How to Make Your Facebook Profile Private

You may be happy to share photos and updates with friends but not want strangers browsing your Facebook profile. If you are wondering how to make Facebook private, the important thing to know is that there is no single setting that hides everything.

Facebook has several privacy controls for posts, profile details, search, and tags. You can adjust them one by one so that more of your information is visible only to people you choose. The steps below cover the current Facebook app and website, although labels can vary slightly by device and account.

Step 1: Open Facebook’s privacy settings

Most of the controls you need are grouped under Audience and visibility.

1. Open the Facebook app on your phone, or visit facebook.com in a web browser.
2. In the app, tap Menu. Its position can vary by app version.
3. Tap Settings & privacy, then tap Settings.
4. Find the Audience and visibility section.
5. Open the setting you want to change.

On a computer, click your profile picture in the top-right corner, choose Settings & privacy, then select Settings. Look for Audience and visibility in the settings list.

Good to know: Facebook sometimes changes the layout and wording of its menus. If you cannot find a setting, use the search box in Settings, if available, and search for the setting name mentioned in this guide.

Step 2: Choose who can see your future posts

This setting controls the default audience for posts you publish in the future. Choosing Friends means your posts are generally shared with people on your Facebook friends list rather than everyone.

1. Under Audience and visibility, tap Posts.
2. Look for Who can see your future posts? or a similarly worded audience setting.
3. Tap the current audience, such as Public.
4. Choose Friends or another audience that suits you.
5. Return to your settings. Facebook generally saves this choice automatically.

You can also check the audience selector each time you create a post. It may appear below your name in the post composer. This matters because a particular post can have a different audience from your default setting.

Tip: Before sharing something personal, check the audience shown beside your name in the post composer. Do not assume every post has the same audience.

Step 3: Limit who can see posts you’ve already shared

Changing the default audience does not automatically change the audience on older posts. Facebook provides a tool called Limit past posts to change eligible older posts that were shared more widely.

1. Return to Settings and open Posts under Audience and visibility.
2. Find Limit who can see past posts or Limit past posts.
3. Read Facebook’s explanation of what will change.
4. Select Limit past posts and confirm if you want to continue.

This tool generally changes older posts shared with a wider audience, such as Public or Friends of friends, so that they are visible to Friends. It does not necessarily make every item on Facebook private, and the change may be difficult to undo in one step. Review the explanation shown on your account before confirming.

Careful: Limiting past posts is a broad change. If you want to keep a particular older post public, review your posts and audience settings before using this option.

Step 4: Review your profile details and friends list

Your profile can include details such as your birthday, hometown, workplace, email address, or phone number. You can choose who sees many of these details individually.

1. Open your Facebook profile.
2. Select About or Edit details, depending on the version you see.
3. Review the information you have added.
4. Use the audience selector beside each detail to choose Friends, Only me, or another available audience.
5. Return to Settings, then open How people find and contact you.
6. Find Who can see your friends list? and choose a more limited audience, such as Friends or Only me, if offered.

Some basic information remains public on Facebook, including your name and certain profile identifiers. Your current profile picture and cover photo may also be visible to people who are not your friends, even when other privacy settings are restricted.

Step 5: Control how people find you and review tags

You can limit some ways people discover your profile and decide whether tagged posts appear on your profile automatically.

1. Under Audience and visibility, open How people find and contact you.
2. Review who can send you friend requests and who can look you up using the contact information you provided.
3. If available, turn off Do you want search engines outside Facebook to link to your profile? to ask external search engines not to link to your Facebook profile.
4. Return to Audience and visibility and open Profile and tagging.
5. Turn on the review options for posts you’re tagged in and tags people add to your posts, if you want to approve them before they appear on your profile.

Good to know: Turning off search-engine links may take time to have an effect, and it does not make your profile impossible to find on Facebook. Tag review controls what appears on your profile; it does not necessarily remove the original post from Facebook.

Step 6: See what other people can view

After changing your settings, check how your profile appears to someone who is not your friend. Facebook may provide a View As option on your profile.

1. Open your Facebook profile.
2. Look for the three-dot menu near the profile controls.
3. If available, select View As.
4. Review the public view of your profile.
5. Return to your settings and adjust any details or posts you do not want shown.

You can also use Privacy Checkup, which guides you through some privacy and security settings. Look for it in Settings & privacy or search for Privacy Checkup in Facebook’s settings.

Troubleshooting: If you cannot find a privacy option

I cannot see Profile locking. Facebook’s Lock profile feature is only available in certain countries and for certain profile types. If you do not see it, use the individual privacy settings in this guide instead.

My menu looks different. Facebook’s app and website can show slightly different layouts. Check Settings & privacy, then Settings, and search for the setting name if the search box is available.

A post is still visible to someone. The original audience, a tag, a share, or a post on someone else’s profile may affect who can see it. Changing your own profile settings does not give you control over content another person published.

Can I hide absolutely everything? No. Some basic profile information remains public, and information shared by other people may still be visible to its chosen audience. Review each privacy control and avoid putting sensitive personal details on your profile.

Take control of what you share

Making your Facebook profile more private is a matter of reviewing several settings, not flipping one switch. Start with future posts, check older posts and profile details, review tagging, and use View As or Privacy Checkup to see what you may have missed.