How to Keep Private on Facebook
Go to https://www.facebook.com in a web browser. , Sign in to Facebook., Click the downward-pointing arrow.,Click Settings., Click Privacy., Change your “Who can see my stuff?” settings., Change your “Who can contact me?” settings., Change your “Who...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Go to https://www.facebook.com in a web browser.
If you’re not already logged in, enter your username and password into the blanks at the top right corner of the screen, then click Log In., It’s at the top right corner of the screen.
A dropdown menu will appear.,, It’s on the left side of the screen.
Now you’ll see the “Privacy Settings and Tools” screen in the main (center) panel., Here’s a description of each option: “Who can see your future posts?” The default is “Public,” meaning your posts are visible to everyone on Facebook.
To limit visibility to friends, click Edit and select “Friends.” This won’t affect posts you’ve already made. “Review all your posts and things you’re tagged in.” Click Use Activity Log to see who can view your past posts.
You can change the privacy settings on each individual post this way, too. “Limit the audience for posts you’ve shared with friends of friends or Public?” Click Limit Past Posts to change the privacy of all of your past posts at once. , You can limit new friends requests to people who are friends with your current friends by clicking Edit and selecting Friends of Friends., By default, anyone who has your phone number or email address can enter it into Facebook’s search and find your profile.
To change these settings, click Edit next to both options.
When people search for your name in a search engine like Google, your Facebook profile will come up.
To keep your profile out of search engines, click Edit next to “Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?” and select No. ,, If you’re not already logged in, enter your username and password into the blanks at the top right corner of the screen, then click Log In., It’s at the top right corner of the screen.
A dropdown menu will appear.,, It’s on the left sidebar.
This opens the Timeline and Tagging settings in the main panel.
There are three sections of settings you can view and modify to get greater control over who can see your content., Here’s how to manage this first group of settings: “Who can add things to my Timeline? By default, any of your friends can post things to your Timeline.
Click Edit to limit who can add posts. “Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your Timeline?” To manually approve all new posts to your timeline, click Edit next to this option and select On. , This second group of settings allows you to control who can see posts and tags on your Timeline. “Review what other people see on your timeline.” Click View As to see your Timeline as though you’re someone else. “Who can see posts you’ve been tagged in on your Timeline?” Click Edit to change who can see posts and photos you’ve been tagged in. “Who can see what others post on your Timeline?” By default, anyone who can view your Timeline can see posts added by others.
To change this, click Edit and select a different audience. , The third section gives you control over what happens when people tag you in different types of posts.
If you want to manually approve tags before they appear on your Timeline, click Edit next to “Review tags people add to your own posts before the tags appear on Facebook?” and select On.
Click Edit next to “When you’re tagged in a post, who do you want to add to the audience if they aren’t already on it?” to allow your friends (or friends of your friends) to see posts you’re tagged in.
Facebook recommends that your friends tag you in any photo of you they’ve uploaded.
To change this, click Edit next to “Who sees tag suggestions when photos that look like you are uploaded?” and select a different option. , If you post things publicly, there’s another group of settings you can edit.
Click Public Posts in the left sidebar to view the available options.
Who can follow me?:
By default, people can follow your posts without adding you as a friend.
Use the dropdown menu to change this setting.
Public post comments:
Tap Edit to change who can comment on posts you’ve marked as Public. ,, If you’re not already logged in, enter your username and password into the blanks at the top right corner of the screen, then click Log In., It’s at the top right corner of the screen.
A dropdown menu will appear.,, It’s in the left sidebar.
This opens the “Manage Blocking” page in the main panel, where you can block specific users from being able to contact you or see your content.
Restricted List:
Adding a friend to this list makes it so they can’t see anything you post unless it’s set to “Public.” Click Edit List to add or remove friends.
Block Users:
Type someone’s email address and click Block to stop them from seeing or contacting you.
Block Messages:
Enter a friend’s name to block their messages without blocking them completely.
Block app invites:
If you get a lot of notifications from certain friends about games they’re playing or apps they’re using, use this to block the notifications without blocking your friend.
Block event invites:
If you’re tired of invitations from the same people over and over again, enter their name into this blank to block their future invites.
Block apps:
If you’ve used a Facebook app but no longer want it to have access to your information, start typing the name of the app into the box here, then select it from the results. , You have the ability to choose who can view your status update before posting.
Start by clicking the box at the top of your timeline (“What’s on your mind?”), and then typing your post., It’s just beneath the box that contains your post., The current audience (e.g.
Friends, Public) appears on the dropdown menu’s button, which is directly to the left of the Post button.
Click the dropdown menu to select a different audience.
To hide a post from a specific person, click Friends except… and then enter that person’s name. , Your post will now be visible to the audience you’ve selected. -
Step 2: Sign in to Facebook.
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Step 3: Click the downward-pointing arrow.
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Step 4: Click Settings.
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Step 5: Click Privacy.
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Step 6: Change your “Who can see my stuff?” settings.
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Step 7: Change your “Who can contact me?” settings.
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Step 8: Change your “Who can look me up?” settings.
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Step 9: Go to https://www.facebook.com in a web browser.
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Step 10: Sign in to Facebook.
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Step 11: Click the downward-pointing arrow.
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Step 12: Click Settings.
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Step 13: Click Timeline and Tagging.
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Step 14: Control who can add things to your Timeline.
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Step 15: Control who can see things on your Timeline.
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Step 16: Manage your Tagging settings.
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Step 17: Manage the public information on your Timeline.
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Step 18: Go to https://www.facebook.com in a web browser.
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Step 19: Sign in to Facebook.
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Step 20: Click the downward-pointing arrow.
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Step 21: Click Settings.
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Step 22: Click Blocking.
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Step 23: Compose your Facebook post.
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Step 24: Click ⋯.
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Step 25: Select an audience.
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Step 26: Click Post.
Detailed Guide
If you’re not already logged in, enter your username and password into the blanks at the top right corner of the screen, then click Log In., It’s at the top right corner of the screen.
A dropdown menu will appear.,, It’s on the left side of the screen.
Now you’ll see the “Privacy Settings and Tools” screen in the main (center) panel., Here’s a description of each option: “Who can see your future posts?” The default is “Public,” meaning your posts are visible to everyone on Facebook.
To limit visibility to friends, click Edit and select “Friends.” This won’t affect posts you’ve already made. “Review all your posts and things you’re tagged in.” Click Use Activity Log to see who can view your past posts.
You can change the privacy settings on each individual post this way, too. “Limit the audience for posts you’ve shared with friends of friends or Public?” Click Limit Past Posts to change the privacy of all of your past posts at once. , You can limit new friends requests to people who are friends with your current friends by clicking Edit and selecting Friends of Friends., By default, anyone who has your phone number or email address can enter it into Facebook’s search and find your profile.
To change these settings, click Edit next to both options.
When people search for your name in a search engine like Google, your Facebook profile will come up.
To keep your profile out of search engines, click Edit next to “Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?” and select No. ,, If you’re not already logged in, enter your username and password into the blanks at the top right corner of the screen, then click Log In., It’s at the top right corner of the screen.
A dropdown menu will appear.,, It’s on the left sidebar.
This opens the Timeline and Tagging settings in the main panel.
There are three sections of settings you can view and modify to get greater control over who can see your content., Here’s how to manage this first group of settings: “Who can add things to my Timeline? By default, any of your friends can post things to your Timeline.
Click Edit to limit who can add posts. “Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your Timeline?” To manually approve all new posts to your timeline, click Edit next to this option and select On. , This second group of settings allows you to control who can see posts and tags on your Timeline. “Review what other people see on your timeline.” Click View As to see your Timeline as though you’re someone else. “Who can see posts you’ve been tagged in on your Timeline?” Click Edit to change who can see posts and photos you’ve been tagged in. “Who can see what others post on your Timeline?” By default, anyone who can view your Timeline can see posts added by others.
To change this, click Edit and select a different audience. , The third section gives you control over what happens when people tag you in different types of posts.
If you want to manually approve tags before they appear on your Timeline, click Edit next to “Review tags people add to your own posts before the tags appear on Facebook?” and select On.
Click Edit next to “When you’re tagged in a post, who do you want to add to the audience if they aren’t already on it?” to allow your friends (or friends of your friends) to see posts you’re tagged in.
Facebook recommends that your friends tag you in any photo of you they’ve uploaded.
To change this, click Edit next to “Who sees tag suggestions when photos that look like you are uploaded?” and select a different option. , If you post things publicly, there’s another group of settings you can edit.
Click Public Posts in the left sidebar to view the available options.
Who can follow me?:
By default, people can follow your posts without adding you as a friend.
Use the dropdown menu to change this setting.
Public post comments:
Tap Edit to change who can comment on posts you’ve marked as Public. ,, If you’re not already logged in, enter your username and password into the blanks at the top right corner of the screen, then click Log In., It’s at the top right corner of the screen.
A dropdown menu will appear.,, It’s in the left sidebar.
This opens the “Manage Blocking” page in the main panel, where you can block specific users from being able to contact you or see your content.
Restricted List:
Adding a friend to this list makes it so they can’t see anything you post unless it’s set to “Public.” Click Edit List to add or remove friends.
Block Users:
Type someone’s email address and click Block to stop them from seeing or contacting you.
Block Messages:
Enter a friend’s name to block their messages without blocking them completely.
Block app invites:
If you get a lot of notifications from certain friends about games they’re playing or apps they’re using, use this to block the notifications without blocking your friend.
Block event invites:
If you’re tired of invitations from the same people over and over again, enter their name into this blank to block their future invites.
Block apps:
If you’ve used a Facebook app but no longer want it to have access to your information, start typing the name of the app into the box here, then select it from the results. , You have the ability to choose who can view your status update before posting.
Start by clicking the box at the top of your timeline (“What’s on your mind?”), and then typing your post., It’s just beneath the box that contains your post., The current audience (e.g.
Friends, Public) appears on the dropdown menu’s button, which is directly to the left of the Post button.
Click the dropdown menu to select a different audience.
To hide a post from a specific person, click Friends except… and then enter that person’s name. , Your post will now be visible to the audience you’ve selected.
About the Author
Daniel Brown
Creates helpful guides on crafts to inspire and educate readers.
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