by
Block Party
October 28, 2024
Block Party is a first-of-its-kind browser extension that deep cleans your social media and protects your personal information online from being weaponized against you. If you’re new to Block Party, we’ve put together the following guide so you know what to expect and have pro tips to get the most out of your experience.
A browser extension is a piece of software that adds custom functionality to your browsing experience. Block Party’s extension provides powerful tools to protect your privacy and deep clean your social media—all right from within your browser.
To add an extension, you’ll want to install it from your browser’s web store. Block Party is available on Chrome, Firefox and Edge. To install the extension, tap here.
Throughout this guide, we’ll use Chrome as the example, but the steps are similar across the browsers we support.
From the Chrome Web Store:
You’ll need to accept permissions to get set up. Block Party requests certain permissions to function effectively, enabling the extension to detect settings, scan your accounts for risks, and provide recommendations tailored to you. Examples of permissions we ask for include collecting data on blockpartyapp.com and social media sites to help us recognize when you’re logged in and track progress in case you want to revert any settings.
Tap “Allow” to proceed.
After installing, we recommend you pin the extension to keep Block Party handy:
Once you’ve installed the extension, you’ll find yourself on the Block Party dashboard. This is where you can find shortcuts to the platforms we support, as well as direct X(links?) to our cleanup tools. The dashboard will also show you a list of your social accounts and track your progress.
Since Block Party works in the browser to scan your accounts and make updates on your behalf, you’ll need to be logged in to your social platforms on desktop before running a scan. Our tools only run when you explicitly tell them to and we’ll never ask for or store your login credentials.
Ok, you’re in! Now that you’re all set up, you’ll want to start by assessing your first account for risks by running a scan.
Currently, we support Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Reddit, Strava, Venmo, Google and YouTube, and we’re always adding more. Navigate to the platform you’d like to start with and select “Start your first full scan”. A scan could take a couple minutes depending on the platform, but you’ll see it in action as the extension shuffles through your settings pages.
Once you complete a scan, you’ll get a checklist of essential recommendations based on the vulnerabilities across your account. Each recommendation comes with a description of the risks it addresses along with the tradeoffs of changing it (if relevant) to help you better understand each setting.
Some settings on your checklist require manual review, while others we’ve built automations for so you can update them in a single click. To run an automated recommendation, tap the “Update for me” button on the bottom of the card - these should only take a moment to update.
You also have the option to skip recommendations if they aren’t relevant to you, or if the tradeoffs don’t feel right based on your threat model. Your checklist will save progress as you move through recommendations, so if you skip something, you can always come back and address it later.
In addition to checklists, we offer two types of automated tools to help you deep clean your accounts.
Content cleanup tools: Our content cleanup tools allow you to batch-delete or hide old posts and photos with ease. Whether you need to clean up embarrassing old content or simply want a fresh start, Block Party lets you handle it all in a fraction of the time it would take to do manually.
Experience cleanup tools: Who you engage with on social media can make or break your online experience, and can give people you’ve lost touch with unwanted access to your content and information. Our experience cleanup tools help you curate your online social circle by allowing you to bulk unfriend people, mass block unwanted accounts, and reduce noise so you can focus on the people and connections that truly matter.
Platform settings are ever evolving, with new options being introduced regularly – many times auto-opting you into things you’d likely want to avoid. For this reason, we suggest signing up for an account so you can leave the research to us. Block Party stays on top of these changes and notifies you when new risks or important updates affect your account settings or security. For routine digital hygiene, we recommend running a quarterly scan to keep all your accounts current, and we’ll remind you if it’s been too long.
Block Party makes deep cleaning your social media easier than ever. We’re excited for you to explore and look forward to helping you make the most of your online world!
