The new Facebook Timeline profile is visual layout documenting your online past from the moment you joined Facebook to the present. You can scroll through years of comments and photos with a single click. So this means, if you made 150 new friends in 2011 those friends can see all your earlier Facebook activity. Unless you configure your privacy and set up list control all your comments, photos and event history will be exposed to all your friends.
Fortunately you can edit the Timeline and remove comments, photos, you don't want visible. Chicago Tech Projects recommends a few helpful tips to protect your privacy on Facebook and configure your Timeline before publishing it to your profile.
Tip #3: Review your past posts
No matter how long you've been on Facebook months or years, it will be well worth time it takes to go through your Timeline past. There are few ways to navigate the new Facebook Timeline. Click on any of the years listed in upper right hand or click the year on the timeline to expose all stories from that year. To remove items or feature items you want, simply put your cursor over any photo or comment to edit and remove it.
Tip #2: Create Facebook Friends Lists
Lists are great Facebook feature that let's you control what your friends see. Click the Facebook logo in upper left, see the list section located below your profile photo. Consider creating lists to categorize your friends. After you add friends to a lists, next click Home link (upper right corner) to set your privacy settings. Choose "How You Connect" to set which friend list gets to see your full Timeline.
Tip #3: Adjust your application settings
If you use third party application like Netflix, Spotify, or Yahoo News for Facebook your activity may be broadcast to all your Facebook friends. Does everyone need to get notified that you are listening to Lady Gaga. No. To adjust your application settings, click the Home link in the upper right corner then choose "Apps and Websites" to configure how Facebook shares your activity.
Tip #4: Think before you Share
It can be time consuming to go through all the steps to protect your privacy so most important remember share sparingly. If years from now you will find comment or photo distasteful then reconsider posting it to your timeline. Share your heart with your real friends and family offline - the old fashion way. Call up a friend and chit chat over coffee.
Overall, the Facebook Timeline is great tool to create an online scrapbook to showcase parts of your life. The best part is that Timeline allows to clean up your past and you have control over what to share.