Facebook groups allow users to connect with others who share similar interests and engage in discussion around specific topics. When you join a Facebook group, it is visible to your friends and public by default. However, you can control the visibility settings for groups you are a member of.
Who can see the groups you follow on Facebook by default?
By default, the groups you join are visible to anyone who visits your profile, including people who are not your friends on Facebook. The groups you are a member of are listed on your profile on the About tab under “Groups”.
So if you join any public or private groups on Facebook, they will be displayed on your profile for all to see unless you change the visibility settings.
Public groups
For public groups – groups that anyone can see and join – your membership is automatically displayed on your profile. This allows anyone visiting your profile to see that you are a member.
Private or secret groups
Even if you join a private or secret group on Facebook, it will still be visible on your profile to anyone who visits it. Private and secret groups are not actually private in terms of your membership being displayed.
The only difference is that for private groups, only members can see the content posted within the group. For secret groups, only members can find and see the group at all.
Who can’t see the groups you follow?
There are some cases where people will not be able to see the groups you have joined on your profile:
- If you are not friends with someone on Facebook, they will not be able to see your list of groups if you have set your profile to be visible to friends only.
- If someone has blocked you on Facebook, they will not be able to see any information about your profile, including groups.
- If you have blocked someone, they will not be able to see your profile or any groups you are a member of.
How to hide groups you follow on your Facebook profile
If you don’t want the groups you are a part of to be visible on your public profile, there are a few options:
Adjust profile visibility settings
You can edit your profile privacy settings by following these steps:
- Go to your profile and click the “About” tab
- Scroll down and click on “Edit public profile settings”
- Under the section “Visibility of Groups You Manage and Groups You’re In”, click the dropdown and select “Friends” or “Only Me”.
Choosing “Friends” will hide groups from the public or people you are not connected to on Facebook. The groups will only display for your friends.
Selecting “Only Me” hides your group memberships entirely so that no one else can see them.
Leave groups
You can also leave any groups you don’t want displayed on your profile. Simply go to the group, click the Members option on the left sidebar and choose “Leave Group”. However, this means you will no longer be a member of that community.
Ask group admins to hide your membership
For individual groups, you can ask the admin to hide your membership from being displayed on your profile:
- Go to the group profile page
- Click Members in the left sidebar
- Use the search bar to find your name and select it
- Click the three dots next to your name and select Hide from Profile
This will prevent that specific group from being displayed on your profile while allowing you to remain a member.
Special case: admins and moderators
If you are an admin or moderator of a Facebook group, your name will be displayed with that group no matter your privacy settings. You cannot hide a group you manage.
The only way to remove the association is to step down from the admin/moderator role for that group.
Groups you’ve left
When you leave a Facebook group, it will no longer show up on your profile. However, there still may be traces that you were once a member:
- If you posted in the group previously, your posts will remain visible to members.
- The group admin can still see your past membership in member analytics.
- If someone else has recently joined the same groups as you, Facebook may recommend you join again.
Conclusion
By default, any groups you join on Facebook are displayed publicly on your profile. Private, secret and closed groups will still show your membership.
You have several options if you want to hide groups you are a part of:
- Adjust profile visibility settings for groups
- Leave groups you don’t want public
- Ask group admins to hide your membership
Group administrators and moderators will always have their roles displayed with relevant groups. And even if you leave a group, some traces of your membership may still be visible.