Welcome to this step-by-step guide on how to use Facebook, a guide specifically tailored to the platform as it existed in 2020. This guide will walk you through the essential features, from setting up your profile to understanding privacy settings and navigating the News Feed.

Part 1: Setting Up Your Facebook Account
In 2020, creating a new account was a simple process that required an email address or mobile number.

Sign Up: Go to the Facebook website or download the app. You'll be prompted to enter your name, email or phone number, date of birth, and gender to create a new account.

Confirmation: Facebook will send a confirmation code to your email or phone. Enter this code to verify your account and complete the sign-up process.

Profile Picture: Choose a profile picture. In 2020, this photo was displayed in a circle on the mobile app and as a square on the desktop site.

Cover Photo: The cover photo, a large banner image at the top of your profile, was a key way to express your personality. You could upload a photo from your computer or choose one from your albums.

Fill Out Your "About" Section: This section was a great place to provide details about yourself, including your work, education, hometown, and relationship status. You could also set the privacy for each piece of information individually.

Part 2: Navigating the News Feed
The News Feed was the heart of the Facebook experience in 2020. It was a constantly updated stream of stories from your friends, groups, and pages you followed.

The Algorithm: By 2020, the News Feed was heavily controlled by an algorithm that prioritized content it thought you would find most relevant. Posts from people you frequently interacted with, liked, or commented on were more likely to appear at the top.

Reactions: The "Like" button was still central, but in 2020, holding it down revealed other "reactions" like Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry. A new "Care" reaction was added during the COVID-19 pandemic to show support for friends.

Sharing and Comments: Below each post, you could find options to "Comment" and "Share." Clicking "Share" allowed you to repost the content on your own timeline, in a friend's message, or in a group.

Facebook Stories: In 2020, Stories—short, vertical photos or videos that disappeared after 24 hours—were prominently featured at the top of the News Feed. This was a popular way to share informal, everyday moments.

Part 3: Connecting with Friends and Community
Facebook was, at its core, about connecting with people.

Friend Requests: To connect with someone, you would send them a "friend request." Once they accepted, you would be able to see their public and "Friends-only" posts.

Finding Friends: The "People You May Know" feature, based on mutual friends and shared networks, was a primary way to find new connections.

Messenger: All private messaging took place on Messenger, which was a separate app on mobile but integrated into the main Facebook site on desktop. You could send text, photos, and videos, and make voice or video calls for free.

Groups and Pages:

Groups: These were communities built around shared interests, hobbies, or local areas. In 2020, Facebook had a major focus on making groups more central to the user experience.

Pages: These were profiles for businesses, public figures, and organizations. Liking a Page meant you would see its posts in your News Feed.

Part 4: Understanding Privacy and Security in 2020
In 2020, privacy was a major topic, and Facebook offered several tools to help users control their data.

Privacy Checkup: This was a simplified tool that walked you through your most important privacy settings in a few easy steps.

Audience Selector: This was a crucial tool located on every post, allowing you to choose who could see your content. Options typically included:

Public: Anyone on or off Facebook.

Friends: Only your Facebook friends.

Friends except...: Friends with specific exceptions.

Specific friends: Only a select group of people.

Only me: The post was private to you.

Profile and Tagging Settings: In the settings menu, you could control who could post on your timeline and whether you had to approve posts you were tagged in before they appeared on your profile. This was a key feature for managing your public image.

Two-Factor Authentication: This security feature, which required a login code in addition to your password, was highly recommended to protect your account from unauthorized access.