Where to Find Your About Section and What You Can Edit
Your Facebook About section lives on your profile page and contains information like your work history, education, relationship status, phone number, email, and hometown. To reach it, go to your profile by clicking your name or profile picture anywhere on Facebook, then look for the "About" tab below your cover photo. Click it, and you'll see all the information you've added over time, organized into categories like Work and Education, Places You've Lived, Contact Information, and Basic Information.
Each category has an edit button (a pencil icon) next to it. You can change, add, or remove information in any of these sections without affecting your other profile details. Some fields are visible to everyone on Facebook, while others you can set to private so only you see them. Facebook doesn't limit how many times you edit these sections, so you can update them whenever your situation changes.
Key Takeaways
- Click the About tab on your profile, then click the pencil icon next to any section to make changes.
- You can edit work history, education, relationship status, phone number, email, hometown, and other personal details one section at a time.
- After you make a change, click Save and choose who can see that information—only you, friends, or everyone.
- Removing information is as straightforward as clicking the X next to an entry or deleting the text and saving.
- Changes take effect when ready, but you can hide old information from your timeline so it doesn't show as a recent update.
How to Edit Work and Education Information
To add or change your job, click the pencil icon next to "Work and Education." A form will open where you can enter your current or past job titles, the company name, the dates you worked there, and your position. Type the company name and Facebook will usually suggest matches from its database—click the one that matches your employer. If your company isn't listed, you can type a custom name.
For education, click the same section and scroll down to find the education fields. Enter your school name, the years you attended, and your field of study. After you fill in the details, click Save. Facebook will then ask you who can see this information: only you, friends only, or public. Choose your privacy setting and click Save again. The information appears on your About section when ready.
Changing Contact Information and Location Details
Your phone number, email address, and website go in the Contact Information section. Click the pencil icon next to it, then type or paste your details into the fields provided. You can add multiple phone numbers or email addresses if you want—click "Add another [phone/email]" to add more than one. After entering your contact details, click Save and choose your privacy level.
To change your hometown or current city, look for the "Places You've Lived" section and click its pencil icon. Type the city name and Facebook will suggest matches. Select the correct city, then click Save. You can list multiple cities if you've lived in several places and want to show that history. Each city entry can have its own privacy setting, so you can make your hometown public but keep your current address visible only to friends.
Updating Relationship Status and Basic Information
Your relationship status appears in the Basic Information section. Click the pencil icon, then select your current status from the dropdown menu: Single, In a Relationship, Engaged, Married, It's Complicated, or In an Open Relationship. If you're in a relationship and want to link to your partner's profile, Facebook will give you that option after you save—you can add them or skip this step.
The Basic Information section also holds your birthday, gender, and interested-in information. Click the pencil icon to edit any of these fields. Your birthday controls which friends see birthday reminders, so update it if it's incorrect. After making changes, click Save and set your privacy level. Remember that some information like your birthday can be hidden from your timeline so it doesn't post as a recent update—Facebook will ask you this when you save.
Removing Information from Your About Section
To delete a single entry—like an old job or a past address—click the pencil icon next to that section, then look for an X or trash icon next to the specific item you want to remove. Click it, then click Save. The entry disappears from your About section when ready. If you want to remove an entire category of information, you can delete all entries in that section one by one.
If you want to hide information without deleting it, click the pencil icon and look for the privacy dropdown next to each entry. Change it from "Public" or "Friends" to "Only Me," and the information will stay in your account but won't show on your profile. This is useful if you might want to restore the information later without having to retype it.
Controlling Who Sees Your About Information
Every time you save a change to your About section, Facebook asks you to set the privacy level for that specific piece of information. Your options are "Public" (everyone on and off Facebook can see it), "Friends" (only your Facebook friends see it), or "Only Me" (you're the only one who sees it). You can set different privacy levels for different sections—your work history could be public while your phone number is friends-only.
To change the privacy of information you've already saved, click the pencil icon next to that section again. Look for the privacy icon (usually a globe, lock, or people symbol) next to each entry. Click it and select a new privacy level, then save. You can also go to your privacy settings in the main Settings menu to control who can see your About section as a whole, though individual entries still follow their own privacy settings.
What Happens When You Make Changes
When you edit your About section, the change takes effect when ready on your profile. By default, Facebook posts a story to your timeline saying you updated your work, education, relationship status, or other information—but you can hide this post. Right after you save, Facebook will ask if you want to hide the update from your timeline. Click "Hide from Timeline" if you don't want friends to see a notification that you made the change.
If you forget to hide the update and want to remove it later, go to your timeline, find the post about the change, click the three dots in the corner, and select "Delete." The post disappears from your timeline, but the information itself stays in your About section. Changes to private information (like your phone number set to "Only Me") never post to your timeline, so you don't have to worry about hiding those updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I edit my About section on the Facebook app?
Yes. Open the app, tap your profile picture or name, tap "About," then tap the pencil icon next to any section. The process is the same as on a computer—fill in your information, tap Save, and choose your privacy level. The mobile app works just as well as the website version.
What if I don't want anyone to see my About section at all?
You can hide your entire About section from specific people or groups. Go to Settings, click Privacy, and look for "Who can see your About section?" Change it to "Only Me" or a custom list. Individual entries still follow their own privacy settings, but this controls whether people can see the About tab itself.
Does Facebook keep a record of old information I delete?
Facebook keeps a record of changes you make to your profile for your own reference, but deleted information doesn't appear on your public profile. You can see your own activity log by clicking the three dots on your profile and selecting "Activity Log" to review what you've changed. Others cannot see this history.
Can I add custom fields to my About section?
Facebook provides set categories for About information—you can't create entirely custom fields. However, you can use the "Bio" section at the top of your profile to write anything you want in your own words. The Bio is separate from the About section and gives you more freedom to describe yourself however you choose.
Why is some of my information grayed out or locked?
If a field appears grayed out or locked, it may be because Facebook is protecting that information for security reasons, or you may have already set it to a privacy level that prevents editing from certain devices. Try editing from a computer browser instead of the app, or check your privacy settings to see if the field is restricted.