How to change your birthday on Facebook
You can change your birthday on Facebook through your profile settings at any time. The process takes less than a minute: go to your profile, click the three-line menu icon, select "Settings and privacy," then "Settings," find "Personal information," and edit the birthday field. Facebook lets you change it as many times as you want, and you control who sees it.
The key thing to know is that Facebook stores your birth year separately from the month and day. You can hide your year from other people while showing them when your birthday is, or hide the entire date. This matters because your age is used for ad targeting and other behind-the-scenes purposes, even if nobody on your friends list can see it.
Key Takeaways
- You reach your birthday settings through Settings and privacy > Settings > Personal information, where you can edit the month, day, and year.
- Facebook allows you to change your birthday as many times as you want, with no limit on how often you update it.
- You can choose to show your full birthday, hide only the year, or hide the entire date from people viewing your profile.
- Your birth year affects how Facebook targets ads to you, even if you hide it from your friends.
Step-by-step: changing your birthday on desktop
Open Facebook and click the three-line menu icon in the top right corner of the screen. Select "Settings and privacy," then click "Settings." On the left side, you will see a menu; click "Personal information." Look for the "Birthday" field and click the pencil icon next to it to edit.
A box will appear with three dropdown menus: one for the month, one for the day, and one for the year. Change whichever parts you need to update. When you are done, click "Save changes" at the bottom of the box. Facebook will update your profile when ready.
Changing your birthday on mobile
On the Facebook app for iPhone or Android, tap the three horizontal lines (menu icon) at the bottom right of the screen. Scroll down and tap "Settings and privacy," then "Settings." Tap "Personal information," then tap "Birthday." The same three dropdown menus will appear—month, day, and year. Make your changes and tap "Save."
The mobile process is identical to desktop; the only difference is the layout of the menu. If you are using Facebook in a mobile web browser rather than the app, follow the desktop steps above.
Who can see your birthday
When you edit your birthday, Facebook shows you a privacy setting that controls who sees it. Your options are "Public" (everyone on Facebook), "Friends" (only people on your friends list), "Only me" (nobody else), or "Custom" (specific people or groups you choose). The default is usually "Friends," but you can change it to anything you prefer.
You can also hide just your birth year while showing the month and day. This is useful if you want friends to know when to wish you a happy birthday without broadcasting your age. To do this, set the privacy for the year to "Only me" while leaving the month and day visible to friends.
What happens if you change your birthday multiple times
Facebook does not penalize you for changing your birthday frequently. There is no limit to how many times you can update it, and the platform does not flag accounts that change it often. However, changing it very close to your actual birthday might confuse friends who are trying to send you birthday wishes on the correct date.
If you made a mistake when you first created your account and entered the wrong birthday, you can correct it without any consequences. Facebook straightforward updates the information in your profile and uses the new date going forward for birthday reminders and age-based ad targeting.
Why Facebook asks for your birth year
Facebook requires a birth year for age verification and ad targeting. Advertisers can choose to show ads only to people within certain age ranges, so your birth year determines which ads you see. This is also why Facebook needs your real age even if you hide it from your friends—the platform uses it behind the scenes for compliance with laws about age-restricted products like alcohol and gambling.
If you are concerned about privacy, you can hide your birth year from your profile while still providing it to Facebook. This way, the platform has the information it needs for its systems, but your friends cannot see how old you are.
If you cannot find the birthday field
If you do not see a birthday option in your Personal information settings, your account may have been created before Facebook made the birthday field standard. In that case, the field might be in a different location or might not exist on your profile yet. Try clicking "Add" or "Edit" next to any blank personal information fields to see if birthday appears as an option.
If you still cannot locate it, log out and log back in, or try accessing settings from a different browser. Occasionally, Facebook's interface takes time to update across all devices. If the problem persists, you can contact Facebook's support through the Help Center, though they typically cannot add a birthday field if your account predates that feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide my birthday from specific people?
No, Facebook's privacy settings for birthday are all-or-nothing by group: you can show it to everyone, friends only, only yourself, or a custom list of people. You cannot hide it from one specific friend while showing it to others. If you need that level of control, set it to "Only me" and tell close friends your birthday separately.
What if I entered the wrong year when I created my account?
You can change it to the correct year at any time through Personal information settings. Facebook does not verify your birth year against government documents, so you can update it without providing proof. Just go to the birthday field and edit the year dropdown.
Does changing my birthday affect my Facebook memories or old posts?
No, changing your birthday does not alter any of your past posts, photos, or memories. It only changes the date that appears on your profile going forward and affects future birthday reminders. Your old content stays exactly as it was.
Will my friends be notified if I change my birthday?
Facebook does not send notifications to your friends when you change your birthday. However, if you change it to a date coming up soon, your friends might see a birthday reminder and wish you happy birthday on the new date instead of your actual birthday.
Can I delete my birthday entirely instead of changing it?
You cannot completely remove the birthday field from your profile, but you can hide it from everyone by setting the privacy to "Only me." This keeps the information in your account for Facebook's internal use while making it invisible to other people.