Some people are scared by the recent news about some Facebook data that was used by a political consulting firm inappropriately. A few celebrities even started a #DeleteFacebook hashtag.

But short of deleting your Facebook account, there are things you can do to restrict your personal information.

Personal Information

In the About  section, delete any information that is too revealing under Overview, Work and Education, Places You’ve Lived, Contact and Basic Info, Family and Relationships, Details About You, and Life Events.

Privacy Settings

in Settings, check all your Privacy settings. They regulate who can see your posts and how people can find and contact you.

Public Post Filters and Tools

Review these settings that determine who can follow you and who can like or comment on your public posts.

Apps and Websites

Review which apps have access to your profile information and update the setting or remove any apps you no longer use.

Review the Facebook App on Your Phone

Also review the settings on the Facebook app on your smartphone. Facebook can track your location even if you don’t use the app’s check-in feature. If you don’t want to share your location information, turn off Location Services.

On an iPhone, go to Settings, Privacy, and then Location Services. Tap Facebook and then tap Never.

You can also delete Saved Location History from Facebook. Open Facebook, tap More, Settings, Account Settings, Location and turn off the Location History button.

On an Android phone, open Settings, tap Location, open Google Location Settings, and switch sliders off for reporting and location history.

Still want to delete your Facebook account?

Before you delete your Facebook account, you may want to save what you’ve posted since Facebook launched in 2006.

• Download your history, including your photos, posts you liked, your friends, chat history, facial recognition data, and which ads you clicked. Under Settings, scroll to the bottom of the General Account Settings page, click Download a copy of your Facebook data, and then click Start my Archive.
• Make a record of birthdays or contact information from friends.

Delete your account

Deleting your account is easy. But beware, it cannot be recovered ever again. This is a permanent solution. You can click this link to start.

Facebook says account deletion can take up to 90 days to complete. However, if you log into Facebook, it will delay the termination.