Creating a Facebook event takes five minutes and works the same way on phone or computer
Open Facebook and look for the word "Events" in the left menu on desktop, or tap the three horizontal lines (menu icon) on your phone and scroll to find Events. Click or tap "Create Event" — it's usually a button near the top. Facebook will ask you to fill in the event name, date, time, and location. You can leave location blank if it's online. Once you enter those basics, Facebook shows you a preview of how the event will look, and you can publish it when ready or save it as a draft to finish later.
The event page itself is where you add details people actually care about: a description of what the event is, a cover photo, a link to tickets or registration if you have one, and a category (like "Party" or "Conference"). You can also set whether the event is public (anyone on Facebook can see it), friends only, or invite-only. Most people choose invite-only for personal events and public for community or business events.
Key Takeaways
- You create an event through the Events section of Facebook, fill in the name and date, and choose whether it's public, friends-only, or invite-only before publishing.
- Facebook stores the event details, guest list, and any messages people post on the event page, and you control who can see each of these things.
- Inviting people is separate from publishing: you can create a private event and invite specific people, or make it public so anyone can find and join it.
- You can edit or delete the event at any time, and Facebook will notify guests of changes if you've already invited them.
- When you delete an event, Facebook removes it from your profile and the search results, but people who attended may still have it in their past events.
The difference between public, friends-only, and invite-only events
A public event appears in Facebook's search results and on your profile for anyone to see. Anyone can click "Interested" or "Going" without your permission. This works well for concerts, conferences, or community gatherings where you want strangers to find you. A friends-only event is visible only to people who are already your Facebook friends. They can still click "Going" or "Interested" without an invitation, but only your friends will know the event exists. An invite-only event is private — only people you specifically invite can see it, and they get a notification that you've invited them.
Most personal events (birthday parties, small dinners, family gatherings) should be invite-only. This means only the people you want there know about it, and Facebook won't show it to anyone else. If you accidentally set a personal event to public, anyone on Facebook can see the date, time, location, and guest list — including people you don't know. You can change the privacy setting at any time by editing the event.
Who can see the guest list and event details
For a public event, anyone on Facebook can see who is going, who is interested, and who declined. They can also see all the comments and photos people post on the event page. For a friends-only event, only your friends can see the guest list and comments. For an invite-only event, only the people you invited can see those details.
The event creator (you) can always see the full guest list, including people who haven't responded yet. You can also see which guests have invited other people. If someone posts a comment or photo on the event page, it follows the same privacy rule as the event itself — public events show comments to everyone, invite-only events show comments only to invited guests.
Inviting people and managing responses
After you create the event, Facebook shows you a list of your friends and lets you click to invite them. You can also type a friend's name to search for them, or copy a link to the event and send it to people outside Facebook. When you invite someone, they get a notification and can click "Going," "Interested," or "Decline." You'll see their response on the event page.
You can remove someone from the guest list at any time by clicking the three dots next to their name and selecting "Remove." You can also change someone's response for them if they haven't answered yet — for example, if they told you in person they're coming but haven't clicked "Going" on Facebook. If you want to send a message to all guests at once, click "Message Guests" and Facebook will create a group chat with everyone you've invited.
What happens to the event after it ends
After the event date passes, Facebook moves it to your "Past Events" section on your profile. The event page stays live — people can still see the photos, comments, and guest list if they have permission to view it. You can delete the event at any time, which removes it from your profile and Facebook's search results. However, people who attended may still see it in their own past events, and any photos they uploaded to the event will remain in their photo albums.
If you want to keep the event page but make it private so only you can see it, you can change the privacy setting to invite-only and remove all guests. This way the event disappears from public view but you keep the record of it on your profile.
Editing an event and notifying guests of changes
Click the three dots on the event page and select "Edit Event" to change the name, date, time, location, description, or privacy setting. If you've already invited people, Facebook will notify them of any changes you make. If you change the date or time, guests get a notification so they know to update their calendars. If you change the privacy setting from public to invite-only, people who were not invited will lose access to the event page.
You can also add or remove a cover photo, change the category, or add a link to tickets. Any changes you make are saved when ready and visible to people who have permission to see the event.
Deleting an event you created
To delete an event, click the three dots on the event page and select "Delete Event." Facebook will ask you to confirm. Once you delete it, the event disappears from your profile and from Facebook's search results. People who were invited will no longer see it in their notifications or event list. However, if someone took a screenshot of the event page or saved a photo from it, that copy will still exist outside Facebook.
If you delete an event by mistake, you cannot recover it — you'll have to create it again from scratch. For this reason, Facebook asks you to confirm before deleting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see who viewed my event page if I didn't invite them?
No. Facebook does not show you a list of people who viewed your event page. You can only see people who clicked "Going," "Interested," or "Decline," or who posted a comment or photo. For public events, you have no way to know how many people saw it without clicking anything.
What happens if I change an event from public to invite-only?
People who were not invited will lose access to the event page when ready. They will no longer see it in search results or on your profile. People you've already invited will keep access and will receive a notification that the privacy setting changed. Any comments or photos they posted before the change will still be visible to invited guests.
Can someone else create an event on my behalf?
No. Only you can create an event on your own profile. Someone else can create an event on their own profile and invite you, but they cannot create an event that appears on your profile. If you want someone to help organize an event, you can make them a co-host after you create it, and they can edit details and invite people.
Do people have to be my Facebook friend to see an invite-only event?
No. You can invite anyone to an invite-only event, even if they are not your friend. They will receive an invitation notification and can click to view the event page. Once they accept or decline, they can see the guest list and comments from other invited guests.
Can I hide my name from the guest list?
No. As the event creator, your name always appears on the guest list and people can see that you created the event. You cannot hide your identity from guests, but you can control who sees the guest list by changing the event's privacy setting.