There’s been some bad blood between Facebook and…everyone...for a while now.

A simple Google search will tell you why. Type “Facebook privacy” and you get:

‘Facebook privacy scandal’, ‘Facebook privacy issues’, ‘Facebook privacy violation’ etc.

Business Insider reports that Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes wrote in a recent column for the New York Times that it’s time to break up the company because its apps have too much power over our lives.

Referring to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, he said, “Mark alone can decide how to configure Facebook’s algorithms to determine what people see in their News Feeds, what privacy settings they can use and even which messages get delivered.”

If that statement creeps you out, then you might want to look into Facebook’s “kill switch”.

It’s the Facebook setting that shuts down apps and other websites from sharing or accessing your information. It’s a useful trick that many people don’t know about, especially if you want as much privacy as possible while maintaining your account. (We all know it is difficult to live without Facebook entirely – so this is the next best thing.)

The “kill switch” is called “Platform”, and is the way that third-party games (like Candy Crush) or websites (“Would you like to sign in using Facebook?”) are integrated with your profile.

It’s also the way that apps and bad actors are able to grab your info from your profile.

Turn it off and you will keep the maximum amount of your personal data safe from harvesting by companies like Cambridge Analytica.

Here’s how:

Go to the right-hand corner and click the little down-arrow:

Go to “Settings”:

Select “Apps and Websites”:

Scroll down until you see “Apps, Websites and Game” – click “Edit”:

Click the “Turn Off” Button. It controls the platform.

Done!

Although this means that you won’t be able to log into websites or apps using Facebook, and friends won’t be able to share information with you through apps, it’s probably worth it just for the peace of mind.

Happy Facebooking.

[source:businessinsider]