Most Facebook users know that they could take steps to protect their profiles from prying eyes, but they aren’t sure where to start. However, it’s easier than you might think. InformationWeek published a blog post this week detailing three simple steps Facebook users can take to immediately make an impact on their online privacy.

First, users should opt out of appearing in Google searches. You can do this by going to your account settings page and clicking the “Privacy” tab. There you will see an option called “Do you want other search engines to link to your timeline?” Click “Edit” next to it, and uncheck the box. This won’t immediately switch off Google’s ability to find you, but eventually your profile will stop appearing in searches.

Second, you should disable your friends’ third-party apps from taking your private data and info. You can do this by going to your privacy settings page and clicking on the “Apps” tab. Click on the “Apps others use” option and then uncheck the boxes you don’t wish to share, like relationships, photos and status updates. (Click here for a more detailed tutorial)

Lastly, users can voluntarily opt out of Facebook’s social advertising. To do this, you should go to your privacy settings page and click on the “Ads” tab. Change the “Pair my social actions with ads for only my friends” to “no one.”

For more privacy tips, be sure to check out our full walk-through – How to Lockdown Your Facebook Account For Maximum Privacy and Security