Facebook offers users several options to control the visibility of their likes, reactions, and comments on the platform. While it’s not possible to completely hide all your activity, there are settings that allow you to limit who can see certain interactions.
Hiding Likes
When you like or react to a post on Facebook, that activity is visible to anyone who can see the original post. However, you can control the visibility of your likes on your own profile.
How to hide likes on your profile
To hide likes on your profile:
- Go to your profile page and click on the three dots in the top right corner
- Select “Activity Log”
- Click on the three dots next to “Likes” and choose “Hide from Timeline”
This will remove the list of Pages and posts you’ve liked from your profile so other people can’t see them.
Limitations
- This only hides likes on your own profile, not elsewhere on Facebook
- Others can still see which comments you’ve liked
- The posts and Pages you’ve liked can still appear in your friends’ News Feeds
Hiding Comments
Unlike likes, there is no native feature on Facebook to hide your comments. However, you have a couple options to limit their visibility:
Delete individual comments
To remove a specific comment:
- Go to the post where you commented and find your comment
- Hover over it and click the “X” icon to delete
This will permanently remove that comment so no one can see it.
Limit the audience when commenting
When you add a new comment, you can choose who is able to see it using the audience selector:
- Click in the comment box below a post
- Click the audience selector next to the comment box (usually set to “Public”)
- Choose a limited audience like “Friends” or “Only Me”
This will make the comment only visible to the selected audience.
Turn off commenting
You can disable the ability to comment on your own posts entirely:
- Go to your profile
- Click on the three dots in the top right corner
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click on “Settings”
- Click on “Posts”
- Under the “Commenting” section, toggle “Who can comment on your public posts?” to “Off”
This will prevent anyone from commenting on your posts until you turn it back on.
Limitations
- Others may still see cached versions of deleted comments in search engines
- Comments made with a public audience will still be visible to that audience
- Turning off commenting prevents all comments on your posts, not just your own
Hiding Reactions
When you react to a Facebook post or comment using the emoji reactions, that activity is public by default. However, you can choose to limit the visibility of your reactions.
How to hide reactions on your profile
To hide reactions on your profile:
- Go to your profile page and click on the three dots in the top right corner
- Select “Activity Log”
- Click on the three dots next to “Reactions” and choose “Hide from Timeline”
This prevents others from seeing the posts and comments you’ve reacted to on your profile.
Limitations
- Only hides reactions on your profile timeline
- Does not remove reactions from the posts/comments themselves
- Others can still see your reactions in their News Feed when you interact with their content
Using Comments Selectively
While Facebook doesn’t offer many options for hiding your commenting activity, you can still use comments selectively in a few ways:
- Comment only on your friends’ and close connections’ posts to limit your commenting to a smaller audience
- Avoid commenting on public pages and groups where many people will see your interactions
- Delete old comments periodically to clear your commenting history over time
- Turn comments off on your posts if you don’t want to receive or reply to comments
Using comments only when you really want to interact or respond can minimize your broader commenting footprint on Facebook without disabling the feature entirely.
Conclusion
While Facebook limits the ability to hide your likes, reactions, and comments across the platform, you do have some options to control visibility:
- You can hide your likes and reactions from your own profile
- Comments can be deleted or limited to friends/certain audiences
- Turning off commenting removes the ability for anyone to comment on your posts
However, most of your activity will still show up in other users’ News Feeds when interacting on public posts. The only way to fully hide your interactions is to use Facebook less or create a private account. But carefully managing your settings provides some ability to curate what’s visible on your profile and to your broader network.
| Activity Type | Option to Hide | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Likes | Hide from profile timeline | Still visible in others’ News Feeds and on original posts |
| Reactions | Hide from profile timeline | Still visible in others’ News Feeds and on original posts |
| Comments | Delete or limit audience for each comment | Past comments may be cached; Public comments remain visible |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide my likes and reactions so no one sees them?
There is no way to completely hide your likes or reactions across Facebook. The closest option is to hide them from your own profile timeline, but they will still display on the original posts and in your friends’ News Feeds when you interact with content.
Will deleting comments remove them permanently?
Deleting a comment removes it from the post so no other users can see it. However, deleted comments may still be cached in search engine results or feeds until they are recrawled. So it’s not an absolute guarantee of removal.
Can I hide my comments on others’ public posts?
You can’t hide your comments on public posts after the fact. However, when commenting you can choose to limit the audience to friends, only you, or a custom group instead of commenting publicly.
What if I want to disable commenting on my profile entirely?
You can turn off commenting on your public posts entirely by going to your profile, clicking Settings, then selecting the Posts tab. Here you can toggle commenting to “Off” to disable it.
Is there a way to see who has liked or reacted to my posts?
Yes, page owners can see insights on which users have liked and reacted to posts on their Facebook Pages. However, regular users can’t see who specifically is liking or reacting to their posts – only the total number of reactions.
Hiding Your Activity on Facebook
Beyond just likes, reactions, and comments, here are some additional ways to control your visibility and activity footprint on Facebook:
- Turn off read receipts and hide your online status so others can’t see when you’re active.
- Limit your past posts’ visibility so only certain audiences can see your post history.
- Remove tags of yourself by others which link you to posts.
- Delete your old posts and photos periodically to manage your content trail.
- Block specific people from viewing your profile or contacting you.
While Facebook is designed around sharing information publicly, taking advantage of privacy settings gives you some control over just how transparent your activities are to the network at large.
Conclusion
Facebook provides users some limited options to hide their likes, reactions, comments, and broader activity. However, the tradeoff is that participating less on the platform reduces your ability to connect and engage with others there. Each person needs to find the right balance for their comfort level when using social media like Facebook.
The most private approach is to not use the platform at all – but for those who want to enjoy the benefits of Facebook while also controlling their footprint, managing settings judiciously and being selective in interactions can help.