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    Social Media
    Beginner
    1 min read 4 stepsMarch 31, 2026Verified March 2026

    Understanding Facebook Privacy Settings

    Control who can see your posts, find your profile, and contact you on Facebook — a simple guide to staying private.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Social Media
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    1 min read
    Steps
    4
    Topics covered
    facebook
    privacy
    safety
    settings
    beginner

    In this guide (4 steps):

    1. 1.Open Privacy Settings
    2. 2.Set who can see your posts
    3. 3.Control friend requests
    4. 4.Limit who can find you
    1

    Open Privacy Settings

    ~15s
    On Facebook, tap your profile photo, then Settings and Privacy, then Settings, then Privacy.
    2

    Set who can see your posts

    ~16s
    Change "Who can see your future posts?" to "Friends." This means only people you have accepted as friends can see what you share.

    Quick Tip

    You can also change who can see old posts. Look for "Limit past posts" to change all your previous posts to Friends only.

    3

    Control friend requests

    ~15s
    Set "Who can send you friend requests?" to "Friends of Friends." This stops complete strangers from sending you requests.
    4

    Limit who can find you

    ~15s
    Set "Who can look you up using your email?" and "Who can look you up using your phone number?" to "Friends." This stops strangers from finding your profile.

    Warning

    Check these settings every few months. Facebook sometimes changes them after updates.

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    privacy
    safety
    settings
    beginner

    Official Resources

    Facebook Help CenterAARP Social Media GuideFTC — Social Media Safety

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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