How to Create "Friend Lists" and Protect Your Privacy on Facebook

Facebook makes it easy to segment your groups of friends and control what select people are able to see by making Friend Lists and changing your Privacy Settings.

Creating Friend Lists:

1. Log in to Facebook. Go to the Friends section on the top navigation bar of the page.
2. On the left hand side of the Friends page is a section called "Friend Lists." A button in that bar says "Make a New List."
3. Click on that button. You will be prompted to pick a short name for your list. For example, I named a list "Work Friends."
4. Once your list has been added, you can add your Friends to the list in two ways: New Friends can be added to Lists when accepting a Friend Request. As you accept that request, there will be an "Add to Group" option in blue writing below their name on the Friend Request box. To add existing Friends go to the "Friends" page and select your Friend List. At the top, an option called "Add to List" is next to a text box. Type the name in the box and add them to the list that you're currently viewing.
5. Friend lists are useful for more than simply controlling your privacy settings. One your friends are grouped, you can message them and view them as a list. It makes planning parties and sending invites simple since you're not sorting through all of your Friends.

Changing Privacy settings

Now that your lists have been created and your Friends are segmented, change your privacy settings in order to control what specific groups of friends can view and access on your Facebook profile.

1. Select "Settings" on the top navigation bar next your name and select "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu.
2. In Privacy Settings, select "Profile."
3. Select "Personal Info" and from the drop-down list select "Customize"
4. In the "Who Can See This?" pop up box, type the name of your Friend List under "Except These People" and select it. This will prevent everyone on your Friend List from viewing your Personal Info. You can also add individuals who are not on any of your Friend Lists. If you'd like to change this later, you can go to "Edit Custom Settings."
5. Repeat this step in as many boxes as desired. Consider focusing on photos and your Wall if you're controlling what people connected to you through work can see/write in order to remove the risk of another person tagging or posting something on your profile that is of questionable appropriateness.
6. Note: Checking that Friend Lists can't see photos tagged of you means they can't see photos that others tag of you. It does not limit their ability to see photos that you've uploaded to your own profile.
7. Save your changes at the bottom of the page before exiting Profile Privacy.

Under Privacy Settings, you can control how Facebook shares changes to your personal profile. If you don't want your Friends to see if you've added a Friend or changed your relationship status, uncheck the box next to that option. Be sure to save your changes.