Teenagers and young adults dominate social media apps and typically have more than one of the many apps available. Whether it’s Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or any other social media app imaginable, there are several ways to ensure one’s safety and avoid an invasion of privacy.

With public accounts, virtually anyone can see your activities. Due to the publicity, many employers have started evaluating potential employees’ accounts to monitor their behavior. One way to avoid this evaluation is by having private accounts. Private accounts allow the users to monitor who can follow them and view their posts.

Privacy sacrificed for the sake of social media accounts can also lead to dangerous situations. For example, a recent update on Snapchat included the addition of ‘Snapmap.’ On this map, if you choose to share your location, any of your friends can see where you are at any given moment. The use of knowledge of the location is unnecessary for others and could add a stalkerish element to daily life. In order to eliminate this potential safety hazard, users can utilize the “Ghost Mode,” where no one is allowed access to your location. A simple privacy setting like this could save a life.

Instagram is another social media app that allows privacy settings. Users have the choice to make their account private, where anyone wishing to follow them must be accepted by the user, or public, where anyone can follow or view their posts. Instagram also allows location tags when posting pictures.

So, when accounts are public and they post using the location feature it is easy to track the user. With no monitoring of who is following you, this can lead to potential hazards. However, making an account private provides an element of protection.

Monitoring what you post on any social media platform is vital. By avoiding posting pictures or information of where you are from, what school you go to and any other personal information, it is one way to ensure the protection of your privacy.