Yes, you can make your Facebook profile private on iPhone. Facebook has privacy settings that allow users to control who can see their profile information, posts, photos and more. Making your Facebook private on iPhone is easy to do through the Facebook app’s Settings menu.
Why Make Facebook Private?
There are a few key reasons you may want to make your Facebook profile private on iPhone:
- Privacy – Making your profile private limits who can see your info and activity on Facebook. This helps keep your personal information secure.
- Control – A private profile allows you to approve followers and friend requests, rather than allowing anyone to view your profile.
- Reduced spam/solicitations – A private account can help reduce unwanted friend requests and messages from strangers.
- Avoid embarrassment – Keeping certain info private prevents things like old photos or posts from being seen by unintended audiences like employers.
How to Make Facebook Private on iPhone
Making your Facebook private on iPhone only takes a few steps:
- Open the Facebook app and tap the three-line menu icon in the bottom right corner.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” from the menu.
- Choose “Settings” from the next menu.
- Tap “Privacy” from the list of options.
- Under the “Privacy” heading, tap “Privacy Checkup.”
- On the Privacy Checkup screen, tap “Limit The Audience for Past Posts on Facebook” to make old posts private.
- Tap “More Options” below the audience selector. Choose a specific group of people, or “Only Me” to make posts private.
- Scroll down and tap “Limit Old Posts” to confirm.
- You can also tap the various categories like “Info,” “Friends,” “Posts,” etc. to customize privacy settings.
- For example, tap “Friends” then select “Friends Except” to exclude specific friends from seeing your profile.
Step-by-Step Guide
Here is a more detailed walkthrough on how to make your Facebook private on iPhone:
- Open the Facebook app – Launch the Facebook app from your iPhone’s home screen. You’ll need to be logged into your account.
- Access settings – Tap the three line menu icon in the bottom right corner of the app. This opens the main menu.
- Select Privacy Shortcuts – Scroll down and choose “Settings & Privacy” followed by “Privacy Shortcuts.”
- Restrict Past Posts – Tap “Limit Past Posts.” Select “Friends” or customize it to be more private.
- Customize visibility – Tap “More Options” to customize who can see old posts. You can enter names to hide posts from specific people.
- Confirm changes – Hit “Limit Old Posts” to confirm your changes and make old posts more private.
- Adjust privacy settings – Scroll down and tap categories like “Info,” “Friends,” “Posts” etc. to customize privacy.
- Limit profile visibility – In “Info,” tap “View As” to toggle between public and private profile views.
- Refine friend list – In “Friends,” tap “Friend List” to sort friends into Close Friends, Acquaintances, and Restricted lists.
- Manage tags – In “Posts,” turn “Review Tags” on to approve any tags people add with your name.
- Check other apps – Tap “Apps and Websites” to manage what third-party apps can access your Facebook profile and data.
- Enable login approvals – Under “Security,” switch “Login Approvals” on to require code confirmation when logging in.
- Save changes – Make sure to hit “Save Changes” after adjusting your privacy settings in each section.
Privacy Settings Overview
Here are some of the key Facebook privacy settings you can customize on iPhone:
Control Profile View
- Public/Private toggle – Choose who can view your public profile and posts.
- Block settings – Prevent specific people or lists from seeing your profile.
Manage Friend List
- Close Friends – Designate your closest friends who can view certain posts.
- Acquaintances – Group casual friends separately from close friends.
- Restricted – Limit what restricted friends can view.
Limit Old Posts
- Change default privacy on old posts – Choose Friends, Only Me, etc.
- Customize audience – Refine visibility by lists, friends, or groups.
- Review tags – Approve tags people add with your name before they appear.
Control Info Sharing
- Details, history, about – Customize who can view your bio/about info.
- Birthdate, family, relationships, work, education – Limit or hide this info.
- Phone, email, address – Make contact info only visible to certain friends or no one.
Manage Apps and Websites
- View app settings – See which third-party apps you’ve enabled and their permissions.
- Remove app access – Revoke permissions for apps you no longer use.
- Logins – View devices and locations where your account has been accessed.
Making Specific Profile Info Private
You can customize the privacy of specific sections of your Facebook profile on iPhone:
Profile Picture
To make your profile picture private:
- Go to your profile and tap your profile picture.
- Tap “Edit Privacy” next to your profile picture.
- Choose “Friends” or customize to hide it from public view.
Cover Photo
To make your cover photo private:
- Go to your profile and tap your cover photo.
- Tap the three dots in the top right corner.
- Select “Change Cover Privacy.”
- Choose “Friends” or customize who can view it.
Control Tags
Managing tags people add of your name:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Privacy Shortcuts.
- Tap “Review Tags.”
- Switch on “Review Posts You’re Tagged In” to approve tags.
Activity Status
To hide your active/online indicator from contacts:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Privacy Shortcuts.
- Tap “Active Status.”
- Switch off “Show Active Status” to disable the indicator.
Private Profile Best Practices
Here are some tips for keeping your Facebook profile extra private on iPhone:
- Turn off search engine indexing under “Public Posts” so only friends can find your profile.
- Avoid using your real birthday. Set it only visible to “Only Me.”
- List your location as a major city or metro area rather than specifics.
- Say as little as possible in your About section or leave it blank.
- Don’t accept friend requests from strangers.
- Unfriend or block acquaintances you don’t know well.
- Avoid sharing private contact info like your phone number publicly.
Is There a Private Folder?
Unfortunately there is no private folder feature on Facebook for iPhone currently. However, you can mimic this functionality by:
- Creating a restricted Close Friends list.
- Setting posts shared with that list to be visible to “Specific friends” only.
- Only adding your closest contacts to that friend list.
This lets you easily share certain posts, photos and updates just to that smaller circle rather than all friends.
Making Your Friends List Private
To make your entire friends list private on iPhone:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Privacy Shortcuts.
- Tap “Friends.”
- Tap “Friend List.”
- Enable “Hide your friend list” option.
This will prevent anyone from browsing the list of people you are friends with on Facebook.
Private Profile on Facebook Website
All the same privacy settings are also available through the Facebook website if you prefer to manage them on a computer:
- Go to facebook.com and log into your account.
- Click the down arrow in the top right and choose “Settings”.
- Click “Privacy” in the left column.
- Manage privacy settings like past posts, profile info, tags and more.
- Click “Save Changes” at the bottom when finished.
Troubleshooting Tips
Follow these troubleshooting tips if you’re having issues with Facebook privacy settings on iPhone:
- Double check settings are saved after making changes.
- Log out and back into Facebook to refresh permission settings.
- Update the Facebook app to the latest version.
- Report bugs or problems directly to Facebook through settings.
- Still having issues? Try adjusting the same settings on a desktop computer.
Conclusion
Keeping your Facebook profile private on iPhone is easy and important for maintaining control over your information. Use Facebook’s customizable privacy tools to:
- Limit your public profile visibility
- Restrict old posts and backdated content
- Control who can see your posts, pics, info and friends
- Disable search engine indexing
- Review tags people add with your name
Monitoring and tweaking your privacy settings periodically helps maximize security on Facebook. Now you can browse and share on iPhone more safely.