Making your Facebook account private is essential if you want to keep your personal information secure and share only with people you trust. It involves a few simple steps that adjust your privacy settings, ensuring that only friends can see your posts, personal details, and activity. Let’s walk through how to make your Facebook account private.
How to Make Your Facebook Account Private
The following steps will help you secure your Facebook account by adjusting various privacy settings. By completing these steps, you’ll control who can see your posts, who can contact you, and how people can find you.
Step 1: Access Facebook Settings
Go to your Facebook homepage and click on the small downward arrow in the top right corner of the screen, then select “Settings & Privacy” and click on “Settings”.
This step is essential as it takes you to the heart of your account’s privacy settings. From here, you can control various aspects of your account’s visibility.
Step 2: Navigate to Privacy Settings
In the left-hand column, click on “Privacy”.
This section is crucial because it contains all the options you need to make your Facebook account private. It allows you to manage your profile and posts’ visibility.
Step 3: Adjust Your Activity and Future Posts Settings
Under the “Your Activity” section, click “Edit” next to “Who can see your future posts?” and select “Friends” or “Only me”.
This setting ensures that only people you trust can see your future posts. If you want to be extra cautious, selecting “Only me” is the way to go.
Step 4: Limit Past Posts
Click on “Limit Past Posts” and confirm by clicking “Limit Past Posts” again in the pop-up box.
This option will change all your past posts to be seen only by friends, which is great for safeguarding information you might have shared publicly in the past.
Step 5: Control Who Can Find You
Scroll down to the “How People Find and Contact You” section and adjust the settings for “Who can send you friend requests?”, “Who can see your friends list?”, and “Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided?” to “Friends” or “Only me”.
These settings further ensure that strangers cannot easily find or contact you through your Facebook account.
Once you’ve completed these steps, your Facebook account will be significantly more private. Only your friends will be able to see your posts and contact information, making your online presence more secure.
Tips for Making Your Facebook Account Private
- Regularly review your privacy settings to ensure they align with your current preferences.
- Be selective about accepting friend requests; only accept people you know and trust.
- Consider using the “View As” feature to see how your profile appears to others.
- Be cautious about the personal information you share in your posts and profile details.
- Adjust your tagging settings to review tags from others before they appear on your profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make my Facebook profile picture private?
You can make your profile picture private by clicking on the picture, then clicking the audience selector (it looks like a globe or a silhouette of people) and choosing “Friends” or “Only me”.
Can I hide my Facebook friends list?
Yes, go to your profile, click on the “Friends” tab, click on the pencil icon, and select “Edit Privacy”. From here, you can set who can see your friends list.
How can I prevent people from searching for me using my email or phone number?
Navigate to “How People Find and Contact You” in your privacy settings and adjust the options for “Who can look you up using the email address you provided?” and “Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?” to “Friends” or “Only me”.
How do I restrict who can send me friend requests?
Go to “How People Find and Contact You” in your privacy settings and change “Who can send you friend requests?” to “Friends of friends”.
Can I limit who sees my future posts by default?
Yes, under “Your Activity” in privacy settings, click “Edit” next to “Who can see your future posts?” and select “Friends” or “Only me”.
Summary
- Go to Facebook Settings.
- Navigate to Privacy Settings.
- Adjust Your Activity and Future Posts Settings.
- Limit Past Posts.
- Control Who Can Find You.
Conclusion
Securing your Facebook account is not just about keeping your information safe, it’s about peace of mind. By taking the steps outlined above, you can ensure that your personal details, posts, and interactions are only visible to those you trust. Regularly updating and reviewing your privacy settings is a good habit to get into, especially as Facebook often updates its interface and options.
So, take a moment today to make your Facebook account private. It’s a small effort that can protect you from unwanted attention and potential privacy breaches. If you want to dive deeper into online privacy, there are plenty of resources available that can guide you on how to stay safe across various social media platforms.
Your digital footprint matters, so make sure you’re the one controlling it.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.