What's that one social media security task you neglect, but really shouldn't?

I could send you into a wild panic and list a long list of tasks you should be doing on a regular basis to keep your brands social media account secure.

But let's just focus on one today.

When was the last time you reviewed the third party app connections to your accounts?

I'm talking about the ones that trend for five minutes, then you move on and forget you let that app have access to your accounts. The likes of the apps that

• let you map your followers
• shows who unfollowed your account,
• shows your age because they went defunct years ago, Klout and Thunderclap

However, it's not just the random apps as it could easily be the social media management tools you've switched between over the years and never removed their permissions.

But why should you be worried about them?

Back in 2019, the Met Police suffered a hack on their Twitter account and it turned out to have been made possible through a vulnerability in a third party app. The hackers took advantage of the connection with the Met's account and had their five minutes of mayhem! The culprits were caught as you can read in this BBC article.

How often are you checking connections?

It's pretty much guaranteed this isn't on your daily task list, but how often are you reviewing it? It can easily fall off the radar if you're spinning the many plates of a modern social media manager. But this is one of those plates you most definitely don't want to drop!

How do you check?

It varies by platform, and some of them do not make it easy to review connections (I'm looking at you Meta).

X (Twitter)

Despite forgetting to check your settings regularly, X actually makes it quite easy to review connected apps.

Simply search for 'Security and account access' in the Settings menu, then:

• 'Connected apps'
• 'Apps and sessions'
• 'Connected apps' (repeat for 'Logged-in devices and apps' if you want to review this too)

You'll be presented with a list of connected apps (assuming you have some). You can click on each app name to explore the connection and take action if necessary.

Good

A good connection is one that:

• You recognise and use on a regular basis
• Has a recent connection date

Bad

A connection you should take action for is one that:

• You haven't used recently, or do not recognise
• The connection date is not recent

Facebook?

As the saying goes in the Hunger Games:

Welcome! Welcome, welcome. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor

There's a help page in Facebook's Help Centre, but whether the instructions are current or correct is another matter given the many changes from suite to portfolio, and a few other name variations of Page management in between!

While you're at it...

It's also a good time to check the login activity on your accounts. From experience of working with clients, when I've been granted access to social media accounts I will regularly see a far few login sessions still active?

We'll save regularly changing your passwords (and strong ones at that) for another day!

Do you have a social media challenge or issue and you're stuck on how to solve it? Send me a message to book in for a free 15 minute problem solving session.