What "Private" Means on Facebook and Why You Might Want It
A private Facebook profile means people who are not your friends cannot see your posts, photos, friends list, or other details about you. When your profile is public, anyone on Facebook — and sometimes people not on Facebook — can find and view your information. Changing to private stops strangers from browsing your activity and limits what shows up in search results.
Most people switch to private because they want to control who sees their life. You might not want coworkers, distant relatives, or people you went to school with fifteen years ago to have access to your photos and updates. Private profiles also reduce the number of unsolicited friend requests and messages from people you do not know.
Facebook's default settings lean toward sharing more rather than less, so you have to make the change yourself. The process takes about two minutes and works the same way on a computer or phone.
Key Takeaways
- You can make your profile private by going to Settings and Privacy, then Privacy, and changing "Who can see your posts?" from Public to Friends Only.
- Making your profile private hides your posts and photos from non-friends, but does not hide your name, profile picture, or the fact that you exist on Facebook.
- You should also check who can contact you, who can look up your profile, and whether old posts are set to Public — these are separate settings that stay open even after you change your main privacy level.
- Changing your profile to private does not affect pages you follow, groups you join, or comments you make on public pages — those remain visible to everyone.
How to Change Your Profile to Private on a Computer
Open Facebook in your web browser and click the downward arrow in the top right corner of the page. Select Settings and Privacy, then click Settings. On the left side, click Privacy.
Look for the section labeled Who can see your posts? It will currently show either Public or Friends. Click on it and select Friends from the dropdown menu. This is the core change that makes your profile private to non-friends.
After you change that setting, scroll down and look for Who can contact you? and Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided? For maximum privacy, set both of these to Friends as well. If you leave them on Public, strangers can still message you or find your profile by searching your phone number or email.
How to Change Your Profile to Private on Your Phone
Open the Facebook app and tap the three horizontal lines (the menu icon) in the bottom right corner. Scroll down and tap Settings and Privacy, then tap Settings. Tap Privacy.
Tap Who can see your posts? and select Friends. Then tap Who can contact you? and set it to Friends as well. Tap Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided? and change that to Friends too.
The phone version of Facebook buries these settings deeper than the computer version, but the options are identical. If you cannot find a setting, try scrolling down further or searching the Settings menu for keywords like "contact" or "lookup".
What Stays Visible Even After You Go Private
Your name, profile picture, and cover photo remain visible to everyone, even after you change to private. Facebook does this so people can still find you and send you a friend request. Your bio and "About" section also stay visible to non-friends unless you specifically hide those sections.
Any comments you make on public pages, public groups, or your friends' public posts will still show up to everyone. If you comment on a news article or a brand's page, strangers can see that comment and click through to your profile (though they will not be able to see your posts once they get there).
If you were part of a public group or page before you changed your profile to private, your membership in that group or page may still be visible. Check your groups and pages individually if you want to hide your participation in specific ones.
Changing the Privacy of Old Posts You Already Shared
Changing your profile to private only affects new posts going forward. Posts you shared when your profile was public will stay public unless you change them individually. To fix this, go to your timeline, find an old public post, click the three dots in the corner of that post, and select Edit Privacy. Change it from Public to Friends.
If you have years of public posts, changing them one at a time is tedious. Facebook does not have a bulk-change tool for old posts. Some people choose to delete old posts instead of making them private, especially if the posts are years old and no longer matter to them.
You can also use the Activity Log to see all your posts at once and change their privacy in batches. Go to your profile, click the three dots next to your name, select Activity Log, and filter by posts. You can then select multiple posts and change their privacy together, though this still requires you to go through the process for each post or group of posts.
What Private Does Not Do
Making your profile private does not hide you from Facebook's advertising system. Facebook still tracks your activity, interests, and behavior to show you targeted ads. Your privacy setting only controls what other people see, not what Facebook itself collects about you.
Private profiles do not prevent Facebook from showing your name and picture in ads to your friends. If you buy something or interact with a brand, Facebook may still use your image in sponsored content that appears to your friends' feeds.
Changing to private also does not stop people from screenshotting your posts or sharing them elsewhere. If someone is your friend and sees your post, they can save it and send it to anyone. Privacy settings control visibility, not what people do with information once they see it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make my profile private for some people but not others?
Not with a single setting. Facebook's privacy controls are all-or-nothing: either your posts are visible to friends only or they are not. You can hide specific posts from specific people by using the Edit Privacy option on individual posts and selecting Friends except, then naming the people you want to exclude. This works for one post at a time.
Will my friends know I changed my profile to private?
No. Your friends will not receive a notification that you changed your privacy settings. They will straightforward notice that they can no longer see your posts if they log out or view your profile from a non-friend account. Existing friends will still see your posts as normal.
What happens to messages from people who are not my friends?
Messages from non-friends go into a separate folder called Message Requests instead of your main inbox. You can read them, but they do not show up with your regular messages. You can accept the request to add the person as a friend, or delete the message without responding.
Does changing to private stop people from tagging me in photos?
No. Anyone can still tag you in photos, and those photos will be visible to whoever can see that person's posts. If you want to control tags, go to Settings and Privacy, then Privacy, and look for Review tags people add to your posts before they appear on your timeline? Turn this on to approve tags before they show up on your profile.
Can I make my profile private temporarily and then switch back?
Yes. You can change your privacy settings back and forth as many times as you want. There is no penalty for switching between private and public. Some people make their profiles public when they want to reach a wider audience, then switch back to private afterward.