Facebook’s timeline allows friends, family, and followers to post content directly to your timeline. This can be a great way to engage with your network, but it also means that sometimes unwanted posts can appear on your timeline.
Luckily, Facebook provides robust tools to control who can post on your timeline. In this article, we’ll walk through how to modify these settings to create the optimal posting permissions for your timeline.
Who can post on my Facebook timeline by default?
By default, your Facebook friends are able to post content directly to your timeline. This includes status updates, photos, videos, links, and more. Friends of friends and followers are not able to post on your timeline unless you specifically enable the option.
Friends
Any Facebook friend can post on your timeline by default. Friends are people you’ve added and confirmed as friends on Facebook.
Friends of Friends
Friends of friends cannot post on your timeline by default. A friend of a friend is someone who is connected to your friends on Facebook, but not directly connected to you.
Followers
Followers also cannot post on your timeline by default. Followers are people who follow your public updates on Facebook but are not your confirmed friends.
How do I modify who can post on my timeline?
You can easily update the posting permissions for your Facebook timeline using either the desktop site or mobile app. Here’s how:
Via Desktop
1. Log into your Facebook account on a computer and visit your profile page.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner next to the “Add Story” button.
3. Select “Edit Privacy” from the dropdown menu.
4. Click on “Timeline and Tagging” on the left sidebar.
5. Scroll down to the “Who can post on your timeline?” section.
6. Use the drop down menus to select the desired posting permissions for friends, friends of friends, and followers.
7. Click “Confirm” to save your changes.
Via Mobile App
1. Open the Facebook app and tap on the three line menu icon.
2. Select “Settings & Privacy” then “Settings”.
3. Tap on “Privacy” in the left menu.
4. Tap on “Who can post on your timeline?” under the Audience and Visibility header.
5. Use the toggles to enable or disable timeline posting for friends, friends of friends, and followers as desired.
6. Tap “Confirm” to save your changes.
What are the timeline posting options?
For each category of Facebook connections, you have three options for timeline posting abilities:
Friends
- Friends – All confirmed friends can post.
- Friends Except… – Block specific friends from posting.
- Don’t Allow – No friends can post.
Friends of Friends
- Enabled – Any friend of your friends can post.
- Disabled – Friends of friends cannot post (default).
Followers
- Enabled – Any of your followers can post.
- Disabled – Followers cannot post (default).
Mix and match these options to create the ideal posting permissions. For example, you may want to block a few friends from posting but keep it open to the rest. Or only allow posting from followers while restricting friends and friends of friends.
How do I block specific friends from posting on my timeline?
If you want to restrict individual friends from posting on your timeline while keeping it open to other friends, follow these steps:
On Desktop
1. From the “Who can post on your timeline?” section, select “Friends Except…” under the Friends dropdown menu.
2. Start typing the name of the friend you want to block in the “Except these people” field.
3. Select their name when it pops up.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 to block additional friends as desired.
5. Click “Confirm” to save the changes.
On Mobile
1. In the timeline posting settings, tap “Friends Except” under the Friends section.
2. Tap “Edit List” next to “Except these people”.
3. Start typing the name of the friend to block then tap them when their name pops up.
4. Tap “Add” after each selection.
5. Tap “Done” once finished.
6. Tap “Confirm” to save changes.
Now posts from the selected friends will be blocked while other friends can still post freely.
What’s the best timeline posting configuration?
The ideal timeline posting settings come down to your personal preferences and posting style. Here are some common configurations:
Open Timeline
Leave posting enabled for friends, friends of friends, and followers. This creates the most engagement from your network but can also lead to unwanted posts.
Limited Open Timeline
Allow friends to post but limit friends of friends and followers. This allows your close connections to interact while reducing spam.
Private Timeline
Only enable posting from friends and block friends of friends and followers. This gives you full control over the content.
Restricted Timeline
Disable posting from friends entirely and only allow followers to interact. This creates a more broadcast style feed.
Hybrid Configurations
Mix and match settings to find the right balance for your needs. For example, you may want to allow close friends to post while blocking acquaintances.
Can I review posts before they appear on my timeline?
Unfortunately there is no built-in way to review or approve posts before they become visible on your timeline. As soon as someone makes a post, it will be immediately visible.
The only way to pre-moderate posts on your timeline is to disable posting entirely and then manually re-share items you want to your timeline yourself.
What types of posts can people make on my timeline?
If you allow posting on your timeline, others can share a variety of content including:
- Text-based status updates
- Photos and albums
- Videos
- Live videos
- Links and articles
- Events
- GIFs
- Stickers
Essentially any type of content that a user can normally post on Facebook can be posted directly to your timeline by others.
Can I delete posts others make on my timeline?
Yes, you have full control to delete or hide any post on your timeline, even if it was shared by someone else.
On Desktop
1. Hover over the post and click on the X icon in the top right corner.
2. Select either “Hide from Timeline” or “Delete”.
- Hide from Timeline – Removes the post from your timeline only.
- Delete – Deletes the entire post from Facebook.
On Mobile App
1. Tap on the 3 dots at the top right of the post.
2. Choose “Hide from Timeline” or “Delete Post”.
The post will immediately be removed according to the option chosen.
Can I report inappropriate posts?
If someone shares objectionable, offensive, or spam content on your timeline, you can report the post to Facebook for review.
On Desktop
1. Click the 3 dots at the top right of the post.
2. Select “Find Support or Report Post” from the dropdown menu.
3. Choose “Report post” and follow the on-screen instructions.
On Mobile App
1. Tap the 3 dots on the top right of the post.
2. Tap “Report post”.
3. Follow the on-screen prompts to submit a report to Facebook.
Facebook will review the post and take appropriate action according to their community standards. Make sure to include details on why the post is problematic in your report.
Can I turn off all timeline posts temporarily?
If you need a break from others posting on your timeline, you can temporarily disable it without changing your permanent settings.
On Desktop
1. At the top of your News Feed, click on the globe icon to access Quick Help.
2. Type ‘temporary turn off timeline posts’ and select the relevant article.
3. Follow the steps to temporarily disable your timeline for 24 hours, 3 days, 1 week, or 1 month.
On Mobile App
1. From your News Feed, tap on the 3 line menu icon.
2. Go to “Settings & Privacy” then “Settings”.
3. Tap on “Take a Break”.
4. Select “Timeline Posts” then choose your desired break length.
After the break, your normal timeline posting settings will resume automatically. Use this if you need a short-term reprieve from others posting.
Conclusion
Controlling who can post on your Facebook timeline is easy to configure but important for managing your social media experience. Take advantage of the options for friends, friends of friends, and followers to find the right balance for your comfort level.
Remember that you can always hide or delete unwanted posts. And if you need a short term break from timeline posts altogether, temporary disabling is a handy feature. With the right settings, your Facebook timeline can be an engaging yet curated space.