Even if you haven’t created an account on a social media site, they might have a hidden profile with more details than you’d believe. Sneaky, right?

That’s why you should say no thanks when an app offers to take in your contacts to find all your friends. It’s not your info to give away. 

If you use social media, it's worth clearing out all the things (and people) you've looked up. Here are easy steps to save yourself some potential embarrassment later.

Perhaps you deleted Facebook years ago or never made one. Meta might still have your cell number, landline, or email address.

Over the years, most of us have willingly overshared. Hopefully, you’ve removed your phone number and email address from your social media profiles. 

Even if your account is private, anybody can take a screenshot. If you have any contact information in your profile, delete it now.

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Those hidden accounts I mentioned are called Shadow Profiles. They exist thanks to all your contacts who passed along things like your full name, birthday, phone number, email address, and maybe even more.

If someone you know shared their address book with Facebook, Instagram, or Messenger, Meta probably has your details. Good news: You can remove them.

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First, head to this help page for non-Meta users. There’s an important line buried under the heading, How Non-Users can exercise their rights:

That links to a contact removal tool, where you can ask Meta to delete your information from its address book database. Yeah, they don’t make it super easy to find.

Here’s how to delete your contact information from Meta:

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You can still use the removal tool if you have a Facebook account, but there are more steps you should take to protect your privacy.

Tap or click here for 10 Facebook privacy and security settings you need to change.

Keep your tech-know going 

My popular podcast is called "Kim Komando Today." It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode.

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Listen to the podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for my last name, "Komando."

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