Welcome to our guide to the 10 things you should never post on social media. In today’s world, where it’s so easy to share things online, it’s really important to know what’s safe to share and what’s not. We’ll talk about the things you shouldn’t share, like personal information that could put you in danger or posts that might make you look bad.
This guide will help you be more careful and smart when you’re online, making sure you stay safe and keep a good image. Let’s start learning about what to keep off your social media profiles.
1. Travel Plans
Be careful about showing off your exciting vacation plans or putting up photos while you’re away. Someone might see this and use it the wrong way. For example, if a bad person knows where you live and finds out you’ve been gone for two weeks, they might think it’s a good chance to break into your house.
Instead, wait until you get back home to share anything about your trip. It’s not as fun, but it’s safer because it doesn’t let everyone know you’re not at home.
Also, be careful with photos of your house. Pictures of where you live can give away clues about where you are and spots where your house might not be secure, like windows or doors that aren’t strong.
2. Location Data
Social media apps can find out where you are from your internet connection or your phone’s GPS. Before you post something, make sure the app isn’t showing your location, and turn that off. You usually don’t need to let everyone know your location.
If you put up photos, others might see extra details about where and how you took the photo. It’s a good idea to take this extra information from your photos before you put them online.
Also, be careful about sharing your home address and phone number. Don’t share these in public places online, because you never know who might see them and what they could do with that information.
3. Personally-Identifying Information
Sites like Facebook have a lot of information that bad people can use to pretend to be you on social media. It’s best not to share things that can prove who you are, like your full birthday. Also, never put up pictures of things like your driver’s license, passport, or credit card because they have personal information you don’t want everyone to see.
Watch out for “fun quizzes” on social media that ask things like where you went to school or your first pet’s name.
These questions are sometimes used to keep your online accounts safe. The good news is that many websites are getting rid of these simple security questions, but they can still be a way for bad people to get into your accounts. Sharing these answers might let someone hack into your account. Keep yourself safe by keeping this information to yourself.
4. Personal Complaints and Rants
Don’t use social media to complain about your job, coworkers, or family issues. If you do, someone might see it and tell them, causing trouble.
When you apply for a job or something similar, remember that companies and governments often check your social media. So, it’s better not to post things that could make you look bad.
Instead, if you need to vent your frustrations, consider keeping a private journal. It’s a good idea to avoid posting angry stuff on social media.
But don’t worry; you can still use social media to get help if you have a real problem. Just be polite when you ask for assistance.
5. Self-Incriminating Evidence
Posting a joke or comment on social media that doesn’t sound right can cause problems, but it’s much worse to do something illegal and then show it on social media.
You usually won’t find really big crimes talked about on Facebook or Twitter. But sometimes people joke about dangerous things like driving after drinking or taking photos while driving.
There are also times when people show pictures of illegal stuff like drugs, guns they shouldn’t have, or money they took. It’s also a really bad idea to put up private pictures of yourself.
The best thing to do is never post anything like this on social media. Getting a few likes is not worth hurting your image or getting you into legal trouble.
6. Expensive New Purchases
Many people like to post pictures of their new stuff on social media, like a new phone, computer, car, TV, or jewelry. But it’s not always a good idea to show off what you buy on social media.
The main reason is simple: if you tell everyone about your expensive new things, it might attract people who want to steal them or take advantage of you. For example, if you tell people you won a lot of money, they might try to use you for it.
Another thing to think about is how these posts can make social media feel bad. Seeing only the best parts of other people’s lives can make you feel like your life isn’t as good.
7. Personal Advice
It’s common to see people on social media asking for help with feeling homesick or needing legal advice. But, even if you know a lot, it’s better not to advise about health or legal stuff on social media. This is true even if you’re a doctor or lawyer.
The main reason is you don’t have all the information. If someone is sick or has a big problem, they should go see a real expert. This is also true for advice about exercising, losing weight, eating right, money, relationships, and other personal things. You can’t understand everything just from a social media post.
It’s best to keep quiet about these topics. If your advice goes wrong and someone gets hurt, they might be able to take you to court.
8. Scammy Giveaways and Contests
Social media is a popular place for businesses to hold giveaways and contests because it’s really easy to just click “share.” But, while many giveaways on Facebook and other platforms are real, it’s a good idea to think before sharing them all the time.
If you keep sharing giveaways, contests and invites to Facebook games, you might be bothering your friends. More importantly, some of these contests on social media might be scams. By sharing them, you might accidentally help spread harmful software or trick people into giving away their personal information.
To stay safe, be cautious about any posts that push you to share a lot and ask for your personal information.
9. Privileged Inside Information
It’s easy to make a mistake and accidentally share private information in a public place. But you should always be careful not to reveal confidential information on social media. If you know about secret details at work, it’s important not to share them, especially online.
Talking about things like upcoming layoffs, your company’s plans for the future, and other insider information can cause serious problems. This also applies to your family; avoid posting private family matters that others don’t need to know. If it’s not your news, it’s best not to share it.
10. Anything You Don’t Want to Make Public
Here’s a general tip for anything not already mentioned: only post things on social media that you’d be okay with everyone in the world seeing.
Once something is online, it’s really hard to completely remove it. Even if you share posts just with friends, you can’t be sure who else sees, saves, or shares your posts and pictures. For example, someone might take a picture of your post and show it to others.
If you put something online now and feel bad about it later, you can delete it from your profile, but it won’t be gone from the internet. A simple rule is to not post or share anything that you wouldn’t want on the front page of a newspaper.
What You Shouldn’t Share Online
Social media is good for keeping in touch with friends you don’t see often, but it’s different from talking to someone in person. It’s easy to share too much, forget who might see your posts, or make other slip-ups.
When you post information on social media, you’re giving away some of your privacy, and this could also make you feel less safe. So, it’s a good idea to think about what you share online.