Where to Find Your Privacy Settings

Your privacy settings live in the same place on both desktop and mobile: the Settings & Privacy menu. On desktop, click the downward arrow in the top right corner of your Facebook page, then select Settings & Privacy, then Settings. On mobile, tap the three horizontal lines (called the menu icon) in the bottom right, scroll down to Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.

Once you are in Settings, look for the Privacy section on the left side of the screen (desktop) or scroll down to find it (mobile). This is where you control who sees your posts, your profile information, and who can contact you. The settings here explore to your entire account unless you change them for individual posts.

Key Takeaways

  • Your main privacy controls are in Settings > Privacy, where you set who can see your posts, find your profile, and send you messages.
  • The "Who can see your posts?" setting controls your default audience for new posts, but you can change the audience for each post individually.
  • Blocking and unfriending are different: unfriending removes someone from your friends list but they can still see your public posts, while blocking prevents them from seeing your profile at all.
  • Facebook's default settings often allow more visibility than you might want, so reviewing these controls when you first create an account or after a Facebook update is worth your time.
  • Your phone number, email address, and birthday have separate privacy controls that you can adjust independently from your post visibility.

Setting Who Can See Your Posts

The most important privacy setting is "Who can see your posts?" This controls the default audience for every new post you create. In the Privacy section, find this setting and click or tap it. You will see three main options: Public (anyone on or off Facebook can see it), Friends (only people on your friends list), and Custom (you choose specific people or groups).

Most people choose Friends as their default. This means only your friends see your posts unless you change the audience for a specific post. You can always override this default when you post: just before you hit Share, click the audience button (it shows your current setting) and pick a different one for that single post. This is useful if you want to share something with just a few close friends or make one post public.

If you choose Custom, you can exclude specific people from seeing all your posts, or limit posts to certain friends or friend lists. This is helpful if you want to keep your account mostly private but share with a specific group. However, most people find the Friends setting simpler to manage.

Controlling Who Can Find Your Profile

Below "Who can see your posts?" you will find "Who can look you up?" This controls whether people can search for you by name or phone number. The options are Everyone, Friends of Friends, or Friends Only. If you set this to Friends Only, only your current friends can search for you by name—strangers cannot find your profile through the search bar.

There is also a separate setting called "Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?" If you turn this off, Google and other search engines will not show a link to your Facebook profile in their results. This is a good choice if you want to keep your Facebook presence private from people who do not know you.

Managing Who Can Contact You

Facebook lets you control who can send you messages and friend requests. In the Privacy section, look for "Who can send you friend requests?" and "Who can message you?" For friend requests, your options are Everyone or Friends of Friends. Choosing Friends of Friends means only people who share a mutual friend with you can send you a request.

For messages, you have more control. You can allow messages from Everyone, Friends, or Friends of Friends. Messages from people outside your chosen group will land in a separate Message Requests folder instead of your main inbox, so you will not miss messages from people you do know. You can review message requests later and decide whether to accept them.

Protecting Your Contact Information and Birthday

Your phone number, email address, and birthday each have their own privacy controls. To find these, go to Settings > Personal Information. For each piece of information, you will see a privacy icon (usually a globe or lock symbol). Click or tap it to change who can see that information. You can choose Public, Friends, Friends of Friends, or Only Me.

Most people set their birthday to Friends or Only Me to prevent strangers from using it for identity theft or spam. Your phone number and email should usually be Only Me unless you have a specific reason to share them. These settings do not affect whether Facebook itself can see this information—they only control who among other Facebook users can see it.

Blocking and Unfriending: What Is the Difference?

Unfriending removes someone from your friends list. They will no longer see your posts in their feed, and you will not see theirs. However, if your posts are set to Public, they can still find and view them. They can also still message you unless you have blocked them.

Blocking is stronger. When you block someone, they cannot see your profile, posts, or story. They cannot message you, add you as a friend, or search for you. To block someone, go to their profile, click the three dots in the top right, and select Block. To unblock them later, go to Settings > Blocking and find their name in your blocked list.

If you want to remove someone from your friends list but stay on good terms, unfriend them. If someone is harassing you or you want a complete separation, block them. You can also restrict someone, which is a middle ground: they stay on your friends list but can only see posts you mark as Public.

Reviewing Your Settings After Facebook Updates

Facebook changes its interface and default settings periodically. After a major update, your privacy settings may have shifted. It is worth checking your Privacy section every few months to make sure your settings still match what you want. Look especially at "Who can see your posts?" and "Who can look you up?" since these affect your visibility the most.

You can also review what information is visible on your profile by viewing it as someone else would see it. On desktop, go to your profile, click the three dots, and select View as. Type in a friend's name to see what that person can view on your profile. On mobile, tap the three dots on your profile and select View as. This shows you exactly what strangers, friends, and specific people can see.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change the privacy of a post I already shared?

Yes. Go to the post, click the three dots in the top right corner, and select Edit the audience. You can change it from Public to Friends, or vice versa, at any time. The new audience setting takes effect when ready, but people who already saw it may remember it.

What does "Friends of Friends" mean for privacy?

Friends of Friends means people who are friends with your friends, but not friends with you. For example, if your friend Sarah is friends with Tom, Tom is a friend of a friend. This setting is wider than Friends Only but narrower than Public. It is useful if you want some privacy but do not want to limit yourself to just your direct friends.

If I make my profile private, can my friends still share my posts?

Yes. Even if your posts are set to Friends Only, your friends can still share them with their own friends or make them public. If you want to prevent sharing, you need to turn off the sharing option for individual posts. When you post, look for an option that says something like "Allow others to share this post" and uncheck it.

Does changing my privacy settings affect old posts?

No. When you change your default privacy setting, it only applies to new posts going forward. Old posts keep the privacy level they had when you posted them. If you want to change the privacy of old posts, you have to do it one at a time or use Facebook's Limit Past Posts feature, which you can find in Settings > Privacy.

What happens if I turn off "Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?"

Google and other search engines will stop showing a link to your Facebook profile in their search results. This does not make your Facebook profile private to other Facebook users—it just keeps it out of Google. Your friends will still be able to find you through Facebook's search bar.