What Facebook privacy settings do and where to find them
Facebook privacy settings control who can see your posts, photos, friend list, and profile information. You can set different rules for different groups of people — your friends only, friends of friends, the public, or custom lists you create yourself. The settings live in one place: your Settings and Privacy menu, which you reach from the dropdown arrow in the top right corner of Facebook (on desktop) or the menu icon at the bottom right (on mobile).
Most people change privacy settings in one of two ways: you can set a default privacy level that applies to all new posts you make going forward, or you can change the privacy of individual posts one at a time. Both options are straightforward once you know where to look, and you can change them back whenever you want.
Key Takeaways
- Your default privacy setting controls who sees new posts automatically; you find it under Settings and Privacy, then Settings, then Privacy.
- You can change the privacy of a single post by clicking the audience selector (a small icon showing who can see it) on that post itself.
- Facebook's preset options are Public, Friends, Friends Except, and Custom; Custom lets you include or exclude specific people or lists.
- Changing your privacy setting does not retroactively change posts you made before the change — only new posts use the new default.
- Your profile information (name, profile picture, cover photo) has separate privacy controls from your posts.
How to set your default privacy for new posts
On desktop, click the downward arrow in the top right corner of the page. Select Settings and Privacy, then Settings. On the left side, click Privacy. Look for the section labeled Who can see your posts? and click the dropdown next to it. Choose from Public (anyone on or off Facebook), Friends (only people you have friended), Friends Except (friends minus specific people you exclude), or Custom (you pick exact people or lists).
On mobile, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the bottom right. Scroll down and tap Settings and Privacy, then Settings. Tap Privacy. Under Who can see your posts?, tap the current setting and choose your new one. The process is identical; only the navigation path changes.
Once you set a default, every new post you create will use that setting unless you change it for that specific post. Your old posts keep whatever privacy level they had when you posted them — changing your default does not rewind your history.
How to change privacy on a post you already made
Find the post on your timeline or in your feed. In the top right corner of that post, you will see a small icon that shows who can currently see it — it might say "Friends," "Public," or show a custom icon. Click or tap that icon. A menu will appear with the same options: Public, Friends, Friends Except, or Custom. Select the new audience and confirm.
This works for any post you made, no matter how old it is. You can make a public post private, a private post public, or change it to a custom audience. If you delete a post and then restore it from your archive, it keeps the privacy setting it had before you deleted it.
Understanding the Custom privacy option
Custom privacy gives you the most control. When you select Custom, a dialog box opens with two sections: Include and Exclude. In Include, you can type the names of specific people or the names of lists you have created (like "Close Friends" or "Work"). In Exclude, you can remove specific people from seeing the post even if they would normally have access.
For example, you could set a post to be visible to all Friends, then exclude your boss and your ex by name. Or you could make it visible only to your "Family" list plus a few specific friends. The Exclude option overrides the Include option, so if someone appears in both, they cannot see the post.
Custom settings explore to one post at a time. If you want to use the same custom audience for multiple posts, you can set it once, but you will need to select it again for each new post — there is no way to save a custom audience as your default.
How to control who sees your profile information
Your profile picture, cover photo, name, and bio have separate privacy controls from your posts. Go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings, then Privacy. Look for sections labeled Who can see your friends list?, Who can look you up using the email address you provided?, and Who can look you up using the phone number you provided? Each one has its own dropdown.
You can also control who can contact you and who can send you friend requests. Under Who can contact you?, you can limit messages to friends only or allow anyone. Under Who can send you friend requests?, you can choose everyone or friends of friends only. These settings do not affect posts — they control how people interact with you directly.
What happens when you block or unfriend someone
Blocking someone is more restrictive than unfriending. When you block a person, they cannot see your profile, send you messages, or find you in search. When you unfriend someone, they can still see your public posts and your profile picture, but they cannot see posts you set to Friends-only. If you want someone to not see anything, blocking is the way to go.
To block someone, go to their profile, click the three dots in the top right, and select Block. To unfriend, click the three dots and select Unfriend. You can unblock or re-friend someone later if you change your mind. Blocking or unfriending does not send a notification to the other person, but they may notice if they try to visit your profile.
Privacy settings for photos and albums
When you upload photos, they inherit the privacy setting of the post they are attached to. If you post a photo with Friends-only privacy, only your friends can see it. You can also set privacy for entire albums separately. Go to your Photos section, find the album, click the three dots, and select Edit Album. The privacy dropdown is at the top of the album settings.
If you tag someone in a photo, they and their friends can see it even if your privacy setting would normally hide it from them — that is how Facebook's tagging system works. If you do not want someone tagged in your photos to be able to share the photo with their friends, you will need to untag them or delete the photo.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see who viewed my profile or my posts?
Facebook does not show you a list of people who viewed your profile or your posts. You can see how many people reacted to or commented on a post, but not who straightforward looked at it without interacting. Some third-party apps claim to show profile viewers, but Facebook does not support them and they do not work reliably.
If I change a post to private, will people who already saw it forget they saw it?
No. Changing a post to private only affects who can see it going forward. People who saw it when it was public have already seen the content. Making it private does not erase their memory or remove it from their devices.
What is the difference between Friends Except and Custom?
Friends Except shows your post to all friends except the specific people you name. Custom lets you choose exactly who sees it — you can include only certain friends, lists, or specific people, rather than starting with everyone and removing people. Use Friends Except for one or two exceptions; use Custom when you want to limit to a small group.
Do my privacy settings affect what Facebook shows me in ads?
No. Your post privacy settings do not control Facebook's advertising. Facebook still uses your activity, interests, and data to target ads to you, regardless of who can see your posts. To control ad targeting, go to Settings and Privacy, Settings, then Ads, then Ad Preferences.
If someone screenshots my private post, can they share it?
Yes. Privacy settings control who can see something on Facebook, but they do not prevent someone from taking a screenshot and sharing it elsewhere. If you post something sensitive, assume it could be shared outside Facebook no matter what privacy level you set.