Learn a Lesson from Luigi Mangione

By Eugene Bruno on December 10, 2024

Social media can feel private when no one’s paying attention, but the moment someone starts digging—such as during a legal dispute or investigation—it becomes pretty clear how exposed you actually are. Posts, photos, comments, and likes can be pieced together to tell a story about you that you may not intend, especially when taken out of context. To illustrate just how much info is out there on you, learn a lesson from Luigi.

Is Your Tech Actually “Locked Down”?

By now, everyone has seen the smile, eyebrows, and chiseled abs of Luigi Mangione, right? Well, apparently, he told investigators that his “tech is pretty locked down,” insinuating that they probably wouldn’t find much info about him online. But he was wrong.

It wasn’t just the police who found information on him. Millions of others with an internet connection and a desire to look up Luigi easily found tons of information and photos. This begs the question: what if someone started digging into your online info?

The reality is that insurance companies and their attorneys often use easy-to-find online information to try to undermine legitimate claims and the credibility of our clients. That’s why our advice as lawyers is to always protect yourself by reviewing privacy settings and avoiding posting about your case, injuries, or lifestyle—at least until your case is resolved. Essentially, we recommend you treat social media like a public space. Always assume that someone, somewhere, anytime, is watching.

Privacy Controls on Social Media

Each platform you may be on will have its own privacy controls. Some are easier to navigate than others, and each varies as to how much privacy you can maintain. Check below to see how much you can control your privacy on popular social media platforms:

Facebook’s Robust Privacy Controls

Facebook offers a privacy checkup tool that allows you to easily see what you’re sharing and with whom you’re sharing it. You can control who can see what you post by selecting its audience.

Setting a default audience selects the audience for your future posts. You can change a specific post’s audience with the audience selector without changing the audience of your future posts.

1. Click your profile picture on the top right of Facebook
2. Select Settings & privacy, then click Settings
3. Scroll down to Audience and Visibility, then click Posts
4. Click next to Who can see your future posts? and select the audience
5. Click Done

Instagram’s Privacy Controls

Like Facebook, Instagram has a robust set of privacy controls, though it doesn’t have the same handy checkup tool. Setting your account to private is the simplest thing you can do to lock down your Instagram profile. This means that no one will be able to see your photos or stories unless you approve them. Once your account is private, new people who visit your profile will only see your name and profile image.

To set your account to private, go to Instagram’s settings menu. It’s hidden away on your profile page behind the hamburger button in the top-right corner. That will open a side menu with several choices; you can access your settings from the cog that appears at the very bottom.

From there, go to “Privacy”> “Account Privacy” and activate the “Private Account” setting.

X’s Privacy Settings

X (formerly Twitter) has privacy settings that are relatively limited compared with those of other social networks, but you can tweak some settings.  For example, when you sign up for X, your posts are public by default. This means anyone can view and interact with your posts. Should you choose to protect your posts, you can do so through your account settings.

TikTok’s Privacy Settings

TikTok allows you to restrict who can see your profile, comment, and liked videos. You can also disable ad personalization. Additionally, TikTok lets you choose whether to have a private account or a public account. If you choose a private account, you approve the people you allow to follow you and watch your videos, LIVE videos, bios, and likes.

To set your TikTok account as private:

1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top
3. Tap Settings and Privacy, then tap Privacy
4. Turn the Private account on

LinkedIn’s Privacy Options

Since LinkedIn is built for work, you might not think much about privacy on that platform, but it has several privacy options related to visibility, who can message you, and more.

LinkedIn also has an entire section on how it uses the data it collects about you, including your search history, demographics, and whether the company can use that data for research. Most of these options are available by default.

If you don’t opt out of personalized ads, the company can leverage your work history, demographics, and education for advertisers.

Snapchat’s Privacy Settings

By default, Snapchat’s privacy settings limit your account to friends-only but check the other options, especially the location-related setting, to confirm that you’re not leaking any more data than you intend to. As on other social networks, you can also opt out of personalized ads.

Bluesky, the Public Social Network

Bluesky is a public social network. Currently, there are no private profiles on Bluesky. Specifically:

• Posts and likes are public
• Blocks are public
• Mutes are private
• Mutelists are public
• Mutelist subscriptions are private

How to Private Your Truth Social Account

When you make your Truth Social account private, only approved followers can see your posts, which cannot be re-shared or viewed via Google searches. Your profile will display only your name, profile picture, and bio to the public. Any previous public posts will also become private and replies you send (@replies) will only be visible to your approved followers.

Additionally, links to your posts can only be accessed by those you approve. This ensures tighter control over who interacts with and views your content.

To make your truths private:

1. Log in to your Truth Social account with your username and password.
2. Click on the More option. It’s located on the left menu panel. A drop-down menu will display on your screen when you click it. This can be found in the menu panel on the left.
3. Click on Settings and the privacy option. This will open the Settings page for your account.
4. Select the Account Information option from the “Your Account” settings. Click here to quickly access the page.
5. Click on the Protected Truths option. It will be the fifth option on the list.
6. Check the “Protect your Truths” box to make your account private. A confirmation box will pop up on your screen.
7. Click on Protect to apply your changes. All of the Truths you publish will be protected and will only be seen by your current Truth Social followers.

The Bottom Line to Protecting Your Online Privacy

Although the big social media platforms are the best jumping-off point in protecting your online privacy during your injury claim, consider poking around the settings of other apps you use that have social components. For example, a fitness app that logs your daily steps—even your Amazon wish list for some snowboard gear—could be used by aggressive insurance companies to discredit your injury claim.

Link Between Social Media and Legal Disputes

If you have been injured by someone’s recklessness, one of the best and easiest ways to protect yourself is to stay off of social media. You also want to contact a San Diego law firm like Eugene Bruno & Associates. With 40+ years of combined experience, our lawyers are ready to protect your rights and help you get the compensation you deserve. Call our law firm at 1-888-BRUNO-88 (1-888-278-6688).