Where to find and change your birthday

Your birthday lives in the personal information section of your Facebook profile, and you can change it whenever you want. Facebook does not lock you into whatever you entered when you first signed up — you can update it as many times as needed, though there are limits on how often you can change it.

The fastest way is to go to your profile, click the "About" tab, find the "Basic Information" section, and look for the birthday field. From there you can edit the date directly. The process takes about 30 seconds once you know where to look.

Key Takeaways

  • Your birthday is stored in the "About" section of your profile under "Basic Information," and you can reach it by clicking your profile picture and selecting "About."
  • You can change your birthday as often as you want, but Facebook limits how frequently you can edit it — usually once every 60 days if you change the year.
  • You control who sees your birthday by adjusting the privacy setting next to the date field, choosing between "Public," "Friends," or "Only Me."
  • If you cannot find the birthday field or the edit option is grayed out, you may have recently changed it and need to wait before making another change.

Step-by-step: editing your birthday on desktop

Open Facebook and click your profile picture in the top right corner. A menu will drop down — select "About" from that menu. You will land on your profile's About page, which shows all your personal information in sections.

Look for the "Basic Information" section on the left side of the page. Inside that section you will see a field labeled "Birthday" with your current date. Click the pencil icon next to it to edit. A small window will pop up where you can change the month, day, and year. Select the correct information and click "Save Changes."

Step-by-step: editing your birthday on mobile

Open the Facebook app and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom right corner. Scroll down and tap "Settings & Privacy," then tap "Settings." Scroll to find "Personal Information" and tap it.

Tap "Basic Information" and look for the birthday field. Tap the pencil icon next to your birthday to edit it. The date picker will appear — select your month, day, and year, then tap "Save." The app will confirm the change when ready.

Controlling who can see your birthday

Next to your birthday field, you will see a privacy icon that looks like a lock or a person. This controls who on Facebook can see your birthday. Click or tap that icon to change the setting.

Your options are "Public" (anyone on or off Facebook can see it), "Friends" (only people you have added as friends can see it), or "Only Me" (nobody else can see it, though Facebook itself still knows the date). Choose whichever level of privacy feels right to you. Many people choose "Friends" or "Only Me" to avoid spam or unwanted birthday messages from strangers.

Why Facebook limits how often you can change your birthday

Facebook restricts birthday changes to prevent fraud and account takeovers. If someone gains unauthorized access to your account, changing your birthday repeatedly is one way they might try to lock you out or hide their activity. By limiting changes, Facebook makes it harder for an attacker to alter your account details without your knowledge.

The exact limit depends on what you are changing. If you only change the month and day (keeping the year the same), you can usually do this more often. If you change the year, Facebook typically enforces a 60-day waiting period before you can change it again. If you see a message saying you cannot edit your birthday right now, it means you have hit this limit and need to wait.

What to do if you cannot edit your birthday

If the edit button is grayed out or you see a message saying you cannot change your birthday, you have likely changed it recently and are within the waiting period. Check the message — it will tell you when you can change it again. The only solution is to wait until that date arrives.

If you see a different error message or the birthday field is missing entirely, your account may have a restriction in place. This sometimes happens if Facebook suspects unusual activity. Try logging out completely, waiting a few minutes, and logging back in. If the problem persists, you can report it to Facebook through their Help Center by going to Settings > Help & Support > Report a Problem.

Why you might want to change your birthday

People change their birthday on Facebook for many reasons. You might have entered it incorrectly when you first signed up, or you may want to hide your real birthday for privacy reasons and use a fake date instead. Some people change it to prevent targeted ads or to control when birthday notifications go out to their friends.

Whatever your reason, Facebook treats all birthday changes the same way — it does not ask why you are changing it, and it does not flag the change as suspicious as long as you are not doing it constantly. The change takes effect when ready and shows up in your profile right away.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my friends be notified if I change my birthday?

No. Facebook does not send notifications to your friends when you change your birthday. If you change it to a different date, your friends will not see a notification about the change. However, if you change it to a date that is coming up soon, Facebook may start sending birthday reminders to your friends on that new date.

Can I hide my birthday completely from Facebook?

You can hide it from other people by setting the privacy to "Only Me," but Facebook itself will still have your birthday on file. The company uses this information for account security and age verification. You cannot delete your birthday entirely — you can only change it or hide it from your audience.

What happens if I change my birthday to a date I have not reached yet?

Facebook will treat that as your new birthday. If you set it to a date coming up next month, your friends will receive birthday notifications on that date, and Facebook may send you birthday-related content. There is no penalty for setting a future date — Facebook straightforward uses whatever date you enter.

How do I know if someone else changed my birthday?

Check your "About" section regularly to see your current birthday. Facebook does not send notifications when your birthday changes, so you have to look manually. If you suspect someone accessed your account without permission, change your password when ready and review your login activity in Settings > Security and Login > Where You Are Logged In.

Can I change my birthday back to what it was before?

Yes, as long as you are not within the waiting period. If you changed your birthday recently and want to change it back, you may need to wait 60 days if you changed the year. Once the waiting period is over, you can edit it to any date you want, including your original birthday.