Facebook Privacy Settings on iPhone: Step-by-Step

This guide shows you how to control who sees your posts, profile details, and stories directly from the Facebook app on your iPhone. You’ll learn where each setting lives in the current app layout, how to change them, and what each option actually does. No prior technical knowledge is needed, just your iPhone with the Facebook app installed and logged in.

What You’ll Need

An iPhone with the Facebook app installed (updated to a recent version)
Your Facebook login credentials (you should already be logged in)
A stable internet connection

Step-by-Step

Open the Facebook app on your iPhone. Tap the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Scroll down and tap “Settings & privacy.” This expands a sub-menu. Tap “Settings” from that list.
Find the “Audience and visibility” section. It’s near the top of the Settings page. This is where most privacy controls live.
Tap “How people find and contact you.” Here you control who can send you friend requests, who can look you up using your email or phone number, and whether search engines outside Facebook can link to your profile.
- Who can send you friend requests: Choose “Everyone” or “Friends of friends.”
- Who can look you up using the email address you added: Choose “Everyone,” “Friends of friends,” or “Friends.”
- Who can look you up using the phone number you added: Same options as above.
- Do you want search engines outside Facebook to link to your profile? Toggle this off if you don’t want Google or Bing to show your profile.
Go back to “Settings & privacy” and tap “Posts.” This controls who sees your future posts, who can comment, and who can see your stories.
- Who can see your future posts? Tap “Public,” “Friends,” “Only me,” or a custom list. “Friends” is the most common choice.
- Who can see your stories? Choose “Public,” “Friends,” “Custom,” or “Close Friends.”
- Who can comment on your posts? Select “Public,” “Friends,” or “Friends of friends.”
- Who can react to your posts? Choose “Everyone” or “Friends.”
Return to Settings and tap “Profile and tagging.” This controls what appears on your timeline and how tagging works.
- Who can post on your profile? Choose “Friends” or “Only me.”
- Who can see what others post on your profile? Select “Public,” “Friends,” or “Only me.”
- Review posts you’re tagged in before they appear on your profile? Toggle this on to approve tags manually.
- Review tags people add to your posts before the tags appear? Toggle this on for extra control.
To change the audience of an existing post (one you already published): go to your profile by tapping your profile picture in the top-left, scroll to the post, tap the three dots in its top-right corner, then tap “Edit audience.” Choose who can see it now.
To limit old posts you’ve shared with “Public” or “Friends of Friends”: go to Settings → “Audience and visibility” → “Posts” → “Limit past posts.” Tap “Limit Past Posts” and confirm. This changes all old public posts to “Friends” only. It’s a one-way change; you can’t undo it for all posts at once.
Check your profile as someone else sees it: go to your profile, tap the three dots next to “Edit profile,” then tap “View as.” This shows you what a public visitor sees. Tap “View as specific person” to see what a particular friend sees.

Common Mistakes

Changing “future posts” but not old ones: The audience selector on the post composer only applies to new posts. Old posts keep their original audience unless you edit each one or use “Limit past posts.”
Confusing “Friends” with “Friends of friends”: “Friends” means only your direct connections. “Friends of friends” means your friends plus all of their friends, which can be a huge audience.
Forgetting about stories: Story privacy is separate from post privacy. You can set posts to “Friends” but leave stories on “Public.”
Overlooking the “View as” tool: You assume your profile is private, but a quick “View as” check often reveals something you missed, like a public photo album or a check-in.
Turning off search engine visibility but still being findable inside Facebook: That setting only affects external search engines. People on Facebook can still find you via search unless you also restrict “Who can look you up” settings.

Tips

Use the “Only me” audience for drafts and personal notes. You can write a post, set it to “Only me,” and publish it. Only you see it, and you can change the audience later.
Create custom friend lists (e.g., “Close Friends,” “Work,” “Acquaintances”) and use them as audiences. This lets you share different content with different groups without changing global settings.
Review your active sessions under Settings → “Security and login.” If you see a device you don’t recognize, log it out and change your password.
Set a reminder to review privacy settings every few months. Facebook occasionally changes its interface, and new features (like “Reels” or “Marketplace”) may have separate privacy toggles.
Use “Activity log” (Settings → “Activity log”) to review everything you’ve posted, liked, or commented on. You can change the audience of individual items from there.

Troubleshooting

I can’t find the “Settings & privacy” menu: Make sure you’re on the main hamburger menu (bottom-right). If you’re on a sub-page, tap the back arrow until you see the main menu. The app occasionally moves this into the “Menu” tab at the bottom center.
My changes don’t seem to save: After selecting an audience, tap “Done” or “Save” in the top-right corner of the pop-up. If you just swipe down, the change may not stick. Also force-close the app (swipe up from the bottom and swipe the Facebook card away) and reopen it to check.
“Limit past posts” is greyed out: This option only appears if you have posts currently set to “Public” or “Friends of friends.” If all your posts are already “Friends” or “Only me,” it won’t be available.
Someone can still see my profile even though I set everything to “Friends”: Check your profile picture and cover photo. These are always public. Also check your “About” section—some fields like “Work” or “Education” have separate audience controls. Tap each field to edit its audience.
The app is showing an older layout: Facebook rolls out changes gradually. If your menus look different, tap the search bar and type “Privacy Settings” to jump directly to the main privacy page.
I changed my settings but my friend says they can’t see my post: Ask them to check if they’re actually your friend on Facebook. If they’re not connected, they’ll only see public content. Also confirm you didn’t accidentally select a custom list that excludes them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I make my entire Facebook profile invisible to non-friends?
A: Not entirely. Your name, profile picture, cover photo, and some basic info (like gender) are always public. But you can restrict posts, stories, about sections, and photos to “Friends” only.

Q: What’s the difference between “Friends” and “Only me”?
A: “Friends” means anyone you’ve accepted as a friend can see the content. “Only me” means only you can see it. It’s useful for drafts or private notes.

Q: If I change my audience for a post, will people who already saw it lose access?
A: No. If someone already saw the post while it was public, they won’t get a notification, but they also won’t be able to see it again if you change it to “Friends” and they’re not your friend.

Q: How do I stop someone from tagging me?
A: Go to Settings → “Profile and tagging” → “Review tags people add to your posts before the tags appear?” and turn it on. Also set “Who can see posts you’re tagged in on your profile?” to “Only me” to hide them from your timeline.

Q: Does changing my privacy settings affect my Messenger app?
A: No. Messenger has its own privacy controls (like who can message you or see your active status). Those are separate from Facebook’s main privacy settings.

Q: Can I change the privacy of a photo album after posting it?
A: Yes. Open the album, tap the three dots at the top, then “Edit album.” Change the audience there. This affects all photos in that album at once.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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