What "private" means on Facebook, and what it does not
Making your Facebook profile private means non-friends cannot see your posts, photos, or personal details — but it does not hide your existence. Someone who is not your friend can still find your profile by name, see that you exist on Facebook, and send you a friend request. They just cannot view the content you post or the list of your friends unless you accept their request.
Facebook offers two separate controls: your overall profile privacy (who can see your posts and photos) and individual post privacy (which lets you choose who sees each thing you share). Most people need both. Setting your profile to private handles the bulk of it, but you may still want to lock down older posts or change who can message you.
The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use Facebook on a phone or computer, but the settings are in the same place either way.
Key Takeaways
- Go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings, then Privacy on any device to find the controls that matter most.
- Change "Who can see your posts?" to "Friends" so only people you have accepted can view what you share going forward.
- Change "Who can contact you?" to "Friends" to stop messages from strangers.
- Review your past posts by going to your profile and checking what is visible, because privacy changes only affect new posts unless you edit old ones.
- Turn off "Allow other people to put your profile on the list of suggested friends" so Facebook does not recommend you to strangers.
How to change who can see your posts going forward
Open Facebook and tap the three horizontal lines (on phone) or click the downward arrow in the top right (on computer). Select Settings and Privacy, then Settings. On a phone, tap Privacy, then scroll to "Who can see your posts?" On a computer, click Privacy in the left menu, then find the same setting.
Tap or click the current setting — it probably says "Public" or "Friends" — and a menu will appear. Select "Friends" so that only people you have accepted as friends can see posts you make from this point forward. This is the single most important step.
Do the same for "Who can see your friends list?" Change it to "Friends" as well, so strangers cannot see who you know. Then look for "Who can contact you?" and change that to "Friends" too, which stops messages from people you have not accepted.
Hiding your profile from search and friend suggestions
While you are in the Privacy settings, scroll down to "Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?" and turn this off. This stops Google and other search engines from showing your Facebook profile in their results.
Find "Allow other people to put your profile on the list of suggested friends" and turn this off as well. This tells Facebook not to recommend you to strangers based on mutual friends or interests. Without this, someone you do not know might see you suggested to them, even if they cannot see your posts.
These two steps do not make your profile invisible, but they make it much harder for random people to find you in the first place.
Reviewing and changing privacy on posts you have already shared
The privacy changes you just made only affect new posts. Anything you posted before these changes may still be visible to the public or to a wider audience. To fix this, go to your profile and look at what is already there.
On a phone, tap your profile picture, then tap your name to go to your profile. On a computer, click your profile picture and select your name. Scroll through your posts. Hover over or tap any post and look for a privacy icon — usually a globe, a group of people, or a lock. Tap it and change the setting to "Friends only."
You do not have to change every single post if there are hundreds, but review the ones with photos, personal information, or anything you would not want a stranger to see. Facebook also offers a tool to change the privacy of all past posts at once: go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings, then Privacy, and look for "Limit the audience for posts you have shared with friends of friends or public?" Click this and confirm, and Facebook will change all old posts to "Friends only" in one action.
Controlling who can tag you and see tags
Even if your posts are private, friends can tag you in their posts, and those tags might be visible to people who are not your friends. Go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings, then Privacy. Look for "Review tags people add to your posts before the tags appear on your profile?" and turn this on. This means you have to approve any tag before it shows up on your profile.
Also find "Who can see posts you are tagged in on your profile?" and change it to "Friends." This means that even if a friend tags you in a public post, the tag will not show on your profile to strangers — only to your friends.
Stopping people from messaging you without permission
You already changed "Who can contact you?" to "Friends," but there is one more step. Go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings, then Messages. Look for "Filtered requests" or "Message requests" — the exact name varies by device. This is where messages from non-friends land instead of your main inbox.
You can leave this as is (messages from strangers go to a separate folder you can ignore) or turn on "Do not notify me about message requests from people I am not friends with." Either way, strangers can still send you a message, but it will not interrupt you the way a message from a friend would.
What privacy settings do not protect
Making your profile private does not stop Facebook from collecting data about you for advertising. It does not prevent Facebook from showing your name and profile picture to people who have your phone number or email address. It does not hide your profile from Facebook employees or from law enforcement if they have a warrant.
It also does not stop someone who is already your friend from screenshotting your posts or sharing them elsewhere. Privacy settings only control who can see things on Facebook itself, not what happens after someone sees them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone still find my profile if I make it private?
Yes. Non-friends can search for you by name and find your profile — they just cannot see your posts or photos. If you want to be harder to find, you can change your name on Facebook to something less searchable, but most people do not need to go that far.
If I change my privacy settings, will my old posts automatically become private?
No. Privacy settings only affect new posts. You have to go back and change the privacy on old posts yourself, or use the "Limit the audience for posts you have shared with friends of friends or public?" tool to change them all at once.
What happens if someone sends me a friend request and I ignore it?
The request stays in your requests folder until you accept or decline it. They cannot see your posts or message you while the request is pending. You can decline it anytime, and they will not be notified — they just will not see a "friends" label next to your name.
Can I make my profile private for some people but not others?
Not directly. You can only choose "Public" or "Friends." However, you can use the "Close Friends" or "Restricted" lists to control who sees specific posts. Go to a post, tap the privacy icon, and select "Close Friends" or "Restricted" to share with a smaller group.
If I block someone, can they still see my profile?
No. Blocking is stronger than privacy settings. A blocked person cannot see your profile, posts, or photos at all, and cannot message you or send you a friend request. Blocking is the right choice if someone is harassing you or you want to cut off contact completely.