Facebook’s privacy settings allow users to control who can see certain information on their profile, including relationship status. There are a few different options for adjusting the privacy settings for your relationship status.
Making Your Relationship Status Completely Private
If you want your relationship status to be completely private, you can hide it from your profile entirely. Here’s how:
- Go to your profile and click on “About” in the left sidebar.
- Hover over the relationship status box and click on the pencil icon to edit it.
- Select “Hide this from my timeline” from the dropdown menu.
This will remove your relationship status from your profile. Other users will not be able to see your relationship status or even see that you have it hidden. You can still change your status, it just won’t show up on your profile.
Limiting Who Can See Your Relationship Status
You can also keep your relationship status visible but limit who can see it. Facebook allows you to set a custom privacy option:
- Go to your profile and click “About”
- Hover over your relationship status and click the pencil icon
- Choose “Custom” from the dropdown menu
This will open a dialog box where you can choose who can see your relationship status. Options include:
- Public – anyone can see it
- Friends – only your friends can see it
- Specific friends…
- Only Me
- Custom
Select “Specific friends…” if you only want certain people to view your relationship status. You’ll be able to search for and select the friends you want.
The “Custom” option allows you to get more granular and choose friends, friend lists, and networks who can and can’t see your status.
Changing the Privacy of Past Status Updates
If you change the audience for your relationship status, it will only affect your current status. Past status updates will still be visible to the audience they were originally shared with.
To change the privacy of a past status update:
- Go to your profile and click “About”
- Click on the date of the status update you want to edit (under relationship status)
- Click “Edit audience” and adjust the privacy settings
This will allow you to retroactively change the privacy of old relationship status updates.
Limiting Status Updates on Your Timeline
In addition to controlling who can see your relationship status, you can also limit relationship status updates from appearing on your timeline. This prevents certain updates like engagements or breakups from being publicly shared.
To do this:
- Go to Settings & Privacy
- Click Settings
- Click Privacy
- Go to “Your activity” and click “Use activity log”
- Toggle off “Show new relationship details in timeline”
This will prevent any new relationship statuses from automatically being added to your timeline. You can still update your status, it just won’t post.
Removing Relationship Status Entirely
If you don’t want your relationship status displayed at all, you can remove it:
- Go to your profile and click “About”
- Click on your relationship status
- Select “No relationship info” to remove your status
Your relationship status box will disappear from your profile. You can always add it back in the future.
Private vs. Single Relationship Status
There is a difference between having a private relationship status and listing yourself as single:
- Private: You have a relationship status set (In a relationship, Engaged, Married, etc.) but have it set to private so no one can see it.
- Single: You have explicitly set your relationship status to “Single” which is publicly visible.
For complete privacy, you’ll want to hide your relationship status entirely. Listing yourself as “Single” still makes that info public.
How Relationship Status Affects What You See
Your relationship status can also impact what kinds of updates you see from other friends and family:
- If you’re listed as “engaged”, Facebook may show you more wedding-related content.
- If you’re “in a relationship”, you may see couple-related updates in your News Feed.
- New parents may get more parenting-focused content.
So your visible relationship status allows Facebook to tailor the posts and ads you see based on that relationship info.
Relationship Status Updates on Facebook Messenger
Changing your relationship status on your Facebook profile will also update your status on Facebook Messenger.
Your Messenger settings control who can see your relationship status in chat apps and threads:
- Open Messenger and tap your profile pic
- Tap Privacy & Settings
- Tap Active Status
- Adjust who can see your active status
You can choose nobody, friends, specific friends, or everyone. This will sync with your profile’s relationship status visibility.
Controlling Tags About Your Relationship
In addition to your info, you can also control relationship tags from other users. When someone tags you in a Post or Photo and mentions your relationship, you can take a few actions:
- Untag yourself from the post or photo
- Ask the person to remove or edit the post
- Delete the tag but leave the post
Go to your profile, click “More” on the post, and manage the tag. You can also adjust who can see posts you’re tagged in under the same Timeline and Tagging settings.
Relationship Privacy and Job Applications
It’s a good idea to double check your privacy settings before applying for jobs. Here are a few tips:
- Make sure your profile photo is professional
- List your most recent job and education
- Don’t share personal contact info like email or phone number
- Review your timeline privacy under Settings
- Hide or limit old posts, photos or videos
While some employers may not check Facebook, many do look at profiles of prospective candidates. So tightening up your privacy can give you more control.
Creating a Work Profile
For complete separation, you can create a Facebook profile specifically for work:
- Go to Settings & Privacy
- Click Settings
- Select “Profile and Tagging”
- Click “Create Work Profile”
This will allow you to have one profile for personal use and one for professional connections. You can limit work friends from seeing your personal profile details.
Conclusion
Facebook offers customizable privacy options for your relationship status. You can hide your status completely, restrict it to certain friends only, limit status updates on your timeline, or create separate work profiles. Checking your settings periodically can help ensure your preferred boundaries as your relationships change.
Here are a few key tips covered:
- Hide your status, pick specific individuals who can see it, or make it public
- Limit relationship status updates from appearing on your timeline
- Change audiences retroactively for past status updates
- Remove relationship status from your profile entirely
- Manage relationship tags about you from other users
- Create separate profiles for personal and professional use
Facebook’s privacy controls allow you to find the right balance for your situation. You can still share relationship milestones while limiting exposure. And adjusting settings as needed gives you ongoing control.
So if you’re ever unsure who can see your relationship status, it’s easy to update the privacy settings and tailor them to your comfort level.
| Relationship Status | Privacy Setting |
|---|---|
| Single | Public |
| In a relationship | Friends only |
| Engaged | Specific friends only |
| Married | Only me |
| It’s complicated | Custom (exclude some friends) |
This table demonstrates some sample relationship statuses and corresponding privacy settings you could use.
Other Facebook Profile Privacy Options
In addition to your relationship status, there are other profile sections you may want to make private, including:
- Contact and basic info – Hide phone number, email, address, etc.
- Family and relationships – Remove family members or relationship details
- Work and education – Generalize employer, school, or graduation years
- Places you’ve lived – Only share current city, hide past locations
- Details about you – Don’t provide interests, religious views, etc.
All of these profile sections have customizable privacy settings. You can go through each one and adjust as needed for your comfort level.
Facebook also allows you to limit the audience for individual posts. You can choose who sees each post as you create it. More sensitive topics can be set to friends-only or even more limited groups.
Relationship Status Updates and News Feed Preferences
Your News Feed preferences can also impact what relationship info you see from friends:
- Unfollow friends who overshare relationship drama
- Snooze friends who post too much about their partner
- See First profiles of couples you want to keep up with
- Mute keywords like “baby” or “engagement” to avoid triggers
Curating your feed gives you more control over any unwanted relationship details from others. You get to shape the experience by choosing whose updates you see.
Asking Friends to Remove Relationship References
If your friends post something about your relationship you’re uncomfortable with, you can ask them to remove or edit the post. Some messages you can send them:
- “Would you mind removing the section that mentions me and [name] from your post?”
- “I’m trying to keep my relationship with [name] more private. Could you edit my name out of the post?”
- “Could you change the audience for your post with [details] so only [smaller group] can see it?”
Most friends will oblige a polite request, especially if you explain it’s for privacy reasons. If they won’t, you can untag yourself as a last resort.
Using Other Social Media Privacy Settings
Keep in mind Facebook isn’t the only place your relationship details may appear online. Be sure to also check settings on:
- Snapchat
- YouTube
Adjust profile info, post privacy, and account security across each platform for optimal control. Your social presence goes beyond just Facebook.
Relationship Privacy Concerns for Teenagers
Teenagers face additional challenges keeping their relationships private online. As a parent, you can:
- Talk about oversharing and boundaries
- Review profile and post settings together
- Friend or follow them to keep an eye on content
- Set rules about what they share and who they engage with
- Turn on post approvals before sharing
Having ongoing conversations can help guide your teen as they navigate relationship privacy. Work with them to establish safe social media habits.
Balancing Privacy with an Active Social Presence
You don’t have to be completely private about relationships online. Finding the right balance means:
- Sharing milestones but avoiding oversharing
- Being selective about relationship details
- Using privacy settings to limit visibility
- Keeping some updates just between the two of you
- Creating boundaries with what you post about each other
Curate your content for the right audience while still allowing room for meaningful moments. Privacy doesn’t have to mean complete exclusion from social platforms.
Talking to Your Partner About Privacy Preferences
Have explicit conversations with your partner about what you’re both comfortable sharing online. Some questions to discuss:
- How public do you want the relationship to be?
- What relationship milestones are ok to post about?
- What details and photos should stay private?
- Who will you change relationship statuses with?
- What are each person’s privacy expectations?
Getting on the same page early prevents misunderstandings down the road. You both should agree on the boundaries for your online presence as a couple.
Using Social Media to Meet New Partners
If you use dating sites and apps to meet potential partners, extra privacy precautions apply:
- Don’t include your last name or employer
- Meet first in public places, don’t share addresses
- Turn off location sharing features
- Keep messages within the app at first
- Get to know the person before extending contact
Avoid linking other social media until trust is built. Be selective in what you share and who you engage with to stay safe.