates of its users (Guardian - 2019)

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/23/facebook-app-data-leaks

Facebook says Apple iOS privacy change will result in $10 billion revenue hit this year (2022)

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/facebook-says-apple-ios-privacy-change-will-cost-10-billion-

this-year.html

Facebook turned over chat messages between mother and daughter now charged over abortion

(2022) https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-turned-chat-messages-mother-

daughter-now-charged-abortion-rcna42185

Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and data mining: What you need to know (CNet - 2018)

https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-cambridge-analytica-data-mining-and-trump-what-you-need-

to-know/

Facebook, Inc., FTC v. : https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/191-0134-

facebook-inc-ftc-v

Facebook’s Notifications Are Out of Control. Here’s How to Tame Them. (NY Times 2019)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/smarter-living/stop-facebook-notifications.html

Facebook’s Secret Censorship Rules Protect White Men From Hate Speech But Not Black Children

(ProPublica - 2017)

https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-hate-speech-censorship-internal-documents-

algorithms

Facebook's latest controversy has echoes of Cambridge Analytica scandal (CNN - 2019)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/11/tech/facebook-rankwave-korean-data/index.html

Guess what? Facebook still tracks you on Android apps (even if you don't have a Facebook account)

https://privacyinternational.org/blog/2758/guess-what-facebook-still-tracks-you-android-apps-

even-if-you-dont-have-facebook-account

How the cookie became a monster (2022) https://www.npr.org/2022/11/18/1137657496/third-party-

cookie-data-tracking-internet-user-privacy

Recover Your Facebook Account if You Can’t Log In

https://www.facebook.com/help/105487009541643

How to Memoralize a Facebook Account

https://www.facebook.com/help/1506822589577997

How to Secure your Facebook Account (CNet & Lifewire)

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/secure-your-facebook-account-in-six-easy-steps/

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-secure-your-facebook-timeline-2487774

How to Use Facebooks Privacy Settings (Consumer Reports)

https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/facebook-privacy-settings/

If Facebook is stalking me, what about Instagram? (Washington Post, 2020)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/01/30/help-desk-if-facebook-is-stalking-me-

what-about-instagram

Information flow reveals prediction limits in online social activity. Nature Human Behaviour volume

3, pages 122–128 (2019) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0510-5

Right-wing media thrives on Facebook. Whether it rules is more complicated.

https://www.vox.com/recode/21419328/facebook-conservative-bias-right-wing-crowdtangle-election

(Vox 2020)

Sensitive to claims of bias, Facebook relaxed misinformation rules for conservative pages

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/sensitive-claims-bias-facebook-relaxed-misinformation-

rules-conservative-pages-n1236182 (NBC 2020)

She risked everything to expose Facebook. Now she’s telling her story. (MIT Technology review 2021)

https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/07/29/1030260/facebook-whistleblower-sophie-zhang-

global-political-manipulation

Social Media and the Transformation of Public Space (2015)

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305115622482

The Complete Guide to Facebook Privacy (Wired.com)

https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-privacy-apps-ads-friends-delete-account/

The Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, explained with a simple diagram (Vox - 2018)

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/23/17151916/facebook-cambridge-analytica-

trump-diagram

The Facebook Files: A Wall Street Journal investigation : https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-

facebook-files-11631713039

The indisputable harm caused by Facebook (Washington Post 2021)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/26/indisputable-harm-caused-by-facebook

The Many Identifiers in Our Pockets: A primer on mobile privacy and security (2015)

https://citizenlab.ca/2015/05/the-many-identifiers-in-our-pocket-a-primer-on-mobile-privacy-and-

security

Under Facebook’s new algorithm, conservative meme pages are outperforming all political news

pages (Media Matters - 2018)

https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/07/24/under-facebook-s-new-algorithm-conservative-

meme-pages-are-outperforming-all-political-news-pages/220768

We’re Keeping Track of All of Facebook’s Scandals So You Don’t Have To (Fortune - 2018)

https://fortune.com/2018/04/06/facebook-scandals-mark-zuckerberg/

What You Don’t Know About How Facebook Uses Your Data (NYT - 2018)

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/technology/facebook-privacy-hearings.html

Index

User Tracking .................................................... 1

Unique Identifiers ............................................. 1

Web Cookies ..................................................... 2

Privacy .............................................................. 2

Apps Sharing Personal Data ( - 2019) .............. 2

Facebook Controversies ................................... 2

Scams ................................................................ 2

Retaining users’ deleted videos (2018) ............ 2

Data-Breaches 2018-2021 ................................ 2

Scraping Public Profiles ................................... 3

World-Wide Election Meddling ....................... 3

Rohingya (2018-2019) ...................................... 3

India (2019-2021) ............................................. 3

Russian Meddling ............................................. 3

Cambridge Analytica (2014-2018) ................... 4

Anti-Trust? ....................................................... 4

Censorship ........................................................ 5

Public Discourse and Mental Health ............... 6

Emotional Manipulation .................................. 6

And Yet… .......................................................... 6

Making Your Facebook Use More Secure ........ 7

Using Facebook ................................................ 8

Posts .................................................................. 8

Public vs Friends vs Groups ............................. 8

News Feed ......................................................... 8

Facebook Settings ............................................. 9

Activity Settings ................................................ 9

Notifications ................................................... 10

How to Delete Facebook .................................. 11

Facebook Website ............................................ 12

News Feed (Browser) ...................................... 12

News Feed Preferences (Browser) ................. 12

Writing Posts (Browser) ................................. 14

Editing Posts (Browser) .................................. 14

Settings (Browser) ........................................... 15

Accessing Your Facebook Settings (Browser) . 15

Privacy (Browser) ........................................... 16

Privacy Center (Browser) ............................... 16

Apps within Facebook (Browser) ................... 20

Messenger (Browser) ...................................... 20

Using Facebook Messenger in Your Browser 20

Facebook App on Android .............................. 23

News Feed (Android)...................................... 24

Settings (Android) .......................................... 24

Posts (Android) ............................................... 26

Facebook App on iOS ..................................... 28

News Feed (iOS) ............................................. 29

Posts (iOS) ...................................................... 29

Facebook Settings (iOS) ................................. 30

Accessing Facebook Settings (iOS) ................ 30

Location Settings (iOS) .................................. 30

Web Browsers ................................................. 32

Web Browser Add-Ons ................................... 32

Phone Apps ..................................................... 32

Closing Apps on an Android Device ............... 32

To Force Stop Apps on an Android Device .... 32

Closing Apps on an iOS Device ...................... 32

Emoticons ....................................................... 33

Acronyms ........................................................ 34

Technology Glossary ....................................... 35

References ....................................................... 48

Index ................................................................ 51

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