Tired of Fake Friend Requests, Dumb Videos, and Scams? Here's How to Make Facebook and Instagram Fun Again.

Sixty-seven percent of people who use social media have received friend requests from people they don’t know, according to a nationally representative CR survey (PDF) of 2,042 U.S. adults conducted in April 2024. Before accepting, see if you have Facebook friends in common, and then check with them. Is this a legitimate contact? Go to the requester’s profile to see who they’re affiliated with and what they post. And if anything seems fishy, say no.

If you’ve viewed one Facebook or Instagram ad too many for multivitamins or slingback sandals, hit the three dots at the upper right and choose “Hide ad.” Or click on “Why am I seeing this ad?” to pull up several options, including “Hide all ads from this advertiser.”

Did you watch some cute cat reels and now regret it because your feed is flooded with them? Tap those same three dots and choose “Show less” to cut back.

To make broad changes, go into Settings and click on “Accounts Center,” then “Ad preferences” and the “Customize ads” tab. There you can see all of the companies that have been sending you advertising and control their access individually. Or you can click on “Ad topics” and ask to “See less” of certain topics, such as political ads, or ads for anything from alcohol to gambling to parenting. (These instructions are for when you’re using a computer; they differ slightly if you’re using a smartphone.)

If your Facebook and Instagram accounts are linked, your preferences will be changed on both platforms.

You may love your brother-in-law, but not the political rants he puts on Facebook or the silly memes he insists on reposting to Instagram. You have several options to discreetly regain some peace of mind without causing a family rift. First, you can “unfollow” a contact on both platforms, which means you won’t see their posts in your feed, though you’ll still be connected. Facebook lets you “snooze” a friend, so you won’t see their posts for 30 days, which could be just the break you need. On Instagram, “muting” people keeps their posts out of your feed. And you can “block” someone, which stops them from seeing your posts and you from seeing theirs. Here comes the discretion part: Facebook and Instagram won’t alert the other person that you’ve taken any of these steps.

Be careful: You’re buying from an individual, not from Facebook. But Facebook Marketplace can have great deals, and many people buy items without incident. The experts’ tips: First, check out the seller’s profile to see their selling history and their numerical rating—1 (worst) to 5 (best)—from people who have bought from them. Communicate only through messaging so that you have a record if you need to report a problem. And be on the alert for red flags, such as a seller who asks for a deposit to hold something or one who threatens to rescind an offer if you don’t pick up an item right away. If you plan to meet to buy something, agree on the price first, meet in a public place, and bring a friend.

For starters, set up a unique, strong password for every online account, including email accounts, retailer accounts, and, yes, social media accounts. (A password manager can help.) Use two-factor (aka multifactor) authentication to add another layer of protection.

Next, remember that the more information you put out on social media—say, the names and ages of your kids and grandkids—the more information can be gathered by people who might want to scam you. Never share sensitive information like where you bank, your address, or your phone number. And post only what you’d be comfortable sharing publicly, no matter what privacy settings you use.

If your account has been hacked, you may be locked out. Follow the social media platform’s account recovery instructions; for Facebook, go to facebook.com/hacked to get started. (Your chances of account recovery are better if you’ve followed the security practices we’ve listed.)

Once you recover control, you’ll need to change your password and review your account recovery information, such as your email address. Check for messages the hacker sent from your account or for new friends you don’t recognize. Finally, alert your friends in an email or by texting or posting.

There’s a difference between public and private groups. If you plan to share a lot in a new Facebook group—for example, baby photos or details of your forthcoming road trip—set it up to be private. (There’s no 100 percent guarantee of privacy, Signorelli says, “because if somebody takes a screenshot and reposts it on their account, then it’s out in the public.”)

What if you’re joining an existing group? Your privacy settings dictate what other people will learn from your profile, Cassaday says. To see the options, use the Facebook Privacy Checkup. (To navigate there, click on your profile pic, then “Settings & Privacy,” then “Privacy Checkup.”) This will give you a number of ways to make things more private. For example, under “Who can see what you share,” you can choose an audience of only friends for your birthday, current city, and posts. And you can create a digital avatar for your profile picture instead of uploading a real photo.

You can post anonymously in FB groups if the administrators allow it, but your name will still be visible to the administrators and moderators.