A First Look into the Profile Lock Feature on Facebook

The profile lock feature on Facebook, which provides the users with the opportunity to restrict their contents on the platform in an efficient way, is a region-specific, optional feature that is available only in a few countries, mostly in the Global South. In this work, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 users from Bangladesh to understand their motivations, opinions, and practices regarding activating the profile lock feature on Facebook. We found that this feature gives our participants an inflated sense of security and protection, and their adoption decision is entangled with religious and cultural arguments. While prior negative experiences motivate them to lock their profile, they also utilize this feature to develop a nuanced mechanism for managing multiple social media platforms. This work generates novel insights regarding the privacy protection mechanisms of an understudied population in the Global South.