Facebook and Instagram allow people in Afghanistan to protect their accounts from getting spied on. Nathaniel Gleicher, Head of Security Policy at Facebook, wrote this on Twitter on 19 August. People in Afghanistan could lock their accounts for other users with a single click. This means that only friends can see the photos or posts in a user’s timeline. In addition, the possibility to search the friend lists of other users has been suspended in Afghanistan for a short time. This is to prevent the Taliban from tracking down political opponents on Facebook, such as former employees of foreign armed forces, activists or media workers. Nathaniel Gleicher also pointed out that Facebook users outside Afghanistan who are friends with people in Afghanistan should also limit the visibility of their friends list. On Instagram, he said, there are also pop-up notifications for users in Afghanistan with instructions on how to secure their own accounts.
Instructions on how to restrict the visibility of your friends list on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/help/115450405225661
Thread by Nathaniel Gleicher on security measures on Facebook and Instagram:
4/ We’ve launched a one-click tool for people in Afghanistan to quickly lock down their account. When their profile is locked, people who aren’t their friends can’t download or share their profile photo or see posts on their timeline. pic.twitter.com/pUANh5uBgn
— Nathaniel Gleicher @ngleicher@infosec.exchange (@ngleicher) August 19, 2021
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Fotoaufnahme für Soziale Medien. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Mostafa Elyasian.
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