Navigate social media with caution Published March 27, 2015 By Ralph Monson Chief of Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- When the Department of Defense opened military servers to social media in 2010, it came with a recognition that these interactive, two-way tools "have risks that must be understood and mitigated." That remains critically true today. According to Pew Research, nearly 70 percent of men and women between 19 and 29 use social media daily. Whether assessing operational or personal security, social media users need to ensure that only appropriate information for the intended audience is placed on the public web. Recent world events have again highlighted the need for military members and their families to ensure privacy settings on social media sites are adjusted to limit the amount of available personal information. Common sense dictates we should all make certain our personal sites do not include information such as physical addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. It is also important disable Geotagging (more commonly known as Location or GPS services) on your smart devices. Geotagging adds geographical identification data to photos, videos, websites and text messages through location based applications. This technology helps people find images and information based on a location from a mobile device or desktop computer. If you haven't disabled it on your smart phone camera, you may be unintentionally broadcasting where you, your friends and your loved ones like to hang out. Fortunately these applications are easily disabled without impacting your ability to use your other smart phone features. Here are a few links that will help guide you through the most common social media applications privacy settings. Facebook: www.tinker.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-141210-054.pdf Google+: www.tinker.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-141210-055.pdf Twitter: www.tinker.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-141210-057.pdf LinkedIn: www.tinker.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-141210-056.pdf Keep social media social -- protect your privacy.