Facebook Tip: How To Remove Applications From Your Account

Now that you’ve un-liked all the Facebook Pages you liked just to get a free coupon or sample, you may want to go behind the scenes and go a step further to remove some things you likely don’t even realize are there: the applications you’ve authorized to access information in your account in order to gain those coupons and freebies.

A lot of Facebook freebies require you to authorize the company’s application, or “app” to play the game or submit the form.  While I’m not an expert on Facebook apps, I do know that there is a risk of security issues with some apps, or sometimes even legitimate apps can be hacked and your information can be exposed to someone other than who you authorized it to.

So, it’s a good idea to periodically go into your Facebook account and unauthorize those apps from your account.  Here’s how to do it (you can also click on the graphic on the right for a larger visual step-by-step):

1. Go to Facebook.com, and choose Privacy Settings from the Account button on the top right.
2. On the bottom left, choose Edit Your Settings under Apps and Websites.
3. Under Apps You Use, you can choose Edit Your Settings on the right, or even turn off all apps.  I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the latter, as there are legitimate apps that you’ll likely want to use, but it’s there if you want it.
4. Once you’ve clicked to remove unwanted apps, you’ll be taken to a page listing all the apps you’ve authorized.  You’ll probably see way more stuff there than you ever thought!
5. From there, you can click on the X on the right to remove the app, or you can click on Edit Settings to change the settings for the app.  For instance, if an app had information you were required to allow it to access, but also had optional information, you can choose to remove its access to that optional information.  If you don’t want to access the information that it indicates is required, you’ll need to remove the app entirely.

There you go!  Something to do when you’re bored this weekend. :)

More Facebook Tips:

• How To Unlike Lots of Fan Pages At Once
• How To Put A Line Break In A Comment (Without Submitting It)
• Go like Springs Bargains on Facebook ;)