TL;DR: Facebook has no single “private account” switch, so you lock it down setting by setting. The big ones: set your default post audience to Friends, use Limit Past Posts, run Privacy Checkup to hide your birthday, city and contact info, turn off search engine linking, and remove apps you no longer use. Then check your phone's location permission for the app. It takes about ten minutes.
Why lock down Facebook at all?
A public Facebook profile hands strangers your name, photo, hometown, workplace, relatives and years of posts. That's the raw material for impersonation, social engineering and security-question guessing. It also helps scammers clone your account and message your friends.
The settings to change, in order
Menu names shift between app versions, but these paths follow Consumer Reports' Facebook privacy guide (updated January 2025).
1. Make new posts friends-only
Menu, then Settings & Privacy, then Default Audience Settings, and choose Friends. Every new post now starts private.
2. Limit old posts in one go
In the same area, use Limit Past Posts. It switches everything you've shared as Public or Friends of Friends to Friends only. You can't undo it in bulk, so it's worth doing once properly.
3. Run Privacy Checkup
Click your profile picture, Settings & Privacy, then Privacy Checkup. Under “Who can see what you share,” limit your birthday, current city, phone number, email and relationship details. Hide anything a stranger doesn't need.
4. Control how people find you
Under Settings, Audience and Visibility, How People Find and Contact You: limit who can send friend requests, who can see your friends list, and who can look you up by email or phone. Turn off the option that lets search engines outside Facebook link to your profile.
5. Check location and apps
- On iPhone: Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, Facebook, and choose While Using the App or Never.
- On Android: Settings, Location, App permissions, Facebook.
- In Facebook: Settings, Apps and Websites. Remove anything you don't use.
6. Cut ad tracking
In Accounts Center, Ad Preferences, choose the most private option for each setting. Then go to Your Activity Off Meta Technologies to clear past activity and disconnect future activity. Our post on what your ad preferences reveal explains why it's worth doing.
How to make your Facebook photos private
- New photos: pick the audience (Public, Friends, Only Me or Custom) before you post. New uploads follow your default post audience.
- Existing photos and albums: open the photo or album, click the audience icon and change it. Set an album to Only Me to hide all of it.
- Profile picture and cover photo: Panda Security notes these are treated as always public. To limit one, delete it from the Profile Pictures or Cover Photos album and keep the image in a private album instead.
- Tagged photos: in Settings, Profile and Tagging, turn on review of tags before they appear. A friend's public photo you're tagged in can still be seen by their audience.
Can you make a Facebook Page private?
No. A Page (for a business, group or public figure) is public by design; the settings above apply to your personal profile. According to Apaya, the closest option is to deactivate (unpublish) the Page: open the Page's Settings, Privacy, Facebook Page visibility and choose Deactivate. That hides it from everyone except admins and removes it from search, and you can republish later. Deleting is permanent after a 14-day window.
What stays public no matter what
Your name, profile picture and cover photo are generally visible to anyone, so choose photos that don't show your house, car or children's school. Comments on public pages and in public groups are visible to everyone too.
Don't forget friend suggestions
Even with a private profile, Facebook can suggest you to people who have your phone number or email in their contacts. We explain how in how Facebook's People You May Know works.
Next steps
- Do the same on Instagram: how to make Instagram private.
- Turn on two-factor authentication. If you've already been locked out, see Facebook account hacked: what to do.
Privacy settings protect what you post now. A free email exposure check shows whether the email on your Facebook account has already turned up in a breach, and the full scan adds your phone number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make my whole Facebook account private?
There’s no single switch. Set your default audience to Friends, use Limit Past Posts, restrict profile details in Privacy Checkup and turn off search engine linking.
How do I hide old Facebook posts from the public?
Use Limit Past Posts in Settings & Privacy. It changes older Public and Friends of Friends posts to Friends only in one step.
How do I stop my Facebook showing up on Google?
In How People Find and Contact You, turn off the option allowing search engines outside Facebook to link to your profile.
What on Facebook is always public?
Your name, profile picture and cover photo are generally visible to anyone, as are comments on public pages and groups.
How do I make my Facebook friends list private?
In How People Find and Contact You, set who can see your friends list to Only me or Friends.
Sources
- Consumer Reports: Facebook privacy settings you should change right now
- Facebook Help: Basic privacy settings and tools
- Panda Security: Facebook privacy settings, who is seeing my photos?
- Apaya: How to unpublish a Facebook Page