Month: July 2019

Did you know that as of the first quarter of 2019, Facebook had a whopping 2.38 billion monthly active users?

In the U.S. alone, 69% of adults are on this super popular social networking platform. Of these Facebookers, three-fourths check their accounts at least once a day.

That’s how big Facebook is, what with its messaging, gaming, and video features.

But did you know that there are likely as many hidden Facebook features as the visible ones you may not be aware of?

That’s right! And it’s time you learn more about these to up your Facebook experience. Many of them are also for your own privacy and security.

Ready to learn more about these features? Then let’s get this list of lesser-known Facebook tips and features started!

1. The “Friends Organizer” Feature

Facebook already has default friend lists like “Close Friends”, Acquaintances”, and “Restricted”. But you can also create a custom list, say “Family” or “Co-Workers” to help you better organize your friends. Custom lists also make placing restrictions easier (we’ll go deeper into this later).

To create a custom list, head to your Facebook home page or News Feed page. On the left panel, look for “Explore”, under which is the “Friends List”. If it’s not there, click on the “See More” option to bring it up.

On the “Friend Lists” page, click on “+ Create List”. Enter the names of all the “friends” you want to include in that list. Hit “Create” to save the list.

2. The “Restricted Friends” List

In 2016, 38.35% of Facebook users in the U.S. had between 200 and 500 friends. Almost 21% of users also had over 500 friends.

Let’s say you’re part of either group. The question is, do you really want all these “friends” to see all your posts? It’s possible you have a few who aren’t real-life buddies, so you don’t want to share all posts with them.

The good news is, there are several nifty Facebook features you can use in such cases. One is the “Restricted” option we mentioned above.

Before you post something, click on the “Friends” option beside “News Feed”. This will let you change who can see your post. Click “More” > “See All” > and then “Custom”. You can now specify who gets to see your posts and who doesn’t.

You can put individual names and entire friend lists in your custom privacy settings.

3. The “Previous Post” Finder

Maybe you were half-asleep when you posted something on Facebook. Or you were busy when someone tagged you in a post and then forgot about it.

Either way, you have vague recollections of something post-related. Now, you want to find it amidst the sea of posts on your timeline.

The “Posts” feature is one of the Facebook tricks to use in such cases. See that small inverted triangle on the upper right-hand corner of your Facebook page? Click that to bring down your account options and then choose “Settings”.

On the “Settings” page, click “Your Facebook Information” > “Access Your Information” > “Posts”. Under “Posts”, you’ll find several options, like “Your Posts” and “Posts You’re Tagged In”. Choose the one you want to check and review.

4. The “Past Comments” Finder

There’s also a similar feature for previous comments you posted. The option is still under the “Access Your Information” page, right below the “Posts” option. Click the “Comments” options, which will make the clickable “Comments” link appear.

Clicking that will direct you to a page containing all your posted comments. You’ll also find here comments of other people who mention your name.

This is a good way to review your comments and make edits as you wish. It can also refresh your memory in case you forgot to reply to someone.

5. The “Personal Facebook Data Back-Up Creator”

Want to have your own backup of everything you did on Facebook? Maybe you want to keep track of polls you’ve created for your business. Perhaps you want a backup of all conversations you’ve had.

Whatever the reason is, you can download your entire (or select) Facebook information. Head back to your settings and click on “Your Facebook Information”. Click on the “Download Your Information” option so you can start making backups.

6. The “Call-a-Friend” Feature (In Case of Account Lock Out)

One study found that over a third of Internet users forget a password at least once every week. If you’re one of these folks, you have a high risk of getting locked out of your Facebook account.

Luckily, you can “call a friend” in such cases, up to five them in fact. You can nominate these friends by going to “Settings” then “Security and Login”. Here, you’ll find the “Recommended” action to nominate friends you can call in case of a lockout.

7. The Human Facebook Support Expert

Speaking of calling a friend, Facebook doesn’t offer a direct phone or email support line. Yes, they may all be about socializing, but they’re not big on customer support. If you have a question, you need to rely on the Help Center, which is only a knowledge database.

So, here’s one of the best kept Facebook secrets: You can get expert Facebook help via phone or online chat. If you need Facebook support from experts, this is the fastest way to get the help you need.

8. The “Snooper-Finder” Feature

Another of the best Facebook secrets for security is the “Where You’re Logged In” feature. You’ll find this under “Security and Login”, right below the call-a-friend option. Here, you’ll find all devices that have accessed your account, including the time and place.

This is a great way to know if someone else aside from you have logged in to your account. If there’s something fishy in the list, you can log out from that device. You can also log out of all devices at once by hitting “Log Out of All Sessions”.

9. The “Hidden Inbox”

Did you know that there’s another Messenger folder aside from the main one? That’s right! This is the “Message Requests” inbox, where messages from people you aren’t friends with go to.

On the web platform, you’ll find this by clicking on the Messenger icon. Right beside the “Recent” option is the “Message Requests” folder. Click this to find out if there’s anyone you actually know trying to connect with you.

On the Messenger mobile app, you can access this “hidden” folder by tapping on the “People” icon. On the upper right hand, you’ll find a message balloon with three dots on it. That’ll bring up the Message Requests inbox.

10. The “Restricted Friend Request” Setting

Ever wondered how in the world you get those friend requests from people you don’t even know? Well, that’s because your Facebook friend request setting is set to “Everyone”.

You can change this to “Friends of Friends” by going to “Settings” then “Privacy”. Click “Edit” beside the question, “Who can send you friend requests?” then choose “Friends of Friends”.

Use these Hidden Facebook Features Now

There you have it, some of the hidden Facebook features you should know about and should use ASAP. With these, you can enjoy a higher level of privacy without having to unfriend people. Best of all, you can worry less about cybersecurity concerns.

Need more help with your Facebook account and want answers ASAP? Then ask a Facebook expert who can address your concerns right away!  

The last thing that comes to mind when a loved one dies is their Facebook account. But, knowing how to memorialize a Facebook account may be an essential part of organizing you or your loved one’s affairs. 

It may also be a therapeutic part of the grieving process. Grief is a complex state of being. Grief morphs and changes over time and the stages of grief can vary.

Sometimes what we need most is a sense of closure. To start, we need to understand what the death of a loved one means to us emotionally. We also need to determine how the financial aspects of their death will be handled.

But, the Digital Age also requires us to get our online presence in order. The internet, unfortunately, is full of scammers and hackers looking to make a quick buck. These con artists may attempt to take advantage of a Facebook account after someone passes on. 

They may attempt to steal data, scam your Facebook friends, or pretend to be the deceased individual.

Read on to learn how to memorialize your Facebook account to aid in the grieving process and prevent scam artists from taking advantage. 

Protection During Grief: How to Memorialize a Facebook Account

Online scams are on the rise. Scammers are becoming more and more clever and sinister when it comes to their tactics. These scammers prey on the fears and hopes of others to con them out of their hard earned money.

And, Facebook isn’t the only online medium you’ll need to be concerned about. You’ll also need a plan to get your email, online bank accounts, and other social media accounts in order. Email scams are particularly common in this day and age, so it’s essential that you either close down your account entirely or provide your login information to a loved one upon your passing. 

Taking these steps to get your online affairs in order will help to make you feel more at ease. It will also protect your loved ones and friends once you pass on. Explore the following steps to understand how to memorialize a Facebook account after you or your loved passes on. 

1. Legacy Contact Versus Memorializing a Facebook Account

Selecting a Legacy Contact is an alternative to memorializing a Facebook account. Choosing a Legacy Contact occurs before one’s death whereas memorialization occurs after. Having a Legacy Contact gives you more control of what happens to your Facebook account once you pass away. 

It allows your Legacy Contact to continue accepting friend requests on your memorialized account, update your profile information, and alter your profile picture and cover photo. They will not be able to access your private messages on Facebook, however. 

With your permission, your Legacy Contact can also download your Facebook data. Your Facebook data includes your photos, timeline posts, and profile information. 

Memorializing a Facebook account can occur if you don’t select a Legacy Contact. Your family member will contact Facebook notifying them of your death, and then your account name will be changed to “Remembering” and then your name. 

Memorializing your Facebook account prevents anyone from logging into or altering your Facebook account and settings. This prevents hackers from taking over the account and accessing information.

2. Legacy Contact: Facebook Settings

To select a Legacy Contact, go to your Facebook settings. Select “Security” under these settings and then “Legacy Contact.” You’ll then click “edit” and be prompted to select a Legacy Contact from your Facebook friends list. 

Type in the person’s name and select them from the list by clicking “add”. At this time, you can send the person a private message notifying them of their Legacy Contact status. This is optional, however, so you can also discuss this with them in-person or at a later time. 

Lastly, you’ll need to decide whether you want your Legacy contact to be able to download your Facebook data. Under “Data Archive Permission” select the box if you want them to be able to download your data.

3. Memorialize Account Form and Documentation

If a loved one passed on and did not select a Legacy Contact prior to their death, then you’ll be able to memorialize their account. To do so, you’ll need to fill out this form on Facebook.

You’ll also need to provide Facebook with your loved one’s name and date of death. You’ll also have the option to provide Facebook with proof of death, but this isn’t mandatory.

4. Deleting an Account after Death

The third option to memorialize a Facebook account is to request deletion of the account. To do so, you’ll need to fill out the same form provided above. However, you’re required to also provide proof that you are an immediate family member of the deceased Facebook user.

To do this, you can provide Facebook with a birth certificate, proof of authority, or a death certificate.

Date of death, email address of the deceased, and their full name and Facebook URL are also required. If you have a question or concern, then get Facebook support for individualized help. 

Getting Your Affairs in Order: How to Memorialize a Facebook Account

Thinking about our own mortality can sometimes make us feel sad and fearful. But, it’s a fact of life that we must all face at one time. By knowing how to memorialize a Facebook account, your online social media presence will be safer for all. 

If you choose to designate a Legacy Contact instead of memorializing your Facebook account, then have an in-depth discussion with this person. Let them know about your wishes regarding your Facebook and how you would like to be remembered online. Doing so can provide you with a sense of relief and control knowing that your memory will be honored. 

If you or a loved one is making your final arrangements and getting your affairs in order, then seek out help. Consider speaking with a therapist or a member of the religious community. You should also consider speaking with a lawyer about your will.

There are also many grief support groups to help you cope. Seek out an online group or a group in your community to gain the emotional support you need. These groups can help you to feel understood and not alone during the grieving process. 

Would you like to discuss how to memorialize a Facebook account directly with Facebook support? Check out our blog post to learn how to contact Facebook support chat. 

Approximately 1.4 billion people use Facebook every day.

Facebook has revolutionized the social context of who we see as friends. This is because a complete strange is one click away from becoming a friend, and having access to some of your most personal information.

Choosing friends on Facebook has become a challenging task due to the privacy risks that exist. But Facebook still enables you to control how much anyone can see about you.

Most people don’t know these tools, so here’s a guide on how to manage your Facebook friends.

1. Create a Friends’ List

Making a friend list on your Facebook profile will allow controlling the number of friends who have access to certain information you share on your profile.

For instance, if you attended a wedding recently, you can make a list of your relatives on Facebook. And then share the pictures or information with them.

You can create a list by:

• Go to the main page of your Facebook
• Scroll to the friend, and click
• Select the option to make a list
• Add the names of the friends you want on the list

You can add, and remove friends from the list you have created. The making a list helps you exclude certain people, even members of your family from accessing some of the information you want to post on your timeline.

The friends’ list also enables you to share sensitive information with only a limited number of people. For instance, if a loved one is going through cancer treatment or has recently died, sharing the information with close friends, and family can be facilitated by using the list.

2. How to Unfriend People

The number of friends you have on Facebook can quickly get out of hand. The best way to manage your Facebook friends is to figure out who the ones you are still connected with in some way are, and dropping the ones that are no longer in your life.

You can do this through various methods, such as the birthday updates. This method is particularly effective, Facebook sends you daily updates of the friends who have birthdays. You can either send them birthday wishes or you can simply click on the unfriend button.

Selecting the unfriend option is a safe way to manage your Facebook friends, and they will not be notified once you decide to unfriend them. You should be sure that you want to unfriend someone to prevent the awkwardness of having to resend a friend request to someone you already unfriended.

3. Blocking Friends

If you don’t want to unfriend someone due to various reasons. You can block them, and still get to decide when to check on them from time to time. Blocking a friend will prevent them from sending you any messages, and this is a good way to prevent your stalkers from disturbing you.

You can block someone by visiting their Facebook profile, then clicking on the gear-shaped button. The button will give an option to block the user, and you can proceed by clicking okay. Blocking a friend can be applied when they are harassing you or when they keep sending you multiple friend requests.

You can also report the user to Facebook by indicating how they have harassed. And their accounts will be suspended or disabled.

4. Finding Old Friends

If you are new to Facebook, and you want to reconnect with some of your high school friends. You can manually search for them by typing in their name on the search bar. But if you have forgotten their names, then you should fill out your personal bio with information that you share such as where you attended high school, college or even your area of residence.

Facebook will then generate friend options based on the information you have provided. You can also make the information more specific by providing dates such as when you completed high school. This will help you reconnect with some of your old friends, and even join various groups.

If you have changed your name, but still want some of your friends to find you. Then you can go to account settings and enter three names that are known by your friends.

5. Select What Shows up on Your News-feed

Your news-feed can be filled up with the information you do not really care about. You can manage this by going to the homepage and clicking on the News-feed tab. It is the one with the three dots next close to it.

Click on the three dots and then click on edit preferences. This will allow you to use the tools that can help you determine what shows up on your news-feed. Selecting the preferences can also help you manage your Facebook friends.

This is done by allowing you to unfollow pages, and people that you don’t want on your news-feed without having to unfriend them.

6. Create Rules for Who Makes the Cut

You can come up with certain rules that will help you decide who you accept as a friend. This will help you manage the number of friends you have, and will help you stay closer with the friends you already have.

For instance, you can choose to only accept friend requests from people you know from work, school, or they are related to your family. You can also check the user’s profile if you are not sure you know them.

This will help you decide who you keep as a friend, and will save you the time, and energy used to block or unfriend someone you don’t want as a friend.

At ExpertHelp, we can help you with ways to create rules for your friends.

Manage Your Facebook Friends

Privacy is the most important element in helping you manage your Facebook friends. You can improve the privacy of your account by using a stronger password. You should also talk about privacy with some of your friends, and ask them before tagging them in any photos or posts you share.

You can also use the privacy settings to protect your account, by choosing what people can see on your timeline. If you realize that your account has been hacked, report the incident to Facebook, and open another account.

For more information, visit our page.

Established in February 2004, Facebook is a private company that, since it’s conception, has generated more than 2.38 billion users. That’s a third of the world’s population.

Facebook is a social media and networking company that allows anyone 13 years of age or older, to create an account. Facebook provides a way for friends, family, and strangers alike, to connect and share from almost anywhere in the world. 45% of adults even get some of their news from Facebook.

Facebook is an important part of many lives, which is why the average daily user spends about 41 minutes a day on Facebook. It’s also why having a Facebook disabled account can be such an awful feeling.

But how does it happen? What causes a Facebook account to become disabled? Keep reading to find out how it happens and what to do next if it happens to you.

Did You Violate the Terms and Conditions?

We’re not saying this is the only way, but if you violated Facebook’s terms and conditions, it’s one way to get your account disabled.

Here are some of the common reasons or ways in which a Facebook user may violate those Facebook rules:

• Caught using a fake profile name
• Impersonating someone else
• Posts have been marked as spam and sent to Facebook
• Harsh or unsuitable behavior
• Posting inappropriate or harsh comments on Facebook groups and pages
• Hacking into other people’s accounts
• Contacting others for the purpose of advertising or promoting in a way that’s not allowed
• Contacting others for the purpose of harassment

In addition to potentially breaking these terms and conditions that Facebook users must follow, there are other ways that your account may become disabled.

How Else Could It Become Disabled?

If people report to Facebook about your account on multiple occasions, Facebook may decide to disable your account.

It can also happen by accident. Maybe you left your browser open somewhere, or maybe you disabled your account by accident. If this is the case, you should be able to open it back up again.

What Does It Mean If Your Account Is Disabled?

If your account has been disabled temporarily, you’ll receive a message when you attempt to log in that says, “Your Account has been disabled. If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page here.”

For a Facebook disabled account, you’ll receive a message when you attempt to log in that says, “Your account has been permanently disabled.” Below that message, it might list a reason such as for not following the Facebook Community Standards.

If your Facebook account was disabled by yourself, either on purpose or by accident, you’ll be able to open it back up just by logging in the way you used to. If your account was temporarily or permanently disabled by the Facebook team, you’ll have to fill out the “disabled appeal form,” which is available on the website.

If you include a photo of yourself on a government-issued ID, it could increase your chances of being able to reopen that account.

Furthermore, the more you explain the situation, the better. Provide as much information as you can about what happened in the “Additional Info” section. Be as honest and as detailed as you can.

What Happens If You Can’t Get Your Account Back?

Losing access to a long list of friends and contacts, years worth of irreplaceable videos and photos, and all of your shared messages is an awful feeling.

For many Facebook users, there are a lot of Facebook friends who are only accessible through Facebook. Many users don’t have phone numbers or addresses for people that they continue to keep in touch with over the years, and Facebook provides as the only contact they have with those people. Losing all of that can leave someone with a feeling of panic and emptiness.

Losing your photos and videos alone can be an emotional loss. Shared messages are like hand-written letters of the past and, many Facebook users keep their messages around as if it were a box of letters.

Should the worst happen, you might want to reach out to a professional Facebook expert where you can participate in a live chat or talk on the phone in order to get help.

How Long Will It Take After You File an Appeal?

It can take 5-20 days in order to hear back about an appeal that you submitted. If you still haven’t received a response after 30 days, you may then submit another one. But remember, if you temporarily disable your own account, you don’t need to submit an appeal to Facebook. You simply need to log in as you normally would in order to reopen your account.

If your account has been permanently disabled, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to open it back. That being said, it’s very rare that Facebook will disable an account permanently, and if they do so, it’s usually for a good reason.

Should that be the case, start reaching out to friends and family in order to recover as much as you can from your lost account. You can also ask a specialist for help.

A Facebook Disabled Account Is Not the Be-All and End-All

A Facebook disabled account can be a stressful thing to deal with, especially if you don’t know why it happened in the first place. The important thing is not to panic, and to go through the steps to try and figure out what happened and then get your account back up and running.

Get help from the very beginning so that you understand the ins and outs of Facebook. This will give you a head start to make sure that nothing like this happens again. 

Do you need to contact Facebook or file an appeal but need help to do so? You can take the first step here.