Change your Facebook profile to private in three steps
To make your Facebook profile private, open Facebook on your phone or computer, go to your profile, tap or click the three-dot menu, select "Settings and privacy," then "Settings," find "Privacy," and change who can see your posts and profile details from "Public" to "Friends" or "Friends except." The change takes effect when ready. Your old posts stay visible to whoever could see them before unless you change those separately.
A private profile means strangers cannot find you by searching your name, cannot see your photos or posts, and cannot message you unless you accept their friend request first. People already on your friends list see what you allow them to see based on your post-level privacy settings — making your profile private does not automatically hide everything from friends.
Key Takeaways
- Private profiles prevent strangers from searching for you by name and block non-friends from seeing your posts, photos, and personal details.
- You control privacy at two levels: your overall profile privacy (who can find and see you) and individual post privacy (who sees each post you share).
- Changing your profile to private does not hide your past posts from people who could already see them — you must change old posts separately if needed.
- Friends can still see your profile and posts unless you adjust post-level privacy or remove them from your friends list.
- The steps differ slightly between the Facebook app, Facebook.com on a browser, and the mobile web version, but the settings menu is the same.
Where to find the privacy settings on Facebook
Open Facebook and navigate to your profile by tapping your name at the bottom of the screen (mobile app) or clicking your name in the top right (computer). Once on your profile page, look for the three horizontal dots (⋯) or three vertical dots (⋮) — this is the menu button. Tap or click it.
From that menu, select "Settings and privacy," then tap or click "Settings." You are now in your account settings. Look for the "Privacy" section — it may be listed under "How people find and contact you" or straightforward as "Privacy" depending on your device and app version. Tap or click on it to see your privacy options.
Set who can see your profile and search for you
Inside the Privacy section, you will see an option called "Who can see your profile?" or "Profile visibility." The default is usually "Public." Tap or click on this setting and choose from the dropdown menu. Your options are typically "Public" (anyone can find and see you), "Friends" (only people on your friends list can see your profile), or "Friends except" (friends can see you, but you can hide your profile from specific people).
Select "Friends" to make your profile private. This prevents anyone who is not your friend from searching your name and finding your profile. Once you change this setting, Facebook saves it when ready — you do not need to confirm or click a separate save button.
If you choose "Friends except," Facebook will ask you to select which friends should not see your profile. This is useful if you want most friends to see you but want to hide from a specific person without unfriending them.
Control who can message you
While you are in the Privacy settings, look for "Who can message you?" or "Message privacy." By default, anyone can send you a message request, which lands in a separate folder you may not see. Changing this to "Friends" means only people on your friends list can message you directly — messages from non-friends go to a requests folder.
Some people set this to "Friends" at the same time they make their profile private, since a truly private profile usually means limiting contact to people you already know. This setting is separate from profile privacy, so you can have a public profile but restrict messages, or a private profile but allow anyone to message you.
Manage privacy for individual posts
Making your profile private controls who can find you and see your profile page, but it does not automatically change the privacy of posts you have already shared. Old posts may still be visible to "Public" or "Friends of friends" depending on what you chose when you posted them. If you want to hide those posts, you must change them one at a time or in bulk.
To change an old post's privacy, go to that post, tap or click the three dots in the corner of the post, and select "Edit privacy" or "Change who can see this." Choose your new audience — "Friends," "Friends except," or "Only me" — and save. If you have many old posts to change, Facebook does not offer a bulk privacy tool, so you will need to edit them individually or delete the ones you want hidden.
For new posts going forward, you can set the privacy before you share. When you create a post, look for the audience selector (usually showing "Friends," "Public," or a custom icon) and tap or click it to choose who sees that specific post. This post-level privacy overrides your profile privacy, so you can have a private profile but share a post with "Public" if you choose.
What changes and what stays the same
When you change your profile to private, strangers can no longer search for you by name, cannot see your profile picture or cover photo, and cannot view your friends list or past posts. Your name may still appear in other places — for example, if a friend tags you in a photo, that tag is visible to whoever can see that photo, even if your profile is private.
People already on your friends list can still see your profile and posts unless you adjust post-level privacy or remove them as friends. Making your profile private does not automatically unfriend anyone or hide your activity from current friends. If you want to hide from a specific friend, you can either unfriend them, block them, or use the "Friends except" option to hide your profile from them while keeping the friendship.
Your past messages and conversations remain private regardless of your profile privacy setting. Only the person you messaged with can see those conversations — changing your profile privacy does not affect message history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can people still find me on Facebook if my profile is private?
Strangers cannot search for you by name and find your profile if it is set to private. However, if someone has your phone number or email address linked to your account, they may still be able to find you through Facebook's contact import feature. To prevent this, go to Settings, find "How people find and contact you," and turn off "Let people search for you using the phone number or email you provided."
Will my friends see a change when I make my profile private?
Your friends will not receive a notification that you made your profile private. They can still see your profile and posts as before, unless you also change individual post privacy or remove them as friends. The change is invisible to them unless they try to share your profile with someone outside your friends list.
What happens to posts I shared publicly before I made my profile private?
Old posts remain at their original privacy level. If you posted something as "Public," it stays public even after you make your profile private. You must change the privacy of each old post separately if you want to hide it. Go to the post, tap the three dots, select "Edit privacy," and choose a new audience.
Can I hide my profile from one specific friend without unfriending them?
Yes. When you set your profile privacy to "Friends except," Facebook lets you choose which friends cannot see your profile. Select their names from the list, and your profile will be hidden from them while you remain friends. They will not be notified that you hid your profile from them.
Does making my profile private stop people from tagging me in photos?
No. People can still tag you in photos and posts regardless of your profile privacy. However, you can control whether tags appear on your profile. Go to Settings, find "How tags work," and turn on "Review tags people add to your posts before they appear on your profile." This lets you approve or reject tags before they show up.