Posting a legal notice on your Facebook wall will protect you from having all your Facebook posts made public — FALSE. That’s how myth-busting site Snopes is describing an old Facebook scam that’s making the rounds again!
Read more: 5 Facebook scams to watch out for
Beware of Facebook privacy hoax
If you see a status update about Facebook coming for your photos or other personal information, it’s a hoax.
This scam has been around for a while but has recently started making the rounds again.
According to Snopes, the fake warning make look something like this:
Different versions of the scam have been surfacing on Facebook for years — with some claiming you need to post a legally-binding message to protect your photos and other information from becoming public, and others claiming you will be charged a fee to keep your info private.
Facebook has addressed these types of scams in the past and confirmed that they are not real, as stated in the company’s privacy policy.
“This is false. Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information they post, as stated in our terms,” Facebook stated. “They control how that content and information is shared. That is our policy, and it always has been.”
Facebook’s terms also explain the difference between your public and private posts:
‘When you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture).’
But when you post using the private settings, Facebook’s rules are different. You can learn more on the company’s Policies page.
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