43602360232
academy
Security
Privacy
Performance
English

How to Keep Your Facebook Business Page Secure

When running a business, it’s crucial you keep all your pages secure – from point of sale to social media accounts. Protecting your Facebook business page is vital to prevent hacking, which could jeopardize private data and harm your brand image.

How-to-Keep-Your-Facebook-Business-Page-Secure-Hero
Written by Avast Business Team
Published on March 25, 2021

While Facebook business settings offer security and encryption features to protect your page, there are other actions you can take to further protect your data.

Read our guide on how to edit security settings on business Facebook pages and how to secure your account.

Hamburguer menu icon

This Article Contains :

    Should you make your Facebook Business page private?

    You can, but it might not have the effect you’re hoping for. Making your Facebook business page private will restrict who can view it, rather than improve its security. If your page is private, the public – i.e. your customers – will not be able to find or view it, which hinders your business.

    However, Facebook’s privatization feature is a good option for when you wish to edit your page without anyone viewing it while it’s in progress. This can be helpful if you’re just launching your business.

    Here’s how to make your Facebook business page private:

    1. Open and log in to Facebook

    2. Click ‘Pages’ on the left column – if it is not immediately visible, you may need to click ‘See more’ and then ‘Pages’

    3. Screenshot of user clicking on 'Pages' button in Facebook menuClick on the page you wish to manage

      Screenshot of 'Pages you manage' menu in Facebook
    4. Under ‘Manage Page’ click on ‘Settings’

      Screenshot of user finding 'Settings' option from the 'Manage page' menu
    5. Under the ‘General’ tab you will find ‘Page visibility’ and its status – if the page is published it will state ‘Page published’

    6. Click ‘Edit’ and click ‘Page unpublished’, followed by ‘Save changes’

      Screenshot of user clicking 'Save Changes' on 'Page Visibility' option in Facebook Page Settings

    Anyone who is an administrator of the page will be able to view it, whether or not it is private.

    Create a private event

    If you are concerned about who can see specific information on your page, you can use it to create private groups and events. Private events allow you to invite only selected individuals. This could be useful if you’re launching events for specific locations and only want to invite the locals, or if you can only host a limited number. As the general public will not be able to see the event, you can keep its details private.

    Here’s how to create a private event on a Facebook business page:

    1. Open and log in to Facebook

    2. Under the ‘Events’ tab, click ‘Create New Event’

      Screenshot highlighting the location of the 'Create New Events' option for a Facebook business page
    3. Select whether you want the event to be ‘Online’ or ‘In person’

      Screenshot showing the options on to make a Facebook business event 'Online'' or 'In Person'.
    4. Under the ‘Privacy’ tab select ‘Private’ or ‘Public’ – note that once your event has been made public, you cannot later make it private

    5. Update the information, such as event name, description, time and date, and images

      Screenshot of Facebook event details
    6. Click ‘Create Event’

      Screenshot of the 'Create Event' button for a Facebook business event

    7. Invite guests using their name, number, or email address

    Improve your password

    In exactly the same way as you would when securing your personal Facebook account, you should create a strong password for your business. This should include lower and upper-case characters, numbers, and symbols. The password should have no connection to your personal life or business, and ideally not be a word. You can use a password generator to create a unique password comprising a mixture of these characters and digits.

    You should also not use the same password for any other account – whether personal or for business.

    Using a password manager can help streamline this process and improve security. The tool will store all of your lengthy passwords, helping you easily and safely access your accounts.

    Two-factor authentication

    Applying two-factor authentication to your Facebook account will improve the security of your page. Two-factor authentication means that anyone signing in to the account must complete two steps to gain access – as opposed to the traditional single step of inputting a password. 

    Facebook offers two methods of two-factor authentication: 

    • Login codes from a third-party authentication app

    • Text message codes from your phone 

    Activating this option will ensure that anyone trying to log in to your account will also need access to your phone or other device. You will also have the option to set up approval of login attempts from recognized devices, the use of a recovery code, or using your security key on a compatible device.

    Two-factor authentication is often applied by default, but you should always double-check and update your settings. Here’s how to set it up:

    1. Visit ‘Settings & privacy’

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Settings & Privacy' options in the Facebook Business page menu
    2. Click ‘Settings’

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Settings' menu options in the Facebook Business page 'Settings & Privacy' menu
    3. Click ‘Security and login’

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Security and Login' option in the Facebook Business page 'Settings' menu
    4. Under ‘Two-factor authentication’ you should find ‘Use two-factor authentication’ – click ‘Edit’

      Screenshot showing the location of the two-factor authentication 'Edit' options in a Facebook Business page menu

    5. Select the options you wish to use

    Manage access permissions

    When using a Facebook business page, there are different levels of access you can grant people. The platform offers five roles with varying permissions: Admin, Editor, Moderator, Advertiser, and Analyst.

    Here’s what each role can do:

     Facebook business pages offer five different levels of administrative access, with permissions varying depending on the assigned level.

    To tighten security and ensure only those you trust can access your page, be selective to whom you grant these permissions. You should also regularly review your access permissions, removing previous members of staff or those who have changed roles within the company.

    You can assign roles via your Facebook business page settings. Here’s how:

    1. Visit ‘Pages’

    2. Click ‘Settings’

      Screenshot of user finding 'Settings' option from the 'Manage page' menu
    3. Click ‘Page roles’

      Screenshot of user finding 'Page notes' option from the 'Page Settings' menu
    4. Go to ‘Assign a new Page role’

    5. Type their name or email address in the box and assign the role to the right of the box

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Assign a New Page Role' option in the 'Page Roles' menu
    6. Click ‘Add’

    Admin permissions

    When establishing a Facebook business page, you should grant admin permissions to more than one user. In the event that an admin account has been hacked, having another account with admin authority will prevent you from being locked out of the page.

    Third-party apps

    As Facebook grows in popularity, competition among brands grows. Everyone wants to attract more fans and engage with more potential consumers. One way to encourage more engagement is to link your social media profiles, such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest – which all require access to your Facebook page. These social media platforms are not the only third-party apps to have access to your accounts – there are plenty of websites that ask you to sign in via your Facebook account or connect to your profile. Ensure that you are only allowing access to well-known applications and regularly check which ones still have access.

    Here’s how to review which third-party apps have access to your page:

    1. Visit ‘Settings & privacy’

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Settings & Privacy' options in the Facebook Business page menu
    2. Click ‘Settings’

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Settings' menu options in the Facebook Business page 'Settings & Privacy' menu

    3. Click ‘Apps and websites’

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Apps and websites' menu options in the Facebook Business page 'Settings' menu

    4. Under ‘Active’, select the app you wish to view and click ‘View and edit’

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Active' apps tab and 'view and edit' menu options in the Facebook Business page 'Apps and websites' menu
    5. You can then make any changes to the access they have, or remove the app

    Learn more about apps security directly on Facebook.

    Moderation

    Moderation should be a key consideration as it will ensure that the experience of visiting your page remains safe and welcoming for users. This can be done by ensuring valuable content is posted regularly and does not get undermined by spam postings or other unsuitable activity.

    Moderate user engagement

    You should regularly check your page to see what users are posting, being sure to delete any activity you don’t deem suitable. You can also moderate your page by blocking certain words – when someone uses a word on your page, it will automatically be marked as spam. Here’s how to block words:

    1. Visit ‘Settings’

      Screenshot showing the location of the 'Settings' menu options in the Facebook Business page 'Manage Page' menu
    2. Next to ‘Page moderation’, click ‘Edit

      Screenshot showing the location of the Page moderation 'Edit' option in the Facebook Business page 'Manage Page Settings' menu
    3. Type the words you want to block and separate them with commas – you will need to type both singular and plural words if you want to block them both

      Screenshot showing the location of the Facebook Business block list in the 'Page Moderation' menu
    4. Click ‘Save’

    You should also consider using one of many community management platforms that allow you to control and filter incoming messages, both private and public. If you can’t afford a third-party social media management tool, then regularly monitor your page. Immediately block any users that appear suspicious, for example, those who make multiple posts that are abusive or unrelated to your business.

    Moderate what you post

    Producing and distributing good content is a key to success on social media. You want to avoid the unpleasant surprise of discovering posts on your Facebook page that should not appear there.

    Pay attention to who is posting on your page – admins can view page authors – and use pre-scheduling options. If you plan your communication ahead, not only will you save some time, but you can control it better, with the option to review the copy and plan when it will go live.

    Secure mobile apps

    Many businesses consider the best browsers for security and privacy on desktop, but pay less attention to mobile. If, like millions of other Facebook users, you and your team access your page via mobile, you should consider installing an application that will block access to Facebook when necessary.

    This is handy in case your mobile phone is lost or for simply preventing your friends or family from jokingly posting on your behalf when you leave your smartphone unattended. Avast Mobile Security protects your Facebook for free with a security code.

    You should consider creating a policy that sets out minimum security standards for staff who use their personal devices for business, and include a section specifically on social media.

    Keep your business data secure beyond Facebook

    With the Business Hub, you can keep your business data private even outside of Facebook. The all-in-one platform helps you to protect your business data, including customer information, and keep your entire network secure. What’s more, it’s available to try for 30 days completely free.

    Get enterprise-grade security for your business with Avast Business Hub

    Free trial

    Get enterprise-grade security for your business with Avast Business Hub

    Free trial
    Business
    Security
    Avast Business Team
    25-03-2021