Where to find Facebook's privacy controls
Facebook's privacy settings live in one place: the Settings & Privacy menu in the top right of your screen. Click the downward arrow next to your profile picture, then select "Settings & Privacy," then "Settings." On mobile, tap the three horizontal lines (the menu icon) at the bottom right, scroll down to "Settings & Privacy," and tap "Settings."
Once you're in Settings, look for "Privacy" in the left sidebar. This is where you control who sees your posts, who can contact you, and who can find your profile. The settings here are separate from what you share with apps and websites — those live under "Apps and Websites" in the same Settings menu.
Key Takeaways
- Your main privacy controls are in Settings > Privacy, where you set who can see your posts, send you messages, and find your profile by name or email.
- The "Who can see your posts?" setting controls your audience for new posts; old posts keep their original audience unless you change them individually.
- You can limit who sees your friends list, your email address, and your phone number separately from who sees your posts.
- Apps and websites you've connected to Facebook can still access your data even if you make your profile private, so review "Apps and Websites" regularly.
- Blocking someone prevents them from seeing your profile, messaging you, or finding you in search — it is the strongest privacy tool Facebook offers.
Controlling who sees your posts and profile
The first setting you'll see under Privacy is "Who can see your posts?" This controls the audience for new posts you create going forward. Your options are Public (anyone on or off Facebook), Friends (only people you've added as friends), or Friends except (friends minus specific people you choose). Changing this setting does not change the audience for posts you've already made — those keep their original audience unless you edit them individually.
Below that is "Who can contact you?" This controls who can send you messages. You can allow messages from everyone, friends only, or friends and people with your email or phone number. If you choose the last option, people who have your contact information can message you even if you haven't added them as friends.
The "Who can look you up?" section has two parts. The first controls whether people can find you by searching your name or email address. The second controls whether search engines outside Facebook can link to your profile. Turning both off makes you harder to find, but people who already know your profile URL can still visit it.
Limiting what specific people see about you
Scroll down in the Privacy section and you'll find settings for your friends list, email address, and phone number. Each can be set to Public, Friends, Friends except, or Only me. If you set your friends list to "Only me," no one can see who you're connected to. If you set your email to "Only me," people cannot find you by email even if they have it.
You can also control who sees your birthday, relationship status, and work information. These settings are in the same Privacy section. Many people set their birthday to "Friends only" or "Only me" to reduce the information available to data brokers and people outside their network.
If you want to hide information from specific people without making it private to everyone, use the "Friends except" option. For example, you could set your phone number to "Friends except" and then add certain people to that exclusion list. This keeps the information visible to most friends but hidden from people you choose.
Managing apps and websites connected to your account
Apps and websites you've logged into using your Facebook account can still access your data even if your profile is set to private. Go to Settings > Apps and Websites to see what's connected. You'll see three categories: Active apps and websites (things you've used recently), Expired apps (things you haven't used in a while), and Removed apps (things you've deleted).
Click on any app to see what information it can access — usually your name, email, friends list, and sometimes your location or birthday. If you no longer use an app, click "Remove" to disconnect it. If you use an app but want to limit what it sees, click it and look for a "Remove" button next to specific permissions. Not all apps let you remove individual permissions, but many do.
Check this section every few months. Apps you haven't used in years may still have permission to access your data. Removing old apps is one of the fastest ways to reduce what information is floating around about you.
Blocking and unfriending as privacy tools
Blocking is stronger than unfriending. When you block someone, they cannot see your profile, search for you, message you, or see your posts in their feed. They won't be notified that you've blocked them, but if they try to visit your profile directly, they'll see a message saying the profile isn't available. Unfriending just removes them from your friends list — they can still see your public posts and your profile if it's set to Public.
To block someone, go to their profile, click the three dots in the top right, and select "Block." You can also block someone from a conversation by opening the message, clicking the person's name at the top, and selecting "Block." If you change your mind, you can unblock someone from Settings > Blocking, but they won't be notified when you do.
Controlling who can tag you in photos and posts
Other people can tag you in photos and posts, which makes those items appear on your profile and in your friends' feeds. Go to Settings > Privacy and look for "Who can tag you in posts?" You can set this to Friends, Friends except, or Only me. If you choose "Only me," you have to approve every tag before it appears on your profile.
There's a separate setting for "Review tags people add to your posts before the tags appear on your profile?" Turning this on means you'll get a notification whenever someone tags you, and you can approve or reject the tag. This is useful if you want to prevent unflattering photos from appearing on your profile without blocking the person who posted them.
Removing old posts and information in bulk
If you want to delete many posts at once, Facebook doesn't have a bulk delete tool. You have to delete posts one at a time by clicking the three dots on each post and selecting "Delete." However, you can limit who sees old posts without deleting them. Go to your profile, click the three dots next to your cover photo, and select "Limit past posts." This changes the audience of all your old posts to "Friends only" in one action.
If you want to remove your information from Facebook entirely, you can deactivate or delete your account. Deactivation hides your profile but keeps your data on Facebook's servers — you can reactivate later. Deletion removes your profile and most of your data, though Facebook keeps some information for legal reasons. Both options take about 30 days to complete. Go to Settings > Deactivation and Deletion to choose which one you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make my profile private so no one can see it?
You can make your profile very hard to find by setting "Who can look you up?" to off and setting your posts to "Friends only," but Facebook doesn't have a true "private" mode. Friends can always see your profile and posts. If you want complete privacy, deactivating or deleting your account is the only option.
If I set my posts to "Friends only," can my friends share them with other people?
Yes. Your friends can screenshot, share, or forward your posts to anyone, even if you set them to "Friends only." Privacy settings control who Facebook shows your posts to, not what people do with them after they see them.
Do I need to change my privacy settings on mobile and desktop separately?
No. Your privacy settings are the same across all devices. If you change a setting on your phone, it changes on your computer too. You just access the settings differently depending on which device you're using.
Will changing my privacy settings stop data brokers from having my information?
No. Data brokers collect information from many sources — public records, shopping data, and old Facebook posts that were public when you posted them. Changing your privacy settings now only affects new information. Information that's already been collected and sold is harder to remove, which is why you may need to contact data brokers directly.
What happens to my information if I deactivate my account?
Deactivation hides your profile from search and from other people's feeds, but Facebook keeps your data on its servers. If you reactivate within a certain period, your profile comes back exactly as it was. If you want Facebook to delete your data, you need to delete your account instead, which is permanent.