How to Make Facebook Private?: A Step-by-Step Illustrative Guide

Whether you plan to delete your professional Facebook page that you no longer need or lock down your private account, learning how to delete your Facebook business page or how to make Facebook private is essential. 

Keeping this in mind, Facebook allows its users to prioritize their privacy using the audience selector option. Now, whether it’s nosy acquaintances or creepy strangers, by following some simple steps, you can manage your digital footprints.

Moving further, follow this illustrative guide and learn how can you make your Facebook private.

Quick Answer
Navigate to Settings and Privacy > Click on Settings > Under the Audience and Visibility label, select the appropriate option > Click on Save Changes

Make Facebook Private by Locking Your Facebook Profile

If you ever come across a lock icon on someone’s profile, that means that the user has locked his/her profile for maximum privacy and only the selected followers will be able to see the shared content.

Check out the steps to lock your Facebook profile.

1. Login to your Facebook profile.
   

   

2. Click on the profile picture in the top right corner.
   

   

3. Navigate to Settings & privacy.
   

   

4. Click on the Settings bar.
   

   

5. Scroll down to the Audience and Visibility section and click on Profile locking.
   

   

6. Carefully read the instructions and click on “Lock your profile” and it’s done!
   

   

By following these easy steps, you now have moved one step closer to privacy and learned how to lock your profile and make Facebook private.

How to Hide Your Followers or Friend List on Facebook?

In the following sections, we will guide you and help you understand the steps to hide your friend list to make Facebook private.

1. As guided above, scroll down to the Audience and Visibility section under the privacy label.
   

   

2. Click on Profile details.
   

   

3. Further, scroll down to the Friends section and click on the three horizontal dots in the top right corner.
   

   

4. Click on Edit privacy.
   

   

5. Change the Friends list setting to “Only me” and click on Done.
   

   

Once you click on Done, the settings are changed and now anybody visiting your profile won’t be able to see your friends list.

Make Facebook Private with Facebook’s Audience Selector Tool

Giving priority to privacy, the audience selector tool allows the user to control who can see their shared content on Facebook. This feature helps them to customize their audience for each post, reel, or story. Let us learn more about this tool and the various options it gives.

• Public: Anyone on Facebook can see your posts/reels/stories, whether they are your followers or not.

• Friends: Only the page followers whom you add as friends can see your shared content.

• Friends Except: This option allows you to hide your post from specific people to whom you don’t want to give access to your content.

• Only Me: If you wish to make Facebook extremely private, then the “only me” option is perfect for you. Except for you, nobody can see the shared content.

• Custom: Make a custom list of your favorite people and share your posts/reels with them. This option has certain filters and is best used on business pages. 

Prioritizing your privacy, this tool is very crucial for any social media networking site. Make sure you use the feature wisely and share the content safely to avoid any cyber issues. 

In addition, if you are asking yourself, “How to make my Facebook private?” We have curated an illustrative guide for you. 

Suggested Read: Learn How to Tag Someone on Facebook Using iOS or Android Device or Using a Computer

Steps to Make Facebook Private Using a Mobile Device (iOS and Android)

If you are tired of unwanted interaction on your Facebook profile, you can simply turn off comments on your Facebook posts, reels, or stories. Or you can also consider turning your Facebook profile private. 

Read along if you are wondering, “How do I make my Facebook private?”

Basic Steps to Make Your FB Profile Private Using an Android Device

From the following section, you can learn how to make Facebook private and how you can choose a specific audience to view your FB posts, reels, and stories.

1. Open the Facebook application on your Android device.
   

   

2. Tap on the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) present in the top right corner. 
   

   

3. From the list of options, click on the Settings bar.
   

   

4. Scroll down to the Audience and visibility section and tap on Posts.
   

   

5. Next, tap on “Who can see your future posts?”.
   

   

6. Choose your appropriate audience and click on Save.
   

   

Similarly, you can also edit the audience for your reels and stories and maintain your privacy on this social media application. Having an Apple smartphone and wondering “How to make my Facebook private?”, check out the procedure in the next section. 

Procedure to Maintain Privacy on Facebook Using an iOS Mobile Device

Furthermore, let us understand how to make your Facebook private. If you are an iOS user, the below-mentioned steps are for your ease. 

1. Launch the Facebook application on your iOS device.
   

   

2. Click on the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom right corner of the page.
   

   

3. Navigate to Settings & Privacy.
   

   

4. Under the Settings & Privacy label, tap on Settings.
   

   

5. Scroll down to the Audience and Visibility section and click on Posts. 
   

   

6. Next, tap on “Who can see your future posts?”.
   

   

7. Under the Choose Audience section, tap on the desired option and click on Save. 
   

   

Remember that by following the same steps, you can also change the audience settings for your FB reels and stories. Moving ahead, check out the steps to make Facebook private using a desktop. 

Also Read: How to Share Facebook Post to Instagram? A Complete Guide to Meta Cross-Posting

How to Turn Your Facebook Account Private on the Web?

Do you realize that your toe-curling childhood images are still visible on Facebook, even to your new followers? Don’t worry; in the following section, you will find steps on how to make your Facebook private.

Steps to Make Facebook Posts Private (Web)

If you are wondering how to make your Facebook private and how to control the audience of your Facebook posts. Below are the steps to understand the procedure and make your post shareable on facebook to those whom you want.  

1. Log in to your Facebook account. 
   

   

2. Click on the profile picture in the top right corner.
   

   

3. From the list of options, click on Settings & privacy.
   

   

4. Under the Settings & privacy label, select Settings.
   

   

5. From the list of options given on the left side of the screen, scroll down to the Audience and visibility label.
   

   

6. To begin with, click on Posts and adjust the privacy settings.
   

   

7. Click on “Who can see your future posts?” and select the preferred option.
   

   

8. Choose the appropriate option, as per your requirement, from the list of options available.
   

   

9. After choosing your preferred option, click on Next, and it’s done.
   

   

By following these easy steps, now you know how to make Facebook profile private. Note that you can also control who can view your past posts on Facebook in the settings menu.

Procedure to Make Facebook Stories Private (Web)

If you wish to learn how to make Facebook private, you should also know the steps to make your Facebook stories private. Check the steps for the same. 

1. As guided above, navigate to the Audience and visibility section and click on Stories.
   

   

2. Click on “Who can see your stories?” and select the appropriate options. 
   

   

3. If you wish to make your stories visible only to your friends, click on Friends. 
   

   

4. Once you are done, click on Save, and your privacy settings are updated.
   

   

Note that these settings are not applicable to live videos that you share on your story. 

Step-by-Step Guide to Make Your Facebook Reels Private (Web)

Almost similar to the above procedure, you can also make your Facebook reels private. Let’s comprehend the steps for the same.

1. Go to the Audience and visibility sections and click on Reels.
   

   

2. Select the appropriate option from the “Who can see your reel?” section and click on Save. 
   

   

By simply complying with all the above-mentioned steps, you have successfully learned how to make Facebook completely private to non-friends. 

Why Does Facebook Privacy Matter?

To manage your personal information and digital reputation, maintaining privacy on Facebook or any other social media platform is very important. In today’s internet-driven world, security measures like OTP messages while logging in or two-step verification are highly crucial. 

Especially if you have a professional profile, protecting your digital assets in the business landscape from random cyberbullies, hackers, and scammers should be your priority. Efficiently managing privacy settings can help you maintain a professional and positive digital reputation.

To achieve peace of mind while using your Facebook page, privacy is now more significant than ever.

Read Next: How to Turn Off Meta AI on Facebook?: Regain Your Old Facebook Feed Now

Conclusion

Now that you have discovered how to make Facebook private, you can enjoy social media scrolling without any stress and share your content without having weird strangers accessing your posts/reels or stories. You can hide your personal details like your educational history, address and birthdays on facebook by making your account private. 

Always remember to take a few minutes and review your privacy settings and before sharing your images/videos make a mindful decision.

FAQs

Sources