How to turn on Facebook Protect

I was scrolling through my email and wondering if I was too lazy to vacuum the rug, when I came across the subject line "Turn on Facebook Protect."

I was told that if I didn't enable Facebook Protect by a certain date, I would be locked out of my account. I was told to click on the big blue button to get started.

I was certain it was a scam. It wasn't until I found out that it wasn't.

It turned out that Facebook is pushing higher security for certain people in the public eye, and so is encouraging those on its list to adopt better security methods. The company's interpretation of public eye seems to be rather generous, for example, I and several colleagues of my Verge colleagues who received it, don't have particularly high Facebook following. You can be pretty sure if you fall into Facebook's interpretation of someone who qualifies for the program, because you will receive an email from security@mail.com.

If you don't want to press on mysterious blue buttons, you can start the process this way.

• Go to your Facebook page. (You may get a pop-up notice about Facebook Protect.)
• Click on the arrow in the upper right corner (desktop) or on the three-line “hamburger” icon (mobile)
• Select Settings & Privacy > Settings
• Select Security and Login (desktop) or Password and Security (mobile)
• Under Facebook Protect, you’ll see a note that “FaceBook Protect is Off.” Click on Get Started (desktop) or tap on the arrow (mobile)

• You may find this notice pop up next time you go into Facebook.
• Enabling Facebook Protect is pretty easy.
• You can get more info on the program if you want.
• If you’ve already got a decent password and 2FA, you’re done.
• And that’s all, folks.

Follow the directions after that. If you have a strong password and have enabled 2FA, you will get a message that says you are all set.

If you don't get one of those emails, you can still use 2FA in your Facebook security area.