Social Media Use Security

How to protect yourself

Basic Steps:

Before you share or post something, think before you post. In general:

• Be yourself and share authentically about unclassified Navy and Navy-related topics to your service.

• Know that everything online is potentially available to everyone in the world, including your leaders, co-workers, as well as those who would wish you harm like criminals or adversaries.

• Know that once information is posted online it can remain there forever and be used in ways you never intended.

• Maintain a clear separation at all times on social media between your Navy affiliation and your political views to avoid creating the appearance that the Navy is endorsing a specific policy, candidate or party.

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Protect your social media accounts by:

• Choose applications wisely. Many applications share information with marketers and others.

• Check your privacy and security settings:

  • Use recommended privacy settings for your profile for each social media platform you're on.

  • Routinely check and update settings to be as restrictive as possible.

  • Use a different, strong password for each online account.

  • Change your password every 30-60 days.

• Don't share any passwords with anyone, including third-party sites.

• Don't share personally identifiable information (PII) that can be used to impersonate you or steal your identity.

• Think twice before sharing your location, because it indicates when you're not at home and vulnerable.

• Don't click on links that go to unfamiliar sites.

• Don't "friend" or "connect" with strangers.