Change your profile to private in three steps
To make your Facebook profile private, go to the downward arrow in the top right corner of any Facebook page, select Settings and privacy, then Settings. On the left side, click Privacy. Under "Who can see your posts?", change the setting from Public to Friends or Only me. Save the change, and your profile is now private to people outside your friends list.
The exact wording and location of these buttons can shift slightly depending on whether you are using Facebook on a computer, phone, or tablet, but the path is the same. If you cannot find the arrow menu, look for three horizontal lines (called a hamburger menu) on mobile devices.
Key Takeaways
- Your privacy settings control who sees your posts, profile information, and friend list separately — changing one does not change the others.
- Setting posts to Friends lets your friends see them; Only me hides them from everyone except you.
- Your profile picture and name remain visible to everyone, even when your profile is private, because Facebook uses these to help people find you.
- Old posts you made when your profile was public stay at their original privacy level unless you change them individually or use the "Limit past posts" tool.
- People who are not your friends can still send you messages and see that you exist on Facebook, but they cannot see your posts or personal details.
What "private" actually means on Facebook
Making your profile private does not hide you from Facebook entirely. People who are not your friends can still find your name in search, see your profile picture, and send you a message. What they cannot see is your posts, your full friend list, your photos, or details like your birthday and workplace.
Facebook separates privacy into layers. Your posts have one setting, your profile information (like email or phone number) has another, and your friend list has a third. You can make your posts visible only to friends while keeping your friend list hidden from friends, or any other combination. Most people set all three to the same level for simplicity, but you do not have to.
How to hide your friend list from everyone
Your friend list is controlled separately from your posts. To hide it, go to Settings and privacy > Settings > Privacy. Look for "Who can see your friends list?" and change it from Public or Friends to Only me.
When your friend list is set to Only me, no one except you can see who your friends are, even if they are your friend. This is useful if you want to keep your social connections private. People can still see that you exist and that you have friends — they just cannot see the names.
What happens to posts you made before changing your settings
Posts you shared when your profile was public stay public unless you change them individually. If you have years of old posts and do not want to edit each one, Facebook offers a bulk tool called Limit past posts. Go to Settings and privacy > Settings > Privacy, and look for the option to limit the audience of old posts to friends only.
This tool changes all posts you made before that moment to Friends only, but it does not delete them or move them. People who already saw and shared your old posts can still see them in their own feeds or messages. The tool only prevents new people from finding them through your profile.
How to control who can contact you
Even with a private profile, people who are not your friends can send you messages. If you want to restrict this, go to Settings and privacy > Settings > Privacy, and find "Who can message you?" Change it from Everyone to Friends. Messages from non-friends will go to a separate folder called Message Requests, and you can ignore or delete them without accepting them.
You can also block specific people or turn off message notifications entirely. Blocking someone prevents them from seeing your profile, sending you messages, or finding you in search. If you only want to hide from someone temporarily, consider unfriending them instead — they can still message you, but they cannot see your posts or profile details.
Mobile vs. computer — where to find these settings
On a computer, the settings path is straightforward: arrow menu > Settings and privacy > Settings > Privacy. On an iPhone or Android phone, the process is the same, but the menu button looks different. On iPhone, tap the three horizontal lines at the bottom right. On Android, tap the three horizontal lines at the top right. From there, scroll down to Settings and privacy and follow the same steps.
The Facebook app and the mobile website sometimes show options in slightly different places, but the Settings and privacy menu is always the starting point. If you cannot find a setting on mobile, try opening Facebook in your phone's web browser instead — the full computer version is often easier to navigate.
Why your profile picture and name stay visible
Facebook does not let you hide your profile picture or name from search, even on a private profile. This is by design — Facebook uses these to help people find you and verify they have the right person. If you want to be harder to find, you can change your name to something less identifiable, but Facebook has rules about what names are allowed and may ask you to change it back.
If you are concerned about being found by a specific person, blocking them is more effective than making your profile private. A blocked person cannot see your profile at all, cannot search for you, and cannot message you, even if they know your name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can people still tag me in photos if my profile is private?
Yes. Anyone can tag you in a photo, and that photo appears on your profile and in their friends' feeds. If you do not want to be tagged, you can remove the tag or change your settings to review tags before they appear. Go to Settings and privacy > Settings > Privacy and look for "Review tags people add to your posts before the tags appear on your timeline?"
Will my private profile show up in Google search results?
No. When your profile is private, search engines like Google cannot index your posts or profile details. Your name may still appear in Google if someone else mentions you publicly, but your Facebook profile itself will not show up in search results.
If I make my profile private, can my friends still see my posts?
Yes, if you set your posts to Friends. Your friends will see everything they could see before. Only people who are not your friends will be blocked from seeing your posts. If you set posts to Only me, no one except you can see them.
What if I change my mind and want my profile public again?
Go back to Settings and privacy > Settings > Privacy and change "Who can see your posts?" back to Public. All your posts will become visible to everyone again. This does not undo any changes you made to individual posts or your friend list settings.
Does making my profile private stop Facebook from showing me ads?
No. Facebook shows you ads based on your activity, interests, and data it collects, not based on your privacy settings. Your profile privacy only controls what other people see — it does not change how Facebook uses your information for advertising.