When setting a cover photo on Facebook, it’s natural to wonder who can see it. Facebook’s privacy settings give you control over your cover photo’s visibility. In most cases, your Facebook friends can view your cover photo. However, you can restrict access to only certain groups of friends. Additionally, your cover photo may be visible to the public, depending on your profile’s privacy settings.
Who can see my Facebook cover photo by default?
By default, your Facebook cover photo is visible to all of your Facebook friends. When you update your cover photo, it will automatically be shown to everyone in your friends list. The same privacy settings also apply to your profile picture.
So when you set a new cover photo, you can expect that all your Facebook friends will be able to see it. This includes close friends, acquaintances, relatives, coworkers and anyone else you’ve confirmed as a friend.
Can I restrict who sees my Facebook cover photo?
Yes, you can customize the visibility of your Facebook cover photo and limit it to certain groups of friends. Facebook’s privacy settings allow you to target specific friend lists and customize who can view parts of your profile.
To adjust the privacy of your cover photo:
- Click the three dots at the top right of your cover photo.
- Select “Change Cover Photo”.
- Click “Customize visibility”.
- Choose specific friends, lists or groups who can see your cover photo.
This will override the default full-friends visibility. After customizing the settings, your cover photo will only be visible to the selected audience.
Can my Facebook cover photo be seen by the public?
Possibly, depending on your overall profile privacy settings. If your profile is fully public, then your cover photo can also be viewed by anyone on the internet, even people without a Facebook account.
To check your general profile visibility:
- Go to your profile page
- Click the three dots at the top right
- Select “View As…”
- Choose “Public” to see your profile’s public view
If your profile information and posts are fully visible this way, then your cover photo is public too. You can restrict your profile visibility to only friends or friends of friends in the main privacy shortcuts menu.
Does changing the cover photo change privacy?
No, changing your cover photo will not modify the privacy settings. Uploading a new cover photo will retain the same visibility settings applied to your previous cover image. So if your existing cover photo is visible to certain friend lists, your new cover will have the same restrictions.
You have to manually edit the cover photo visibility each time you want to limit it. Privacy will not carry over or change when you pick a new image.
Can I see who viewed my cover photo?
No, Facebook does not have a built-in way to see who specifically viewed your cover photo. You can only see the total reach and impressions for your posts.
Some third-party analytics apps claim to track your profile views. However, it’s unlikely they can accurately detect cover photo views. This data is not available through Facebook’s API.
Can I hide my cover photo from someone?
You cannot completely hide your cover photo from specific people. But you can restrict it to friend lists that exclude certain friends. This prevents those friends from seeing your cover photo.
To do this:
- Create a friends list without the person you want to hide it from
- Customize your cover photo privacy
- Choose that friends list to limit visibility
As long as the person you want to hide it from is not in the selected audience, they will no longer be able to view your cover photo.
Can I see someone else’s cover photo if they are not my friend?
You can only see another person’s Facebook cover photo if at least one of these applies:
- You are friends with the person on Facebook
- The person’s profile is completely public
- You have mutual friends with the person
If none of those apply, and you have no connection to the person on Facebook, you will not have access to their cover photo or full profile.
Conclusion
In summary:
- By default, your cover photo is visible to all Facebook friends
- You can restrict visibility to only certain friends, lists or groups
- Your cover photo may be public if your profile is fully public
- Changing the photo will not change existing privacy settings
- You cannot see exactly who viewed your cover photo
- You can prevent specific people from seeing it by limiting visibility
Adjusting your Facebook cover photo privacy is easy to do. Visit your profile, click the cover image and customize the options. This gives you control over who can access and view parts of your Facebook profile.