Where to find Facebook's privacy controls

Facebook's privacy settings live in one place: the menu in the top right corner of your screen. Click the downward arrow (on desktop) or the three horizontal lines (on mobile), then select Settings and privacy, then Settings. From there, click Privacy in the left sidebar. This is where you control who can see your posts, find your profile, and message you.

The settings page shows your current choices in plain language — "Friends" or "Public" or "Friends except..." — so you can see what you've already chosen without guessing. If you've never changed anything, Facebook defaults to showing your posts to friends only, but your profile itself (name, profile picture, cover photo) is visible to everyone. That's the starting point.

Mobile users follow the same path but may see the menu icon as three stacked lines instead of a downward arrow. The settings themselves are identical whether you're on a phone or computer.

Key Takeaways

  • Your profile visibility and post visibility are two separate settings — you can let everyone find your profile but only show posts to friends.
  • The Privacy menu in Settings shows your current choices in plain language and lets you change them without leaving the page.
  • Posts you've already published can be edited individually to change who sees them, or you can set a default for all future posts.
  • Facebook's default settings show your posts to friends only but your profile to everyone, so you should review both if you want tighter control.
  • Blocking, unfriending, and restricting are three different tools that control what one specific person can see, separate from your general privacy settings.

Controlling who sees your posts

When you write a new post, a button appears near the bottom that shows your current audience — usually Friends. Click that button to change it for that single post. Your options are Public (everyone on and off Facebook), Friends (your friends only), Friends except (everyone except specific people you name), or Custom (specific people or groups you choose). Pick the one that fits what you're posting, then publish.

If you want to change the default for all future posts instead of choosing every time, go to Privacy in Settings and look for Who can see your posts? Set it to whatever you prefer — most people choose Friends. From then on, every new post will use that setting unless you change it in the moment.

Posts you've already published can be changed later. Hover over the post (or tap and hold on mobile), click the three dots in the corner, select Edit post privacy, and choose a new audience. This works for any post, no matter how old it is.

Controlling who can find and contact you

Your profile visibility is separate from your post visibility. In the Privacy menu, look for Who can look you up? and Who can contact you? The first controls whether people can search for you by name or find you through mutual friends. The second controls whether strangers can message you or only friends can.

If you set Who can look you up? to Friends only, people who aren't your friends won't find you in Facebook's search. However, your profile will still be visible to anyone who has a direct link to it. If you set Who can contact you? to Friends only, messages from non-friends go to a separate folder called Message Requests, and you won't get a notification unless you check it.

These settings don't hide your profile — they just control the paths people can take to reach it. If someone knows your exact profile URL, they can still view it even if you've set lookups to friends only.

Managing what specific people can see

If you want one person to see less than your current settings allow, you have three tools: restrict, unfriend, or block. They work differently and you should know which one fits your situation.

Restricting someone means they stay on your friends list, but they can only see posts you've set to Public and your basic profile info. They can't see posts you've shared with Friends only. To restrict someone, go to their profile, click the three dots, and select Restrict. This is useful when you want to stay friends but limit what they see.

Unfriending removes them from your friends list. They can no longer see posts you've set to Friends only, but they can still see anything you've set to Public and your basic profile. To unfriend, go to their profile and click Remove friend. Blocking is stronger — a blocked person can't see your profile at all, can't message you, and can't find you in search. To block, go to their profile, click the three dots, and select Block.

Controlling what information appears on your profile

Your profile shows your name, profile picture, cover photo, bio, and other details. Some of this is always public (your name and profile picture), but you can control visibility for other sections. Go to your profile, click the pencil icon next to any section (like Education, Work, or Phone Number), and you'll see an audience button — usually a globe or a person icon. Click it to change who sees that information.

You can also hide your friends list entirely. Go to your profile, click the three dots next to your cover photo, select Edit profile, find the Friends section, click the audience button next to it, and change it to Only me. This hides your friends list from everyone except you.

Your birthday is a special case. You can show the month and day publicly, show only the month and day to friends, or hide it entirely. Go to Settings, click Personal information, find Birthday, and adjust the audience.

Reviewing past posts and old activity

Facebook has a tool called Activity Status that shows when you were last active on the platform. If you don't want people to see this, go to Settings, click Privacy, find Who can see your active status? and change it to Only me. You can also turn it off entirely by unchecking the box.

If you want to review everything you've posted over time, use the Activity Log. Go to your profile, click the three dots next to your cover photo, select Activity log, and you'll see every post, comment, and reaction you've made. From here you can change the audience of old posts one at a time, or delete them entirely.

You can also limit who sees your old posts in bulk. In Settings under Privacy, look for Limit the audience of old posts? Click Limit past posts and Facebook will change all your old posts to Friends only (or whatever audience you choose). This doesn't delete them — it just changes who can see them.

What privacy settings don't protect

Privacy settings control who sees your posts and profile, but they don't control what happens after someone sees something. If a friend takes a screenshot of your post or shares it with someone else, your privacy settings won't stop that. If someone reports your post to Facebook, the company can see it regardless of your settings.

Your privacy settings also don't hide your activity from Facebook itself. The company collects data about what you click, what you search for, and how long you spend on the platform, separate from what other people can see. That's a different kind of privacy, controlled by different settings under Apps and websites and Ads in your Settings menu.

Messages you send to friends are private between you and them (and Facebook), but if you send a message to someone and then delete your account, they can still see the message on their end. Deleting a message only removes it from your own inbox.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make my entire profile private so only friends can see anything?

Not completely. Your name and profile picture are always visible to everyone, even if you set everything else to friends only. This is by design — Facebook needs your name and picture to be searchable. You can hide almost everything else (posts, bio, friends list, phone number, email), but those two elements stay public.

If I change a post's privacy after I've published it, can people who already saw it still see it?

No. When you change a post's audience, Facebook updates it when ready. People who could see it before but can't see it under the new setting will no longer be able to access it. However, if someone took a screenshot or shared it before you changed it, that copy exists outside Facebook and your settings don't affect it.

What's the difference between restricting someone and unfriending them?

Restricting keeps them on your friends list but hides your Friends-only posts from them. They can still see your Public posts and basic profile. Unfriending removes them from your friends list entirely, so they can't see Friends-only posts, but they can still see Public posts. Restricting is quieter — they won't get a notification.

Does turning off my active status hide me from Facebook's tracking?

No. Turning off active status only hides when you were last online from other people. Facebook still tracks your activity internally for its own purposes. If you want to limit what Facebook collects about you, you need to adjust settings under Apps and websites and Ads, which control data collection separately from privacy.

Can I see what information Facebook has collected about me?

Yes. Go to Settings, click Your information, then read your information. Facebook will compile a file showing posts, messages, photos, and other data you've created. This doesn't show you the tracking data Facebook collects (like what ads you've clicked), but it shows you what you've shared on the platform.