How to Change a Facebook Status: A Quick and Easy Guide

Facebook has several statuses you can change, including your relationship status, activity status, and a general status that lets people know what you're thinking. If you want to let people know that you're single or in a relationship, you can easily update your relationship status. If you don't want people to know when you're online, you can change your activity status to appear offline. Your general Facebook status can be anything, such recommending a new restaurant downtown or announcing that you're going to college. This wikiHow guide will show you how to change the most common statuses on Facebook using your Android, iPhone, iPad, or computer.

Things You Should Know

On mobile, post a status by going to Feed > “What’s on your mind?” Then write the status and tap Post.
On mobile, update your relationship by going to More > See Your About Info > Add Relationship > Save.
On desktop, post a status by clicking on the status box that says, “What’s on your mind, <name>?”
On desktop, update your relationship by going to your profile > About > Family and relationships. Then, choose a status and audience in the selection menu.

Section 1 of 6:

Change your Relationship Status on Mobile

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Tap the More menu button. It’s the three horizontal lines in the bottom-right of the Facebook app.
This will take you to your profile page.

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A new menu with your profile information will appear.
This is in the Relationship section. If you’ve posted a relationship status before, tap the edit button (pencil icon) to edit the status.
You can use the audience selector to change who can see your relationship status.
This will save your relationship status on your profile.

Section 2 of 6:

Change your Relationship Status on Desktop

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This will open your profile page.
This will open the About tab with your profile’s info.
You see your current relationship status if you’ve updated it before.^{[1]
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The edit button is a pencil in a circle.
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Select your relationship status. Depending on your choice, you may be able to add the person you’re in a relationship with.
- Examples include "Married," "Single," "In a relationship," and "It's complicated."
You can choose between Public, Friends, Only me, and Custom.
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Click Save. Your new relationship status will be displayed in your profile’s About section for your Facebook friends to see.
- If you set this information to “public,” anyone will be able to view your relationship status regardless of whether they’re your friend.

Section 3 of 6:

Post a Status Update on Mobile

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Opening the Facebook app will show you the Feed by default.^{[2]
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This will open the status update edit menu. It might be called Write Something… on some versions of the app.
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Tap Feeling/Activity. Then, select a feeling or activity from the list. You can also search for a specific topic or type your own.
- Optionally, tap the status update icon to select a different one (iPhone). Or, tap Feeling/Activity (Android).
Type your status update in the text box.
This will post your status update to your Timeline!

Section 4 of 6:

Post a Status Update on Desktop

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Go to https://www.facebook.com/ in your web browser. This will take you to the main Facebook website. Log in with your profile username and password if needed.
You can alternatively navigate to the status box on your Home page. The status box has a picture of your profile and a text box asking, “What’s on your mind, <name>?”
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Navigate to the status box on your Facebook page. The status box has a text box with a blank field that reads, "What's on your mind, <name>?"
- While the classic Facebook status post goes a long way, did you know you can video chat on Facebook now?
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Type your new Facebook status into the blank status field. When you click the status field, the Create Post menu will open. You can post an update about any topic you want to share with your Facebook friends. Don’t forget to add some hashtags if you want to make a public post more findable.
- For example, if you are currently at a sporting event, change your status to "At a baseball game right now, and my team is winning!"
- Click the rainbow Aa button in the bottom left to change your post’s background color or image.
- Click the emoji button in the bottom right to add emojis to your post.
- You can also add photos and videos, tag people, feelings or activities, a check in location, and a life event flag.^{[3]
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- The more button also has options for a live video, GIF, and raising money.
- You can even add music to your post.
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Click Post below your text to publish the new status. Your new status will be displayed on your profile, and in the feeds of your Facebook friends.
- If you’re looking for tips beyond just posting, check out our guide about being cool on Facebook.
Go to the post and click the three dots icon in the upper-right corner. Select “Hide from profile” in the drop-down menu.

Section 5 of 6:

Turn Off Activity Status on Mobile

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Tap the More menu button. It’s the three horizontal lines in the bottom-right of the Facebook app.^{[4]
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- Use this method if you don't want your Facebook friends to know when you're active on Facebook.
This opens the Settings & Privacy menu.
This opens the Settings menu.
This opens a menu for changing your Active Status.
This will toggle your Active Status off if it was on.

Section 6 of 6:

Turn Off Activity Status Desktop

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Go to https://www.facebook.com in your web browser. This will take you to the main Facebook website. Log in with your profile username and password if needed.
- Use this method if you don't want your Facebook friends to know when you're active on Facebook.
This will open your Messenger chats.
It’s the three horizontal dots at the top of Messenger.
This will turn off your Active Status if it was on.
This will confirm your Active Status change.

Community Q&A

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How do I delete a video I accidentally shared?

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Community Answer

There should be an arrow on the top right of the post, press it and then press "Delete."

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Tips

If the person you have a relationship with is also on Facebook, you can link to them from within the Relationships and Family section, so other Facebook users can view your partner and access their profile. For example, if you change your relationship status to "Married," type the name of your spouse in the blank field below your status to give users access to your spouse's profile.

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