This document provides 6 considerations for soldiers and their families regarding social media use: 1) Be mindful of conduct and what you post; 2) Be cautious who you connect with and what personal information you share; 3) Adjust privacy settings to limit what information is visible; 4) Be aware of geotagging and turn off location services when necessary; 5) Educate family members on operational security concerns; 6) Avoid posting sensitive information that could damage operations or put yourself or others at risk. It also provides tips and resources on privacy settings, geotagging, and educating family members on safe social media use.

1. Social Media Roundup
6 Social Media Considerations for
Soldiers and Their Families

2. Social Media Roundup
Agenda
This week’s Social Media Roundup
 Introduction
 #1 Social media/online conduct
 #2 Who you connect with
 #3 Privacy settings
 #4 Geotagging safety
 #5 Educating your family
 #6 What not to post
 Resources

3. Social Media Roundup
Introduction
 Social media has become a big part of
our lives. Social media can help people
and Army organizations share information
during deployments. Social media also
helps Soldiers, family members and Army
civilians stay connected to loved ones.
 As a culture, we depend on social media,
but social media use can be extremely
dangerous if you’re not careful, especially
when deployed.
 Operations security (OPSEC) and
personal privacy concerns should be
paramount when using social media
whether you’re deployed, or you’re simply
staying in touch with your deployed
Soldier.

4. Social Media Roundup
#1 Social media/online conduct
 Soldiers are personally responsible for all
content they publish on social media sites,
blogs, or other websites.
 Soldiers must be thoughtful about mission-
related and non-Soldier related content they
post. The lines between a Soldier’s personal and
professional life often blur in the online space.
 A Soldier who violates Federal law, regulations
or policies through inappropriate personal online
activity is subject to disciplinary action under the
Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
 The Army is always working to protect itself
against security breaches. It is vitally important
that Army leaders, Soldiers and Army civilians
understand what kind of data they are
broadcasting and what they can do to protect
themselves and their families.

5. Social Media Roundup
#1 Social media/online conduct
 The posting or disclosure of
internal Army documents or
information that the Army has
not officially released to the
public is prohibited. This
policy applies no matter how
a Soldier comes into
possession of a document,
video or photo.
 A few examples of
unreleased information
Soldiers are prohibited from
posting include information
about causalities, detainees
or military operations.

6. Social Media Roundup
#2 Who you connect with
 Be cautious when accepting friend requests and interacting with people online. You
should never accept a friend request from someone you do not know, even if they
know a friend of yours. For more on this, check out this article about the Robin
Sage Experiment: “Fictitious femme fatale fooled cybersecurity”
 Don’t share information that you don’t want to become public. Be careful about what
you post about yourself on social media platforms. Once you put something out
there, you can’t control where it goes. Someone might target you based simply
because you work in the Department of Defense. Be cautious when listing your job,
military organization, education and contact information.
 Providing too much information in your profile can leave you exposed to people who
want to steal your identity or steal sensitive operational information.
Pvt. Creeper

7. Social Media Roundup
#3 Privacy settings
 Understanding what you can and cannot
post on social media platforms goes a
long way in protecting yourself online,
but more can be done by adjusting your
privacy settings on social media sites.
 Facebook’s default privacy settings are
often public, but Facebook provides
various setting options that help
Facebook users adjust privacy settings.
 Twitter allows users to keep their Tweets
private and Flickr gives users the option
of keeping photos private. The settings
are easily accessible, the trick is setting
them to meet your privacy needs. Similar
privacy settings can be found on other
social media sites like Myspace and
LinkedIn.
On the top are Facebook’s sharing
recommendations, below that are the Army’s
sharing recommendations. For more information
about protecting yourself on Facebook, check out
this Social Media Roundup: http://goo.gl/2WAlu
Facebook
Twitter

8. Locking Down Facebook
• Even if you think you already
have them set correctly,
Facebook changes its
settings and where they're
located frequently so you
should double-check
regularly. Don't forget to
share this tip with your
friends and family so they
can be safe, too!
• Start by logging in to your
Facebook account. Then
click the downward arrow in
the upper-right corner and
choose Settings.

9. General
• Your name and username are visible to anyone who searches
for you, although you can minimize this in later settings. If you
don't want people to find you easily, don't use the same
username you use for other social media or as your email
address

10. Security• The Security tab is where you set up login security, trusted contacts and browser, manage your
sessions and deactivate your account.
• Let's move to the Security tab by clicking the Security link in the left column. The Security tab is where
you set up login security, trusted contacts and browser, manage your sessions and deactivate your
account.
• Make sure you turn on "Login Notifications." This alerts you when someone logs in to your account from
an unfamiliar gadget.
• "Login Approvals" means you can only log in on a new computer or gadget if you have your phone with
you to receive a special code. Even if a hacker gets your information, they'd need your phone as well to
get in to your account. It's a little annoying at times, but the extra security is worth it.
• Review your "Trusted Browsers." You might have logged in on a computer in the past – belonging to a
friend or ex.

11. Privacy
• The Privacy tab controls who can see what you post and who can
contact and find you. If you only change the settings in one place, this
should be it.
• "Who can see my stuff?" menu, set "Who can see your future posts?"
to Friends. Then click the "Limit Past Posts" link and then the "Limit Old
Posts" button. This changes any old posts you marked as Public to
Friends.
• "Who can contact me?" change "Who can send you friend requests?"
to Friends of Friends.
• "Who can look me up?"
you want to change the
settings to "Friends,"
"Friends" and "No."

12. Timeline & Tagging
• We've already limited who can see your posts, but the Timeline
and Tagging tab has a few privacy loopholes you need to close.

13. Timeline & Tagging
• In "Who can add things to my timeline?" you definitely want to limit who can post on your
timeline to just "Friends." If you really want to make sure you control everything people see
on your timeline, you can change that to "Only Me."
• I would also set "Review posts..." to "On." That way if a friend posts you in something you
don't necessarily agree with or would make you look bad to your friends, you can stop it
before it appears.
• In "Who can see things on my timeline?" you can leave "Who can see posts you've been
tagged in..." to "Friends of Friends," since they'll be able to see the post on your friend's
timeline anyway. If you want to be extra cautious though, set it to "Friends." You do,
however, want "Who can see what others post on your timeline?" set to "Friends."
• Bonus Tip: Click the "View As..." link to see what your timeline looks like to friends and
strangers. This will quickly reveal if there's something showing that shouldn't be.
• In "How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?" you can set the settings
to "On," "Only Me," and "No One." This keeps things you're tagged in, like photos, from
automatically being visible to all your friends. It also keeps you from being tagged in photos
you don't control, which can give away your face and name to people you don't know.

14. Followers
• You can allow people who aren't your friends to see your posts
in their News Feed. This is handy if you're an aspiring writer or
artists looking to get a wider audience. But for most people, you
want to make sure "Who Can Follow Me" is set to "Friends."

15. APPS
• The Apps is more important than controlling what Facebook
apps you have linked to your account. It has a few settings that
are serious privacy problems if they aren't changed.
• A huge hidden privacy danger is "Apps others use." This
controls what information about YOU apps your friends install
can share with the app developer. Edit this and uncheck every
box.
"Instant personalization" means
that Facebook can share your
information with select third-party
sites to give you a better
experience when you visit. I've
never seen that it does anything
interesting, and it is a privacy risk,
so set it to "Off."

16. ADS
• Ads controls how Facebook can use your
information in ads.
• "Third Party Sites" controls whether or not
Facebook can share use your information
in ads on third-party sites in the future.
Click "Edit" and set "If we allow this in the
future..." to "No one."
• "Ads and Friends" sets whether or not
your name can appear in ads that your
friends see. Again, click "Edit" and
change "Pair my social actions with ads
for" to "No one."
• Finally, under "Website and Mobile App
Custom Audiences," You can click the
"Opt out" link if you don't want Facebook
showing you targeted ads.
• That wraps up your privacy and security
settings on Facebook. That is, until
Facebook decides it has to change
everything all over again!

17. Social Media Roundup
#4 Geotagging safety
• Geotagging is the process of adding
geographical identification to photographs,
video, websites and SMS messages. It is the
equivalent of adding a 10-digit grid
coordinate to everything you post on the
internet.
• Geotags are automatically embedded in
some pictures taken with smartphones.
Many people are unaware of the fact that the
photos they take with their smartphones and
load to the Internet have been geotagged.
• Photos posted to photo sharing sites like
Flickr and Picasa can also be tagged with
location, but it is not an automatic function.
• For more information about geotagging,
check out this website: http://goo.gl/DmJoq

18. Social Media Roundup
#4 Geotagging safety
 Location-based social networking is quickly growing in popularity. A variety of
applications are capitalizing on users’ desire to broadcast their geographic location.
 The increased popularity of these applications is changing the way we as a digital
culture view security and privacy on an individual level. These changes in
perception are also creating OPSEC concerns on an Army level.
 Deployed Soldiers, or Soldiers conducting operations in classified areas should not
use location-based social networking services. These services will bring the enemy
right to the Army’s doorstep.
 Want to avoid giving away location? Disable the GPS function on your smartphone.

19. Social Media Roundup
Disable Geotagging on your camera only.
• iPhone (4.0):
• 1. Go to Settings.
• 2. Select General.
• 3. Select Location Services.
• 4. Locate Camera from the list of apps
that use Location Services and change
the setting to OFF.
•
• Android (2.2; 2.3):
• 1. Open the Camera app.
• 2. Select the Location icon.
• 3. Select Off.
• Some versions of Android will need you
to open the Camera app, select the
Menu button on their phone, select
Settings and disable Geo-tag photos.
•
• BlackBerry (6.0):
• 1. Open Camera.
• 2. Select the Location icon and set it to
Disabled.
• Previous versions will need to open
Camera, press the Menu button and
select Options. Then set Geotagging to
Disabled.

20. Social Media Roundup
Disable Geotagging on Phone.
• iPhone (4.0):
• 1. Go to Settings.
• 2. Select General.
• 3. Select Location Services.
• 4. Change the setting for Location
Services to OFF.
• Android (2.2; 2.3):
• 1. Open Settings.
• 2. Select Location & security.
• 3. Uncheck both Use wireless
networks and Use GPS satellites.
• BlackBerry (6.0):
• 1. Open Options.
• 2. Select Device.
• 3. Select Location Settings.
• 4. Go to Location Services and change
the setting to Location Off.
• 5. Press the Menu key on the phone.
• 6. Select Save.
• Previous versions will need to open
Options, select Security, and select
Applications Permissions. Press the
Menu key on your phone and select
Edit. Expand Connections and set
Location (GPS) to Deny.

21. Social Media Roundup
#5 Educating your family
 Social media helps Family Readiness
Groups and Army family members stay
connected, but OPSEC should always be
the primary concern.
 Family Readiness Groups, Army spouses
and Army Family members need to know
that posting sensitive information can be
detrimental to Soldier safety.
 Ensure that information posted online has
no significant value to the enemy. Always
assume that the enemy is reading every
post made to a social media platform.
 Even seemingly innocent posts about a
family member’s deployment or
redeployment date can put them at risk.
Security items to consider
 Take a close look at all privacy settings. Set
security options to allow visibility to “friends only.”
 Do not reveal sensitive information about yourself
such as schedules and event locations.
 Ask, “What could the wrong person do with this
information?” and “Could it compromise the safety
of myself, my family or my unit?”
 Geotagging is a feature that reveals your location
to other people within your network. Consider
turning off the GPS function of your smartphone.
 Closely review photos before they go online.
Make sure they do not give away sensitive
information which could be dangerous if released.
 Make sure to talk to family about operations
security and what can and cannot be posted.
 Videos can go viral quickly, make sure they don’t
give away sensitive information.

22.  Pride and support for
service, units, specialties,
and service member
 Generalizations about
service or duty
 General status of the
location of a unit (“operating
in southern Afghanistan” as
opposed to “operating in the
village of Hajano Kali in
Arghandab district in
southern Afghanistan”)
 Any other information
already in the public domain
posted by official sources
Items authorized to discuss on social media platforms
#5 Educating your family

23. Social Media Roundup
 What is the best way to protect your kids
online? Talk to them. Research suggests
that when children want important
information, most rely on their parents.
 The important thing is to start the
education early. Talk to your children
about online risks and make sure you
create an honest and open environment.
 Some social media sites like Facebook,
provide family safety resources and tools
for reporting issues.
 Make sure you check out
www.Onguardonline.com to find more
resources that will help protect your
family and yourself online.
#5 Educating your family

24. Social Media Roundup
#6 What not to post
 When using Facebook and other social media platforms, do not post personally
identifiable information and any information that can damage Army operations.
 Think about what you’re posting before hitting share. Many times, you can avoid
releasing sensitive information by simply rephrasing your social media post.
 If you aren’t comfortable placing the same information on a sign in your front yard,
don’t put it online.

25. Social Media Roundup
OPSEC resources
 OPSEC resources
 Interagency OPSEC Support Staff: www.ioss.gov
 Anti-Phishing Phil: http://goo.gl/ZFkY3
 OnGuard Online: www.onguardonline.gov
 Social media training: http://goo.gl/AqmE1
 Social Media Roundups
 9 Critical Steps to Protecting Yourself on Facebook: http://goo.gl/igGzN
 Geotags and Location-based Social Networking: http://goo.gl/wqKwZ
 Social Media For Family Readiness Groups: http://goo.gl/rS88l
 Army Slideshare site: http://goo.gl/cJM9T

26. Social Media Roundup
Contact information
Have questions? Please feel free to
reach out to us at the Online and
Social Media Division
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
PENTAGON
11/30/2011
Email:
Ocpa.osmd@us.army.mil
To review and download past editions of the
Social Media Roundup, visit our Slideshare site
at: http://www.slideshare.net/usarmysocialmedia.
If you do not have access to Slideshare, they can
also be found on AKO at:
https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/505262. All
Social Media Roundups are authorized to be
distributed to a broader audience.