How to Make Facebook Private: Step-by-Step Guide

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Quickly adjust your Facebook privacy settings

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: April 20, 2024 Fact Checked

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Make Your Posts Private (Mobile)

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Make Your Profile Private (Mobile)

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Make Your Posts Private (Desktop)

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Make Your Profile Private (Desktop)

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Are you trying to change the privacy settings for your Facebook account and posts? You can easily do so from the Facebook website or mobile app. There are a variety of options for limiting who can see your posts and who can message you through Facebook Messenger. This wikiHow guide shows you how to change your Facebook settings to make your account as private as possible.

Things You Should Know

On mobile, go to Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings. You'll find privacy options for your posts and content under "Audience and visibility."
In the mobile app, you can make the personal information on your profile in Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings > Profile details.
On desktop, click your profile photo and go to Settings & privacy > Settings > Privacy to make your posts and profile private.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Make Your Posts Private (Mobile)

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It's in the bottom-right (iPhone) or top-right (Android) corner of the Facebook mobile app. This icon has a small a ☰ icon next to it.
It's at the bottom of the page.

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You'll see this just below "Settings & Privacy."
Here, you'll find several options for making different parts of your Facebook profile private.^{[1]
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Make your Facebook posts private. By default, everything you post on Facebook is visible to all users. If you want to make your past and future Facebook posts private, tap Post, and then make these changes:
- Who can see your future posts? To make sure you're only sharing with people you know, choose Friends, Specific Friends (to select which friends can view each type of content), Friends except (to choose certain friends who shouldn't be able to see your content), or Only me.
- Limit who can see your past posts: If your existing Facebook posts are public or visible to friends of friends, you can quickly make them all Friends Only here.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Make Your Profile Private (Mobile)

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Tap the Menu icon in the Facebook app. It's in the bottom-right (iPhone) or top-right (Android) corner of the Facebook mobile app. This icon has a small a ☰ icon next to it.
- By default, much of the information on your profile, including your contact information, work and education experience, birthday, and relationship status, is public. Your Facebook profile may also show up in search engines like Google. This method will help you make your profile private and more difficult for strangers to find.
It's at the bottom of the page.
You'll see this just below "Settings & Privacy."
You'll see this under "Audience and visibility."
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Make your profile details private. On this screen, you can make some or all this information visible to your friends only, or even just to yourself.
- Tap the pencil icon (or Edit) next to a section you want to make private, then select Friends (to make it visible to your friends only) or Only me (to make it completely private).
- If you've created custom friend lists on Facebook, such as Close Friends, you can select one of those lists instead.
- When you're finished, tap the back button until you've returned to Settings & Privacy.
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Make other people's posts and tags private. Content other people share on your profile may still be public, even if you've made your own posts private. To make other people's posts (and content you're tagged in) on your profile private:
- Tap Profile and tagging on the Settings & Privacy page.
- By default, only your friends can post comments, photos, videos, and links to your profile. If you don't want your friends to post on your Facebook profile, select Only me.
- Tap Who can see what others post on your profile? to make other people's posts on your Facebook timeline visible to Friends, Specific friends, Friends except…, or Only me.
- In the "Tagging" section, you can control who can see posts and photos you're tagged in. Set both options to Friends or Only Me.
- If you want to be able to see and approve the posts and tags from others before they show up on your profile, tap both options under "Review," then select On for each.
- When you're finished, tap the back button to return to Settings & Privacy.
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Make it harder for people to find you. It's surprisingly easy for people you don't know to find your Facebook profile. Tap How people find and contact you to make your profile more private.
- By default, anyone on Facebook can request to add you as a friend. If you're getting too many friend requests, select Friends of Friends instead.
- If somebody has your phone number or email address, they can use it to find you on Facebook. If you find that unsettling, choose Friends, Friends of Friends, or Only me for these options.
- Anyone who looks at your Facebook profile can see your friends list. To make it more private, choose Friends or Only me.
- If somebody searches Google for your name, they may come across your Facebook profile. To remove your profile from search engines, select No for the last option.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Make Your Posts Private (Desktop)

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This expands the menu.
It's near the top of the menu.
It's the first option on the menu.
It's the lock icon in the left panel. From here, you can choose from a few options to change your privacy settings:
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Make your posts private. In the Your Activity section, you'll see several options for making your Facebook posts and profile private.
- Who can see your future posts: Click Edit to make your future Facebook posts visible to Friends, Specific Friends (to select which friends can view each type of content), Friends except (to choose certain friends who shouldn't be able to see your content), or Only me.
- To quickly make all your existing posts friends-only, click Limit Past Posts.
- Click Edit next to "Who can see the people, Pages, and lists you follow?" and select Only me to hide this information from your profile.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Make Your Profile Private (Desktop)

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This expands the menu.
It's near the top of the menu.
It's the first option on the menu.
It's the lock icon in the left panel. From here, you can choose from a few options to change your privacy settings.
5
Control how people can find and contact you. In the "How people find and contact you" section, you can make yourself more difficult for people to find on Facebook.
- Who can send you friend requests? This changes who can add you as a friend on Facebook. Limiting this is great if you prefer to find people on Facebook yourself.
- Who can see your friends list? This allows you to hide your friends list from certain audiences or from everyone.
- The two Who can look you up? options control whether people can search for you on Facebook using your email address or phone number. Change these to Only me or Friends for privacy.
- Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile? For this option, you can select No to prevent search engines from showing your Facebook profile.
You'll see this in the left panel. Here you'll find options for making the posts that other people share on your profile private.
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Make other people's posts and tags private. You can use the options here to control what other people can post on your profile.
- By default, only your friends can post photos, videos, links, and other content on your profile. If you don't want your friends to post on your Facebook profile, select Only me.
- Click the menu next to "Who can see what others post on your profile?" to make other people's posts on your Facebook timeline visible to Friends, Specific friends, Friends except…, or Only me.
- Click the menu next to "Who can see what others post on your profile?" to limit who can see what your friends have shared.
- In the "Tagging" section, you can control who can see posts and photos you're tagged in. Set both options to Friends or Only Me.
- If you want to be able to see and approve posts and tags from others before they show up on your profile, toggle on both switches under "Review."
By default, most of the information you've shared about yourself on your About page, including your birthday, is public. You can make some or all of that personal information private. Click your profile icon at the top-right corner of Facebook and select your profile.^{[2]
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Research source}
It's at the top-right corner of your profile.
It's at the bottom of the pop-up.
Click through each tab on the left side of the "About" panel to see which information is public. To make something private, such as your relationship status, click the pencil icon, then choose Only me or Friends.

Expert Q&A

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what does the green dot on facebook mean

Kyle Smith
wikiHow Technology Writer
Kyle Smith is a wikiHow Technology Writer, learning and sharing information about the latest technology. He has presented his research at multiple engineering conferences and is the writer and editor of hundreds of online electronics repair guides. Kyle received a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Kyle Smith

wikiHow Technology Writer

Expert Answer

The green dot indicates that someone is actively using the Facebook website or mobile app.

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How do I hide my activity on Facebook from one person?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Staff Answer

The easiest way to do this is to block the person. If you don’t want to go that far, you can hide individual posts from that person using the “Edit Audience” button. Click the 3 dots at the top right of the post to open the drop-down menu, then select “Edit Audience.” Go to “Friends except . . .” to exclude a specific friend from seeing your post.

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How do I hide my Facebook activity?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

To hide or archive specific posts or activities, open the Activity Log using the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of your Facebook page. When you make individual posts, you can also edit the audience to determine who sees the post (e.g., friends, everyone, just yourself, or a custom audience).

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