Build a safe and secure social network: We, humans, are naturally gregarious and like interacting with others in whatever way we can. And now, with the help of social media, people worldwide can have meaningful conversations with one another. There’s a social networking site for just about anything these days. We have Facebook and Twitter, which are suitable for chatting with people from all walks of life; LinkedIn, which is geared toward professionals and those looking for work; Instagram, which is great for sharing photos; Tinder, which is excellent for finding a date; and so on.
This is especially true now when so many massive social media platforms are available, and billions of people are willing to share personal information with them. The safety of users’ personal information and protecting their privacy is a top priority for any social media service. In April of 2021, for instance, a data breach exposed the personal information of 533 million Facebook users. A Facebook representative, however, explained that this was due to a security flaw that had been fixed in 2019.
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Various Types of Risks in creating Secure Social Network
However, several aspects must be considered and addressed for a social network to be labelled as secure, aiming to reduce a wide range of potential threats. Some examples of this are:
Inactive and tampered with by impostors
Many accounts go unchecked because their owners forget about them, and hackers may get access to and exploit these accounts to commit crimes.
It’s simple for fraudsters to set up fictitious online profiles that appear just like legitimate businesses or individuals. Facebook also revealed that around 5% of its monthly active users are imposters. The social networking platform’s verification steps solve this issue.
Constantly being targeted by phishing attacks
Nowadays, most hackers use phishing as one of their primary methods of attack. Spam emails, misleading ads, and bogus deals dupe people. Spear phishing, CEO fraud, link manipulation, and phishing emails are only some of the most popular types of phishing scams.
Third-Party Applications
Hackers take advantage of the many security flaws in third-party applications to access user accounts and potentially expose or misuse their private information. However, we may remedy these holes by applying timely updates or patches.
Building user trust
Developers of social media sites must place a premium on earning the trust of the site’s user base, as these users represent the site’s most valuable resource. According to a poll cited in an article published by emarketer.com, only 19% of internet users in the United States trust Facebook with their data. Social media sites must incorporate features, methods, and privacy controls to make their users feel secure.
Some Tips for Building Online Community Using WordPress
Nowadays, setting up your social networking platform is simple, whether you do it on your own or with software like WordPress. Concerns about user security in the face of the many potential online dangers make websites an easy target for cyber criminals. Here are some suggestions to consider if you want to launch your social network or online community:
Creating social media policies and strategies
Every social media platform should have a social media policy to provide a safe and welcoming community for its members. It would be best if you put in a lot of effort to design many tactics and employ the most effective ones to develop a solid set of rules that best suit your social media platform. A user’s adherence to these principles will help ensure their success.
Setting up of monitoring tools
It is possible to set up many monitoring tools to serve as an early warning system. You may use these instruments to keep tabs on user activity, offensive material, dormant accounts, security breaches, data leaks, etc.
Regular security audits
Regularly, you should conduct security audits and adjust your privacy settings and policies as needed.
Surveillance of Workers
Though they should be trusted the most, employees may leak sensitive information. Thus, employees’ roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined. A formal contract should exist between you and your employee, and adequate personnel monitoring is required.
Creating a secure social media website
A social media website or online community from scratch is a lengthy undertaking. Still, with WordPress and its various community themes, you can have your own up and running in no time. Using WordPress and community-focused themes like Astra, GeneratePress, BuddyX, setting up a social network or online forum is simple and risk-free.
Here we will be using BuddyX theme as an example, this is because I have first-hand experience with the BuddyX theme and its plugins.
Using the BuddyX theme, backed by the BuddyPress community theme, you may set up your own private social networking platform and fortify it with various services and plugins.
BuddyX, in conjunction with its numerous available plugins such as BuddyPress Profile Pro, BuddyPress Moderation Pro, BuddyPress Private Community Pro, and many more, may provide many layers of protection and oversight to your social media sites.
WordPress Plugins for BuddyX for creating secure social media
BuddyPress Profile Pro
BuddyPress Profile Pro’s field groups and repeaters allow you to expand the functionality of BuddyPress profiles. Further, your social media group members can make their profiles public or private at any time by simply hiding or unhiding them.
BuddyPress Moderation Pro
BuddyPress Moderation Pro constraints members’ freedom to engage in disruptive behavior. The moderators will review all new actions before being made visible to the public. Site administrators can also disable a user’s account or remove a banned user from the user directory. Some of the many features of the BuddyPress Moderation Pro plugin are highlighted below.
BuddyPress Private Community Pro
BuddyPress Private Community Pro requires them to log in to access all of a user’s profile information. Its numerous features include the ability to delete or add an administrator to your social media accounts and a profile progress meter.
BuddyPress Profanity Pro
Use this BuddyPress plugin to specify which terms should be excluded from searches. It is possible to activate a content filter for your account’s actions, including chats, messages, and comments. These are just a few of the many benefits offered by these BuddyPress extensions.
When using a BuddyPress-compatible theme, such as BuddyX or Reign BuddyPress, you’ll have no trouble incorporating any of the available add-ons.
Pricing
At the request of their consumers, all of these extensions may be readily integrated with the BuddyX theme, allowing them to offer the most cutting-edge protections and conveniences. Consequently, the costs of each new plugin are simple:
- Single license for $39/year
- Developer license $99/year
The most fantastic community theme, BuddyX, is now compatible with BuddyPress, MemberPress, and several additional plugins made specifically for social media websites, allowing you to construct your community and social media platform with simplicity and security. You must provide attention to your community and trust BuddyX and other plugins designed to enhance website security.
Category: WordPress