Can I change all my past Facebook posts to only me?

It is possible to change the privacy settings of past Facebook posts to be viewable only by you. Facebook allows you to adjust the audience for posts you’ve shared in the past, which can be useful if you want to limit visibility of certain content. Here’s a quick overview of how to change old Facebook posts to be viewable only by you:

Go to your Facebook profile and click on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner to access the menu.
Select “Settings” and then click on “Privacy” in the left sidebar.

Under the “Your Activity” section, click on “Limit Past Posts.”
This will bring up a menu where you can choose to limit old posts to “Only Me.”
Click “Limit Old Posts” to apply the new setting.

This will make all your previous posts viewable only to you. You can also select a custom date range if you only want to limit posts for a certain time period.

Step-by-Step Guide

Here is a more detailed walkthrough on how to change all your past Facebook posts to be viewable only by you:

Log into your Facebook account and go to your profile page.

Click on the down arrow in the top right corner to access the menu.
Select “Settings” from the menu.

This will open up your Facebook settings page.
In the left sidebar, click on “Privacy.”

Scroll down and find the “Your Activity” section.
Click on “Limit Past Posts.”

A pop-up window will appear with options to limit previous posts.
Under “Change posts to,” select “Only me.”

You can also select a custom date range here if you don’t want to limit all past posts.
Once you’ve selected the audience, click “Limit Old Posts.”

This will change all your previous posts to be visible only to you.

Considerations

Here are some important things to keep in mind when changing past Facebook posts to only be visible to you:

This will only affect posts you’ve shared yourself, not posts others have tagged you in.
Any posts set to “Friends” or “Public” will be changed to “Only me.”
Posts will still be visible to the original audience until you confirm limiting old posts.

You can still view limited posts by going to your activity log.
Limited posts may still show up in search engines until caches are refreshed.

So while this feature allows you to retroactively change audience settings, some past content may still be accessible for a short time even after limiting posts.

Custom Date Ranges

Rather than changing all your previous posts at once, you have the option to only limit posts from a certain date range:

When prompted to limit past posts, click “Custom” under “Change posts to.”

Select a start and end date for the time period you want to limit.
Posts shared before the start date will not be affected.
Only posts between the selected dates will have their audience changed to “Only me.”

Click “Limit Old Posts” to apply the date range limit.

This allows you to refine the time period for limiting old posts. For example, you could limit posts from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 to handle content just from last year.

Limiting Specific Posts

In addition to changing audience settings in bulk, you can also limit visibility of individual Facebook posts:

Go to your profile and click on “Posts” in the left sidebar to see your timeline.
Click on the three dots in the top right corner of a post.

Select “Edit post” from the dropdown menu.
Adjust the audience selector from “Public” to “Only me.”

Click “Confirm” to save the new privacy setting.
That specific post is now only visible to you.

This option gives you more granular control to customize visibility post-by-post.

Things to Consider Before Limiting Old Posts

Here are some things to think about before you change the privacy settings on your past Facebook posts:

Review your old posts first – You may want to scroll back through your previous posts so you know exactly what you’re limiting visibility on.
Consider if others are tagged – If you’ve tagged people in your old posts, they may still be able to see that post on their own timelines.

Check social apps – Limiting Facebook posts won’t change visibility in other apps where you’ve shared social media content.
Think about family history – If you have older family photos or memories shared publicly, consider saving or backing them up before limiting visibility.
Remember public events – If you’ve created public events on Facebook, limiting related posts may affect who can see those event details.

Overall, carefully evaluate your situation before making sweeping changes to the privacy settings of your past content.

How to Check the Audience for Specific Posts

To see what the current privacy setting is for your individual Facebook posts:

Go to your profile page and click “Posts” in the left menu.

Click on a post to expand it.
Look underneath the post text for the audience selector icon.
This will indicate the current setting for who can view that post.

For example, if you see a globe icon, that means the post is Public.
A lock icon means the audience is Only me.

Checking the audience on your old posts can help identify which ones you may want to limit visibility on.

Does Limiting Posts Delete Them?

It’s important to note that limiting the audience of your Facebook posts does not delete them:

The posts are still stored in Facebook’s systems.
You can view them under “Activity Log” in your account settings.

No one else can see the posts except you.
If you do want to permanently delete old posts, you’ll need to manually remove each one.

Limiting post visibility simply changes the privacy setting to “Only me” instead of actually erasing anything. The posts remain saved to your account but are no longer publicly accessible.

How Far Back Can I Limit Old Posts?

Facebook allows you to limit the audience on your posts all the way back to the beginning of your account. There is no time limit for how far back you can adjust post privacy settings.

So no matter how long you’ve had your Facebook account, you can make your old posts viewable only to yourself. The steps are the same whether you joined Facebook 15 years ago or 2 months ago.

The main consideration is that posts shared to “Friends” or “Public” will remain visible to those audiences until you officially confirm limiting the posts. So even very old posts stay public momentarily before the change takes effect.

But after you complete the steps to limit old posts, the setting takes effect on your entire Facebook history.

Can I Selectively Limit Certain Posts?

If you don’t want to limit visibility on all your previous posts at once, you have a couple options:

Use custom date ranges – You can choose specific start and end dates to only limit posts from certain time periods.

Adjust posts individually – Manually edit the audience for specific posts you want to limit access to.

The date range option allows you to limit in bulk for defined time periods. And editing posts individually lets you target specific content.

Combining both methods gives you full control to make certain posts “Only me” while also limiting batches of old content by date.

What Happens When I Limit Post Visibility?

Here’s a quick summary of what happens when you limit the audience on Facebook posts:

Only you can see the posts, no one else.
Posts remain in your Activity Log and account storage.

Tags of other people may still be visible on their own timelines.
Shared posts can still show up in public search results briefly until caches clear.
Analytics on post reach may continue to accumulate for a short time.

You can still revert the privacy change and make posts public again.

So limiting visibility prevents further access moving forward. But due to caching and sharing, some post data may linger temporarily outside your account.

Can I Undo Post Limiting?

If you change your mind after limiting old posts, you can undo the privacy setting:

Go to your Facebook Activity Log.
Click on a post you want to make public again.
Click on the audience selector (e.g. “Only Me”)

Choose a more open audience like Public or Friends.
Save the change.

This will revert the post visibility back to what it was originally. You can toggle post privacy as many times as you want.

Just note that previously limited posts may already exist in search engine caches and other places, so total content removal is difficult. But you can still adjust the audience to reshape who can currently see your old posts.

Pros of Limiting Old Posts

Here are some benefits to changing your past Facebook posts to be viewable only by you:

Enhances privacy by minimizing sensitive personal content availability.

Allows starting fresh if you want to change directions with your social media presence.
Limits visibility of old opinions, photos, or updates you no longer want public.
Reduces digital footprint since online content about you is reduced.

Lets you retain posts for personal memories without broader sharing.

For many people, extensive post limiting can be like a cleansing restart enabling greater control over their social media activity moving forward.

Cons of Limiting Old Posts

Here are some potential downsides of changing your previous Facebook posts to “Only me”:

Disrupts historical or family memories if others are limited from seeing old posts.
Reduces content visibility for marketing purposes if you are a content creator.
Can be time consuming to implement custom privacy settings post-by-post.

Harder to find or recall where specific content is saved if it’s limited.
Doesn’t remove analytics and other backend data that may still accumulate.

The main risk is inadvertently hiding content you or others may want to revisit down the road. Always be cautious when dealing with changing privacy settings.

Who Can See Limited Posts?

When you limit the audience on Facebook posts to “Only me”, precisely who can view those posts?

You are the only account able to view the content.
Facebook admins may access posts per company policies.

Posts may exist in search engine caches temporarily until refreshed.
Other people tagged can still see posts on their own timelines.
Linked social media apps may retain shared post data.

So strictly speaking, no other personal accounts outside yours should have access. But segments of data may persist due to platforms and services that have already accessed your information.

Should I Save My Data Before Limiting Posts?

If you have a lot of memories or important life events documented in your Facebook posts, you may want to back up your data before limiting visibility:

Navigate to “Settings” then “Your Facebook Information”

Select options to download your data archive
Save the ZIP files containing your information
You can also request a physical export via DVD

Review data and save offline any memories you want to preserve

Having backups allows you to reduce public exposure but still retain personal copies of nostalgic or meaningful social media interactions.

Conclusion

Limiting your previous Facebook posts to be viewable only by you allows greater control over your social media privacy. Change privacy settings in bulk or individually to customize exactly who can see your past content.

Carefully consider all options before confirming limits, like downloading your data or using custom date ranges. Be aware that some post data may linger externally. But overall, Facebook provides effective tools to manage access to your personal timeline.