Protecting Your Privacy on MySpace

If you're like millions of others you probably use MySpace on a regular basis. On top of it, especially if you're a female in the midst of MySpace's sea of people you're very concerned with privacy.

There are numerous ways for people to find information about other members. It could be something as inconspicuous as a friend of yours or yourself putting up parts of an IM conversation exposing your username to strangers you don't want seeing it. With the great search tool we've all heard of, known as Google, a lot can be found out from simply doing a search on that username. Especially if you sign up a lot of services online using that username. People could easily find other sites you belong to where you may not be protecting your privacy as well. And if you give out your name on any one of these other sites and then your hometown and state on another people could put two and two together and actually find your phone number and home address. Don't get all freaked out though since the person to go that far is a rarity and the average user on MySpace doesn't have the skill and understanding to do such deep searches. But it's better to be prepared than to not do anything at all.

Some Tips:

If you're under 18 or just do not want random people adding you just make your profile private.

1. To do so sign in and the My Account button towards the upper-right side of the screen right before Sign Out

2. Click the fourth link labeled Privacy

3. Under Profile Viewable By choose My Friends Only.

If you're not wanting to go that far in keeping that far in keeping your privacy the first thing i recommend is keeping all personally identifiable information off of your profile page. Under the privacy setting i also suggest you turn off allowing people to email your photos, make all your photo albums friends only and maybe even turn off showing your birthday.