Where to Find Your Privacy Settings

Your Facebook privacy controls live in one place: the Settings & Privacy menu in the top right of your screen. Click the downward arrow or three horizontal lines (depending on whether you're on desktop or mobile), then select Settings & Privacy, then Settings. From there, click Privacy in the left sidebar. This is where you control who sees your posts, who can contact you, and what information appears on your profile.

On mobile, the path is identical — tap the menu icon, go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Privacy. The options look the same whether you're using a phone or computer, though the layout may shift slightly to fit a smaller screen.

Key Takeaways

  • Your main privacy controls are in Settings > Privacy, where you set who sees your posts, who can message you, and who can look up your profile.
  • Post privacy (who sees each individual post) is separate from profile privacy (who can find you and see your basic information).
  • Facebook's default settings often allow more visibility than most people want, so you may need to tighten several controls at once.
  • Some settings explore only to future posts, while others change what people see about posts you've already made.
  • You can set different privacy levels for different groups of friends using the "Custom" option when posting.

Controlling Who Sees Your Posts

When you create a post, Facebook shows a privacy button near the bottom left — it usually says Public, Friends, or Custom. Click that button before you post to choose who sees that specific post. Public means anyone on Facebook (and sometimes people not on Facebook) can see it. Friends means only people you've added as friends can see it. Custom lets you pick specific people, exclude certain people, or limit it to a custom list you've created.

If you want to change the default for all future posts, go to Settings > Privacy and look for Who can see your posts? Set it to Friends or Custom depending on how much you want to share. This does not change the privacy of posts you've already made — only new ones going forward. To change an old post's privacy, click the three dots on that post, select Edit Privacy, and choose a new audience.

Managing Who Can Contact You

Facebook lets you control who can message you, comment on your posts, and see your friend list. In Settings > Privacy, find Who can contact you? and set it to Friends if you want only people you know to message you. If you leave it on Everyone, messages from non-friends go to a separate "Message Requests" folder instead of your main inbox, so you won't miss messages from friends.

You can also control who can comment on your posts. When you post something, click the three dots, select Edit Privacy, and choose Who can comment? Set it to Friends to block comments from strangers. For your profile itself, go to Settings > Privacy and find Who can comment on your posts? to set a default for all future posts.

Controlling Your Profile Visibility

Your profile includes your name, profile picture, cover photo, and basic information like your birthday or workplace. In Settings > Privacy, look for Who can see your profile? and Who can see your friends list? Set both to Friends if you want to limit who can find you and see what you've shared. If you set your profile to Public, anyone can search for you by name and see your posts, even if they're not your friend.

You can also hide specific information from your profile. Go to your profile, click Edit Profile, and look for the privacy icon (usually a small circle with lines) next to each piece of information — your birthday, phone number, email, workplace, and so on. Click that icon to choose whether only you can see it, only friends can see it, or everyone can see it.

Limiting Who Can Look You Up

Facebook has separate controls for who can search for you by name or phone number. In Settings > Privacy, find Who can look you up using the email address you provided? and Who can look you up using the phone number you provided? Set both to Friends to make yourself harder to find. This does not prevent people from finding you if they already know your name — it only affects searches by email or phone.

If you want to be even more private, you can turn off the ability for search engines outside Facebook to link to your profile. In Settings > Privacy, scroll down to Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile? and uncheck the box. This prevents Google and other search engines from showing your Facebook profile in their results.

Using Facebook's Privacy Checkup Tool

Facebook offers a guided tool called Privacy Checkup that walks you through your main settings in about five minutes. To find it, click the downward arrow in the top right, go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then look for Privacy Checkup in the left sidebar. The tool asks you four questions: who can see your posts, who can contact you, who can look you up, and what apps have access to your account. You can change each setting right there without hunting through menus.

Privacy Checkup is not required — you can manage everything manually in the Privacy section — but it's a useful way to review your settings if you haven't checked them in a while. Facebook's defaults change occasionally, and Privacy Checkup will show you your current setup and suggest changes.

Blocking and Restricting Specific People

If you want to hide your posts from one person without unfriending them, you can restrict them. Go to their profile, click the three dots, and select Restrict. They'll stay on your friends list, but they won't see when you're online, won't see your posts unless you tag them, and their messages will go to your Message Requests folder. You can also block someone entirely — they won't be able to find your profile, message you, or see your posts at all. To block someone, go to their profile, click the three dots, and select Block.

You can see your full block list in Settings > Privacy > Blocked people. You can also block specific apps from accessing your Facebook data in Settings > Apps and Websites. Click on any app to see what information it can see and revoke access if you want.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make my profile completely invisible to people who aren't my friends?

You can make it very difficult to find. Set your profile to Friends only, turn off email and phone lookup, and disable search engine linking. However, Facebook does not offer a completely invisible mode — if someone knows your exact name and searches for you, they may still find your profile, though they won't see your posts or information.

If I change my post privacy after posting, will people who already saw it lose access?

Yes. If you post something as Public and then change it to Friends, people who aren't your friends will no longer see it. However, if they took a screenshot or shared it before you changed the privacy, they'll still have their copy.

What does the "Custom" privacy option do?

Custom lets you pick specific friends or groups to see a post, or exclude specific people. When you post, click the privacy button, select Custom, and type in names or groups. You can also exclude people by typing their names in the "Don't share with" field.

Do my privacy settings affect old posts I made years ago?

No. Changing your default privacy settings only affects new posts. Old posts keep their original privacy level unless you manually edit each one. You can change an old post's privacy by clicking the three dots on it and selecting Edit Privacy.

Can I see what information Facebook has collected about me?

Yes. Go to Settings > Your Facebook Information and click read Your Information or View Your Information. This shows you the data Facebook stores about you, including your activity, ads you've seen, and information from third-party websites.