We’re all pretty savvy when it comes to social media. We know the basics, and many of us have a deep knowledge of these sites.

However, there are always a few things that slip under the radar. Here are 25 different features that you might have missed. 

1. Making YouTube videos unlisted

Unlisted videos are different from private videos. While private videos are only viewable to your and 50 other people that you invite, unlisted videos are available to those who have the video’s URL address.

To create an unlisted video, simply log into your YouTube account, go into "Video Manager," and select a video. On the right-hand side of the "basics" section, you will see the option to make the video public, private, or unlisted. Select unlisted and then save the changes.

2. Block all ads on Facebook

When you’re on the desktop version of Facebook, it can be extremely annoying seeing your page bombarded with ads. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to get around this, one of which is AdBlock Plus, which will block ads on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media sites.

3. Hide unwanted posts on Facebook, Google+, etc.

Are there particular posts in your News Feed from a person or application that are annoying you? Now you can banish them from your feed or hide all posts from that person or app. Here's how: Scroll the mouse over the post you want to hide and click on the arrow that appears on the top right-hand corner of the post. One of the options available is to hide the post, with the option to hide all posts from that particular person. A similar option is available for Google+ users to “mute” certain posts.

4. Create secret Pinterest boards

A recent feature added by the folks at Pinterest is the secret board option that enables you to create new boards that other can’t see.

If you don’t have the option already, just go into your profile and scroll to the bottom of your page. You will see the secret boards option below. Remember that you can only create three secret boards at a time; you will need to delete or reveal one if you go over the quota.

5. Disable apps on Facebook and Twitter

During your time on Facebook, you’ve probably given permission for many apps to access your profile. Chances are you have more apps authorized than you realize, so it’s a good idea to get rid of a few you’re no longer using.

To see what apps have access to your profile, go into privacy settings (found beside the home button on the top right-hand corner), click “Ads, Apps and Websites,” and select “Edit Settings” for apps. You will be given the option to deactivate or delete apps from your account entirely.

Twitter has a similar function: Go into settings and you will see that apps is one of the options available to you.

6. Find pages to “like” on Facebook

One of the main functions of Facebook is “liking” pages and getting updates from your interests. If you’re looking for updates from more pages, just go to this page and you will be presented with a number of page suggestions to follow.

7. View the charts on YouTube

If you’re looking for the most popular videos on YouTube, you don’t have to go to Reddit to find out. YouTube keeps track of them through its own charts page.

8. Get a vanity URL for LinkedIn

Facebook and Twitter give you vanity URLs for your profiles, and so does LinkedIn. Here's how you can set one up: Go into profile and choose to edit settings. Underneath your profile pictures, you will see the option to edit your URL. Select it and change the address.

9. Keyboard shortcuts for Twitter

Did you know there are a number of shortcuts available on Twitter.com? If you go to settings, you will see an option for keyboard shortcuts. Select it, and you will be presented with hotkeys for all actions on the site.

10. Embed tweets

You don’t have to take a screenshot of a tweet for it to appear on your blog or website. Instead, you can embed it. Here’s how: Choose the tweet and click expand at the bottom. When you click on details, which appears underneath the tweet itself, you will be brought to a new page that will give you the code to embed the tweet.

11. Modify how you appear on public search (Facebook)

If you’re cautious about strangers seeing your old Facebook posts, there’s a quick way to ensure they’re private. Go your into privacy settings, where you will see the option “Limit the audience for past posts” near the bottom of the page. By clicking and selecting this option, you will turn all of your old posts’ privacy options from being viewed by the public and friends of friends to just your friends. 

12. Limit Facebook updates certain friends can see

If you want to take the privacy section a step further, you can place certain people on a restricted list and stop them from seeing your profile. In privacy settings, go into the option “manage blocking” and use the restricted list setting. Go into friends and select the people you want on the list.

13. Appear on search engines

If you want your Facebook profile to be more visible on search engines, go into “account settings,” choose the “subscribers” section, and click the box saying “subscriber search.” What this does is allows people to find you more easily on search engines so they can subscribe to your posts.

14. Create filtered images on Instagram without posting them

If you like creating Instagram images, but don’t want to post every image online, there’s an easy fix. Go into your smartphone settings and turn on “Airplane Mode,” which turns off Wi-Fi and 3G so there’s no Internet connection. Now you can create new filtered images without publishing them online.  

15. Cross post content onto multiple platforms

The Web platform If This Then That (IFTTT) is an incredibly handy way for cross-posting content onto different sites. For instance, you can save your Instagram photos onto Tumblr whenever you post. There are a number of recipes with which you can experiment using the site.

16. Find tips for creating great YouTube videos

YouTube has a number of guides and manuals to help you post the best possible videos, one of which is the creator’s playbook. It gives you pointers for content creation and marketing. You can either download it or view the slideshow here.

17. Delete comments and captions on Instagram

If there are any comments or captions that you want to delete—either your own or others that have commented on your photos—select the image you want, go into comments, and swipe the comment you want deleted. You will then be presented with the option to delete or reply on the left-hand side of the comment.

18. Choose ad preferences on Google and YouTube

It’s no secret that Google and the big social media players target ads based on your preferences, but did you know you can choose the ads you want by going onto the ad preferences page? Google already has a number selected based on your cookies, but you can get rid of the ones you don’t want by clicking remove.

19. Always/never play best quality videos on YouTube

If you have a slow Internet connection, you can adjust your settings on the YouTube playback page so that you never load HD videos. Alternatively, if you have a fast connection, you can choose to play videos at HD and on full screen.

20. Turn off Facebook Chat for certain people

Don’t want everyone to see that you’re available to chat on Facebook? Simply go into “advanced settings” on chat and choose to exclude certain people or only appear for certain friends.

21. See how strangers see your profile on Facebook

If you’re adjusting your privacy settings, you can get a preview of how your profile looks to a stranger. Click “Ads, Apps, and Websites,” scroll down to public search and then click “See Preview.” Now you can see how much information you're revealing to the world.

22. Dig deeper into LinkedIn

Through LinkedIn Signal, you can explore the activity of a person, company, or keyword inside your connections. It’s handy if you want to see what conversations are happening around you or your company.

23. Filter noise from a particular circle on Google+

If you have a number of circles on Google+ and you want to give more prominence to one over another, there is a way of adjusting this setting. If you click on any circle on your home page, you will see a slider on the right-hand side. This adjusts the noise of a particular circle and determines whether you see more of its activity.

24. Delete location information on Twitter

Don’t want people knowing where you’re tweeting from? Just remove the location information. Here’s how: Go to your account settings, where you have the option to add a location to your tweets or to delete all location information. The process will take up to 30 minutes, but any location information will be removed.

25. Download photo albums on Facebook

There are numerous photo albums on Facebook, and there’s normally a few photos that you would like to download. If you want to download an entire album, there’s a way to make it happen using GetPhotoLive. Simply download it as a browser extension and you should be given the option of downloading a Facebook album. As a courtesy, ask the owner of the album for permission to download his or her pictures, especially if their privacy settings prevent you from doing so in the first place.

Quinton O'Reilly is a writer of social media/tech stuff for Simply Zesty, where a version of this story first appeared. Follow him on Twitter at @qoreilly.

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