What "completely private" actually means on Facebook
Making your Facebook completely private means controlling who can see your posts, photos, friends list, and profile information. Facebook does not offer a single "private mode" button — instead, you control privacy through separate settings for your profile, posts, and search visibility. Most people need to change three to five settings to stop strangers from finding them or seeing their content.
The goal is to move from the default (where anyone on the internet can find you and see much of your activity) to a state where only people you have accepted as friends can see anything about you. This takes about ten minutes and involves the Settings menu, not your privacy controls in the main feed.
One important limit: Facebook always knows what you do, even if nobody else can see it. Making your profile private hides your activity from other users, not from Facebook itself. If you want Facebook to collect less data about you, that requires separate steps in your ad preferences and data settings.
Key Takeaways
- You must change your post privacy, profile visibility, and search settings separately — there is no single switch that makes Facebook completely private.
- Set your post privacy to "Friends" so only people you have accepted can see new posts and photos you share.
- Restrict your profile so only friends can see your friends list, photos, and past posts.
- Turn off search visibility so people cannot find your profile by searching your name or email address.
- Review and delete old posts that were shared publicly before you changed these settings, since changing the setting does not hide posts already made public.
Change who can see your posts going forward
Open Facebook on a computer or phone and look for the menu icon (three horizontal lines on mobile, or your profile picture in the top right on desktop). Tap or click "Settings and privacy," then "Settings." On the left side, select "Privacy."
Look for the section labeled "Who can see your posts?" and click the dropdown next to it. Select "Friends" instead of "Public." This setting controls all new posts and photos you share from this point forward — only people you have accepted as friends will see them in their feed or on your profile.
This is the most important setting because it stops your content from appearing to strangers. However, it does not hide posts you made before you changed this setting, and it does not hide your profile itself — it only hides what appears on your profile once someone finds you.
Restrict who can see your profile and past posts
While you are still in Settings > Privacy, look for "Who can see your profile?" and set it to "Friends." This controls whether strangers can visit your profile page at all and see your profile picture, cover photo, and basic information.
Next, find "Who can look you up?" and turn off both options: "Who can search for you by name?" and "Who can search for you by email address?" This prevents people from finding your profile by typing your name into the search bar or using your email address.
Scroll down to "Limit the audience for past posts" and click "Limit past posts." This changes all posts you made before today to "Friends only" in one action. Without this step, any posts you shared publicly before changing your settings remain visible to the public.
Hide your friends list and activity status
Still in Settings > Privacy, look for "Who can see your friends list?" and change it to "Friends." This prevents strangers from seeing who you are connected to, which can be used to find other people you know or build a picture of your social circle.
Find "Who can see your activity status?" and change it to "Friends" or "Off." Activity status shows when you were last active on Facebook and whether you are currently online. Turning it off means people cannot see when you are using the app, which adds another layer of privacy.
Look for "Allow other people to see your activity status" and uncheck it if it is still checked. Some versions of Facebook separate these controls, so check both places to make sure the setting is off.
Control who can contact you and see your story
In Settings > Privacy, find "Who can contact you?" and set it to "Friends." This means only people you have accepted can send you messages. Without this change, anyone on Facebook can message you directly, and those messages may not appear in your main inbox.
Look for "Who can see your story?" and set it to "Friends." Your story is the temporary content that disappears after 24 hours — changing this setting prevents strangers from viewing it. You can also set it to "Close Friends" if you want an even smaller audience.
Find "Who can reply to your story?" and set it to "Friends" as well. This prevents strangers from commenting on or reacting to your story even if they somehow see it.
Review and delete old public posts
Changing the "Limit past posts" setting converts old public posts to "Friends only," but it is worth checking whether it worked. Go to your profile and scroll through your timeline, looking for any posts that still show a globe icon (which means public) instead of a friends icon.
If you find old public posts, click the three dots on each one and select "Edit privacy." Change it to "Friends." You can also delete posts you no longer want to keep — click the three dots and select "Delete."
Pay special attention to posts with photos, location tags, or personal information. These are the most useful to strangers trying to learn about you. If a post contains something you would not want a stranger to know, delete it rather than just changing the privacy setting.
Turn off facial recognition and limit app permissions
In Settings, find "Apps and websites" or "Apps and websites" under "Permissions." Review which apps and websites have access to your Facebook data. Remove any you no longer use or do not trust. Apps can see your friends list, posts, and other information depending on what you allowed when you first connected them.
Go to Settings > Privacy and look for "Face recognition." Turn this off. Facebook uses facial recognition to tag you in photos automatically and to identify you in photos other people upload. Turning it off means you will not be automatically tagged, and Facebook will not identify your face in other people's photos.
Check Settings > Apps and websites > Logged in with Facebook and remove any accounts you created using your Facebook login but no longer use. These apps still have permission to see some of your Facebook data.
What remains visible even with all settings changed
Your name, profile picture, and cover photo remain visible to anyone on Facebook, even after all these changes. Facebook requires this so people can find you and send friend requests. You cannot hide these three things without deactivating your account entirely.
People who are already your friends will always see your posts, photos, and activity — that is the point of the friendship. If you want to hide content from specific friends, you can change individual post privacy or use the "Close Friends" feature to create a smaller audience.
Facebook still collects data about everything you do on the site, even if other users cannot see it. If you want to reduce what Facebook collects, go to Settings > Apps and websites and remove old apps, or visit Settings > Ads to limit ad targeting based on your activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide my profile picture and name from strangers?
No. Facebook requires your name and profile picture to be visible to all users so people can find you and send friend requests. If you want complete anonymity, you would need to deactivate your account or use a fake name, though Facebook's rules prohibit fake names and may disable the account.
What happens to messages from people who are not my friends?
After you set "Who can contact you?" to "Friends," messages from non-friends go to a separate "Message Requests" folder instead of your main inbox. You can read them without responding, or delete them. They will not show as unread notifications.
If I change my privacy settings, do old public posts become private automatically?
The "Limit past posts" setting converts old posts to "Friends only," but it is worth checking your timeline to confirm it worked. Some posts may not convert if they were shared in unusual ways. Delete any posts that still show a public icon.
Can people still find me if I turn off search visibility?
People cannot find you by searching your name or email, but they can still reach your profile if they have a direct link to it or if they find you through a mutual friend's friends list. There is no way to hide your profile from people who already know your profile URL.
Does making my profile private stop Facebook from showing me ads?
No. Privacy settings control what other users see, not what Facebook shows you. To reduce ad targeting, go to Settings > Ads and review your ad preferences, or limit which apps and websites can access your data through Settings > Apps and websites.