You can delete your birthday from Facebook entirely, or hide it so only you can see it
Facebook stores your birthday in your profile, and by default it shows to your friends on your birthday and sometimes to a wider audience. You have two options: remove the birthday completely so it does not appear anywhere on Facebook, or keep it in your account but hide it from everyone except yourself. Both take about one minute from your phone or computer.
The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use the Facebook app, the mobile website, or a computer. The end result is the same — your birthday either disappears from your profile or becomes invisible to other people.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete your birthday entirely from Facebook or hide it so only you can see it in your own settings.
- On a computer, go to your profile, click "About," find the birthday field, and either delete it or change the privacy setting to "Only Me."
- On the Facebook app, tap the menu icon, go to "Settings & Privacy," then "Settings," then find "Personal Information" to edit your birthday.
- Hiding your birthday does not prevent Facebook from knowing when it is — the company still uses that data internally, but other users cannot see it.
- If you delete your birthday and later want it back, you can add it again at any time using the same steps in reverse.
How to delete your birthday on a computer
Open Facebook in a web browser and go to your profile by clicking your name or profile picture in the top left or right corner. Click the "About" tab below your cover photo. Scroll down to find the "Basic Information" or "Personal Information" section, where your birthday appears as a field.
Click the pencil icon next to your birthday. A small menu will appear with options to edit or delete. Click the trash or delete icon to remove the birthday entirely. Facebook will ask you to confirm — click "Delete" again. Your birthday is now gone from your profile and will not appear anywhere on Facebook.
How to hide your birthday on a computer
If you want to keep your birthday in your account but prevent others from seeing it, follow the same steps above: go to your profile, click "About," and find your birthday in the Personal Information section. Click the pencil icon next to it.
Instead of deleting, look for a privacy icon — usually a small circle or globe symbol next to the birthday field. Click that icon and select "Only Me" from the dropdown menu. This hides your birthday from everyone, including your friends, while keeping it stored in your account. Click outside the menu to save the change.
How to delete or hide your birthday on the Facebook app
Open the Facebook app and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom right corner on iPhone or the top right on Android. Tap "Settings & Privacy," then "Settings." Scroll down and tap "Personal Information."
Find "Birthday" in the list and tap it. You will see your current birthday and a privacy setting next to it. To delete it entirely, tap "Edit" or the pencil icon and select the delete or trash option, then confirm. To hide it instead, tap the privacy icon next to your birthday and change it from "Friends" or "Public" to "Only Me." The app will save your change automatically.
What happens after you delete or hide your birthday
If you delete your birthday, it no longer appears on your profile or in the birthday section of your friends' apps. Facebook will not send birthday reminders to your friends, and your birthday will not show up in any birthday lists. You can add it back at any time by going through the same steps and entering a new date.
If you hide your birthday instead of deleting it, the same thing happens from other people's perspective — they cannot see it. However, Facebook still stores the date in your account and uses it internally for security and advertising purposes. You can unhide it at any time by changing the privacy setting back to "Friends" or "Public."
Why you might want to delete or hide your birthday
Some people delete or hide their birthday to reduce the amount of personal information visible on their profile, especially if they do not want strangers or distant contacts to know their age. Others hide it to avoid receiving birthday messages from people they do not feel close to, or to keep their birthday private for personal reasons.
Hiding your birthday is also useful if you want to prevent targeted advertising based on age, though Facebook will still use your birthday internally even if it is hidden from other users. If privacy is your main concern, deleting the birthday entirely removes it from your visible profile, but keep in mind that Facebook may still have the information if you provided it when you created your account.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I delete my birthday, can Facebook still see it?
Facebook may retain information you have provided in the past, even after you delete it from your profile. Deleting your birthday from your profile makes it invisible to other users and stops birthday reminders, but the company may still have records of it. If you want to be thorough, you can check your data read or contact Facebook directly about data deletion.
Will my friends still get birthday notifications if I hide my birthday?
No. If you hide your birthday or delete it, Facebook will not send birthday notifications to your friends, and your birthday will not appear in their birthday reminders or lists. They will have no way to know when your birthday is unless you tell them directly.
Can I hide my birthday from some people but not others?
Facebook's privacy settings for birthday are all-or-nothing: you can set it to "Public," "Friends," or "Only Me." You cannot hide it from specific people while showing it to others. If you need that level of control, hiding it from everyone or deleting it entirely is your only option.
What if I accidentally deleted my birthday and want it back?
You can add your birthday back at any time by going to your profile, clicking "About," and clicking the pencil icon next to the birthday field. Select "Add Birthday" or "Edit," enter your date, and set the privacy level you want. The process is the same as editing any other profile information.
Does hiding my birthday stop Facebook from using it for ads?
Hiding your birthday from your profile does not stop Facebook from using your age for advertising and internal purposes. The company still has access to your birthday in its systems. If you want to limit age-based targeting, you may need to adjust your ad preferences in your settings, though Facebook will still use some form of age data for ads.