With so much personal information available on Facebook, including birthdays, jobs and family updates, it’s no surprise that you don’t want all of your information shared with the world. When you want to exercise more control of what other Facebook users see, especially those who are not your friends, it’s incredibly easy to do. Follow these few steps to make your Facebook private.
Tip: Be sure to check whether your posts can be shared with others.
Facebook Privacy Options
By default, your Facebook account is publicly available. However, you can go to the Settings and choose any of the following options to make your Facebook account private:
- Friends: only your Facebook friends can see the content you post.
- Friends Except: the public and a particular group of your friends can no longer see your posts.
- Specific Friends: only a handpicked group of your Facebook friends can see your content.
- Only Me: nobody can see the content you post except you.
Tip: unfriending a Facebook friend is relatively painless through these methods. You can also find out who has unfriended you on Facebook.
How to Make Your Facebook Profile Private on PC
To start moving your profile toward complete privacy, ensure all of your future posts are limited to being viewable only to who you want:
- Click on your “Profile Picture” in the upper-right corner and select “Settings & Privacy.”
- Open “Settings” from the next list.
- Go to the “Privacy” section on the left, hit “Edit” next to “Who can see your future posts?” and change it according to your preferences.
Additionally, you can change the settings for your previously posted content to ensure they’re also limited:
- Click on your “Profile Picture” in the upper-right corner, then tap your name.
- Scroll down to the desired post, and select the “Audience Selector” near the date/time.
- Change it according to your preferences.
You can manually decide who can view the pages, people, and lists you follow on Facebook:
In the “Settings -> Privacy” section, hit “Edit” next to “Who can see the people, Pages and lists you follow?” and change it according to your preferences.
Do you know: you can download all the photos you have uploaded to Facebook before you delete your Facebook account.
How to Limit Who Can Contact You
After you lock down your posts, it’s time to limit who can reach you using search engines, email addresses, and phone numbers.
Follow these steps to manually decide who can reach you through email:
- In the” Privacy” section, hit “Edit” next to “Who can look you up using the email address you provided?” and change it according to your preferences.
Scrolling down the list, you can also decide who can reach you through your phone number:
- Click “Edit” next to “Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?” and change it according to your preferences.
To configure who can reach you through search engines:
- Click “Edit” next to “Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?” and change it according to your preferences.
Tip: if Facebook stopped working for you, we have the fixes.
How to Control Privacy Settings on Facebook App
Similarly, you can make your Facebook account private on the mobile app. Follow these steps to ensure all your future posts are limited to being viewable only to those you want:
- Tap the “Burger menu” icon in the bottom-right corner, then select “Settings & Privacy -> Settings.”
- Go to “Audience and visibility,” and choose “Posts.”
- Select “Limit who can see past posts.”
- Tap “Limit Old Posts” to confirm the process.
Additionally, you can manually decide who can see the pages, people, and lists you follow on Facebook:
- Go to “Audience and visibility,” and select “Followers and public content.”
- Open “Who can see the people, Pages and lists you follow?” and change it according to your preferences.
Pro Tip: Master Facebook with this list of tricks to search for friends, posts and businesses more efficiently.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you tell whether someone's Facebook post is public?
There’s a tiny icon next to the time the post was made. A globe icon means the content is public, while the silhouettes of two people show the content is for friends only.
How can I make a Facebook page private?
Click on your profile picture in the upper-right corner, select “Settings & Privacy,” then open “Settings.” Go to the “Privacy” section on the left, hit “Edit” next to “Who can see your future posts?” and change it according to your preferences.
How can I make photos private on Facebook?
Click on your profile picture in the upper-right corner, then tap your name. Scroll down to the desired post, select the “Audience Selector” near the date/time, and change it according to your preferences.
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