Social Media Profiles Access Rules
Objective of this article
Understanding the accessibility of social media users’ data based on their profile settings and your relationship to them is crucial for marketing agencies aiming to optimize their outreach strategies. This article delves into how varying privacy settings across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter can impact the visibility of user information and offers actionable insights for marketers.
For that purpose we have done a study of what kind of data you can access depending on the target user account settings as well as your relationship with that user in that social network. By understanding what can be accessed as a guest on public data, and what it takes to access the most valuable and gated data, you can then use different automations to reduce your risk exposure in terms of breaking rules as well as your outreach expenses.
The Impact of Privacy Settings on Data Accessibility
Social media platforms provide users with a range of privacy settings to control who can view their content and personal information. These settings significantly influence the amount of data accessible to marketers.
Facebook: Users can adjust settings to make their profiles public, friends-only, or custom. Information such as friend lists, posts, and personal details can be restricted based on these settings. For instance, if a user’s profile is set to ‘Friends Only,’ marketers without a direct connection may have limited access to their information. experian.com
Instagram: Profiles can be public or private. Public profiles allow anyone to view posts and stories, while private profiles restrict content visibility to approved followers. This setting determines whether marketers can access user-generated content for insights.
LinkedIn: As a professional networking site, LinkedIn offers settings to control profile visibility, including options to display information to connections, the broader network, or public. Users can also manage who sees their connections and activity feed. womenwhocode.com
Twitter: Users can choose between public and protected tweets. Public tweets are visible to everyone, while protected tweets are only accessible to approved followers. This affects the ability of marketers to monitor conversations and gather data.
Below you will find the summary of our study for FaceBook and LinkedIn and you can already see that there are sharp differences.
For that purpose we have done a study of what kind of data you can access depending on the target user account settings as well as your relationship with that user in that social network. By understanding what can be accessed as a guest on public data, and what it takes to access the most valuable and gated data, you can then use different automations to reduce your risk exposure in terms of breaking rules as well as your outreach expenses.
The Impact of Privacy Settings on Data Accessibility
Social media platforms provide users with a range of privacy settings to control who can view their content and personal information. These settings significantly influence the amount of data accessible to marketers.
Facebook: Users can adjust settings to make their profiles public, friends-only, or custom. Information such as friend lists, posts, and personal details can be restricted based on these settings. For instance, if a user’s profile is set to ‘Friends Only,’ marketers without a direct connection may have limited access to their information. experian.com
Instagram: Profiles can be public or private. Public profiles allow anyone to view posts and stories, while private profiles restrict content visibility to approved followers. This setting determines whether marketers can access user-generated content for insights.
LinkedIn: As a professional networking site, LinkedIn offers settings to control profile visibility, including options to display information to connections, the broader network, or public. Users can also manage who sees their connections and activity feed. womenwhocode.com
Twitter: Users can choose between public and protected tweets. Public tweets are visible to everyone, while protected tweets are only accessible to approved followers. This affects the ability of marketers to monitor conversations and gather data.
Below you will find the summary of our study for FaceBook and LinkedIn and you can already see that there are sharp differences.
|
Facebook
|
Message | Public Posts | Followable | About Info | Profile Info | Friends List | Followers List | Private Posts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blocked | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No |
| Deactivated | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No |
| Private | ☑ Yes | ☒ No | ☒ No | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ☒ No |
| Public-Limited | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ☒ No |
| Public & Follow-Enabled | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ☒ No |
| Friends-Restricted | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ☒ No |
| Friends | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ☑ Yes | ⚉ Option | ☑ Yes |
As you can see in the above table, FaceBook user profile settings have a higher restriction impact than your level of relationship with the target user. But you will also notice that almost anyone can message anyone on FaceBook, which could encourage you to kindly message a person to directly become friends in order to access more of their data in a faster manner.
|
LinkedIn
|
Profile Summary | Work/Education | Posts | Activity | Skills-Endorse | Followers List | Connections List | Contact Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public (No Login) | ? Partial | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Public Posts | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No |
| Logged-in (Not Connected) | ☑ Yes | ⚉ Limited | ⚉ Public Posts | ⚉ Public Posts | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No |
| 3rd-Degree Connection | ☑ Yes | ⚉ More Info | ⚉ Public Posts | ⚉ Public Posts | ⚉ Option | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No |
| 2nd-Degree Connection | ☑ Yes | ☑ All | ⚉ Public Posts | ⚉ Public Posts | ⚉ Option | ☒ No | ☒ No | ☒ No |
| 1st-Degree Connection | ☑ Yes | ☑ All | ☑ All Posts | ☑ All Activity | ☑ Yes | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option | ⚉ Option |
For LinkedIn you will notice that your relationship or degree of connection has a higher impact in terms of how much data you access for a target user. This should encourage you to have a conversion strategy to have your 2nd Degree connections converging towards being a 1st Degree connection as you already a contact in common which you could use as an argument. And then this will have a domino effect for the conversion from 3rd degree to 2nd degree without you having to actively address the 3rd degree level.
Strategies for Marketing Agencies
To navigate these varying privacy settings effectively, marketing agencies can implement the following strategies:
1. Build Authentic Relationships: Engage with users by providing valuable content and interactions. Building trust can lead users to connect with your brand, thereby increasing the visibility of their shared information.
2. Leverage Public Data: Focus on users with public profiles or those who have interacted with your content. Public data can provide insights into user preferences and behaviors without breaching privacy boundaries.
3. Utilize Social Listening Tools: Employ tools that aggregate publicly available data to monitor trends, sentiments, and discussions relevant to your brand. This approach respects user privacy while providing valuable market insights.
4. Encourage User-Generated Content: Create campaigns that motivate users to share content publicly, such as branded hashtags or challenges. This increases the amount of accessible data and enhances brand visibility.
5. Stay Informed on Privacy Policies: Regularly review the privacy policies and settings of major social media platforms to ensure your strategies comply with current regulations and respect user preferences.
Conclusion
Understanding and respecting user privacy settings is essential for marketing agencies aiming to develop effective social media outreach strategies. By focusing on building authentic relationships and leveraging publicly available data, marketers can navigate privacy settings responsibly and effectively.
Note: This article is based on information available as of February 2025. Privacy settings and platform policies are subject to change; always refer to the latest guidelines provided by each social media platform.
Strategies for Marketing Agencies
To navigate these varying privacy settings effectively, marketing agencies can implement the following strategies:
1. Build Authentic Relationships: Engage with users by providing valuable content and interactions. Building trust can lead users to connect with your brand, thereby increasing the visibility of their shared information.
2. Leverage Public Data: Focus on users with public profiles or those who have interacted with your content. Public data can provide insights into user preferences and behaviors without breaching privacy boundaries.
3. Utilize Social Listening Tools: Employ tools that aggregate publicly available data to monitor trends, sentiments, and discussions relevant to your brand. This approach respects user privacy while providing valuable market insights.
4. Encourage User-Generated Content: Create campaigns that motivate users to share content publicly, such as branded hashtags or challenges. This increases the amount of accessible data and enhances brand visibility.
5. Stay Informed on Privacy Policies: Regularly review the privacy policies and settings of major social media platforms to ensure your strategies comply with current regulations and respect user preferences.
Conclusion
Understanding and respecting user privacy settings is essential for marketing agencies aiming to develop effective social media outreach strategies. By focusing on building authentic relationships and leveraging publicly available data, marketers can navigate privacy settings responsibly and effectively.
Note: This article is based on information available as of February 2025. Privacy settings and platform policies are subject to change; always refer to the latest guidelines provided by each social media platform.