There are many reasons why you may want to hide your Facebook profile from Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines. All Facebook member profiles are available to search engines on the Internet by default. This means that, for example, when a random person enters your name on Google, your Facebook profile is usually the first on the list to appear.The information displayed, if your profile result is clicked on, would usually consist of your profile picture, pictures of some of your randomly selected friends, links to either add you as a friend or send you a message among other things.
Unsurprisingly not everyone thinks that having their profile picture or information available to every Tom, Dick and Harry is such a brilliant idea especially when almost anyone can send you a private message. It is almost the same situation as being tagged in a photo (by a friend) that automatically becomes available for everyone to see after a drunken night-out.
With the new (ever-changing) Facebook navigation design, it has never been easier to control whether or not anyone can see your Facebook profile on the Internet. At the top right hand corner of your homepage is the Account drop down menu. Click on Account and then Privacy settings which is actually listed separately from (General) Account and Application settings. At the bottom of the page is the Search control which takes you to the Search settings page where you can select who can view your Facebook search results and more importantly your public search results. To prevent Google and other search engines from showing your profile, simply un-tick the Allow box next to ‘Public Search Results’.
However not everyone would like to hide their profile from public view. Indeed, some of us would rather limit the amount of information available to strangers than totally erase it. In other to hide certain content from specific people, do not un-tick the Allow box as it only permits search engines to access information that you set to Everyone in other Facebook settings. Instead, proceed to Account and Application settings and adjust accordingly. By so doing, Google and others will not include anything you make visible to just Friends, Friends of Friends or Custom.
Talking Point
Are you bothered about your profile’s availability to search engines? Which group do you belong to: the share-all, share-some or share-non group?