According to a new study by Consumer Reports, approximately 13 million Facebook users in the United States either ignore, don’t know how to use, or aren't aware of Facebook’s privacy settings.
Furthermore, the study notes, many popular apps collect and expose personal data to developers and people outside of a user's social group.
As a result, these users are exposing themselves to potential scams. Still other users were denied insurance benefits or turned down for jobs or college admissions because of information publicly available through the social network.
The magazine lists varying ways to protect your privacy on Facebook by adjusting privacy settings.
Consumer Reports also reminds people to "assume anything you do on Facebook can be seen by all of your friends, your mom, your great-great-grandchildren, your employer, health insurer, and the government.”
