As the popularity of Facebook Groups grows (currently 10 million+ active groups) it’s important to understand the privacy levels of the groups you belong to.
Over the last few years Facebook users have become better educated on the privacy settings on their personal pages but those settings don’t apply when you join and participate in Facebook Groups.
The vast majority of Facebook users have set their privacy settings to ‘Friends Only’. When they post to their personal profile – only the people they have added to their ‘friends’ list will be able to see those posts. Even if one of your friends shares your post, it will not be visible to anyone outside of your friends list. (Note – Facebook is never truly private.)
When you join a Facebook Group, the Group’s settings override your personal privacy settings.
In a Private Group, MEMBERS can see your name in the members’ list, a snapshot of your personal profile (such as friends, location, public posts, other groups you belong to), all your posts and comments in the Group, and that you are an Admin or Moderator for the Group. Members CANNOT share your posts outside of the Group. If your Group Admins allow Business Pages to join (there could be several admins of that Page), all of them can see and interact with posts and members of the group.
In a Public Group ANYONE on the Internet can see your posts and comments in the Group. EVERYONE on Facebook can see your name in the members list, a snapshot of your personal profile (such as friends, location, public posts, other groups you belong to), and things you might have in common such as friends, hometown, other Groups, workplaces, etc. They can also see if you’re an Admin or Moderator for the Group. ANYONE in the Group can share your posts and comments outside of the Group.
To learn how to check the settings of your Groups, visit www.facebook.com/help/2580077045343981
Groups admins have a wide variety of settings and resources available to make managing Groups and their members easier. To learn more about managing Facebook Groups, visit www.facebook.com/community/.
If you are a Group Admin, I highly recommend getting certified (free) through Facebook.
Details at https://www.facebook.com/community/certification.
I’m happy to answer any questions from Facebook Group members and Admins on how to make your Group experience safe, productive and fun!
Sue Walker
Social Media