Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 2.8 billion monthly active users as of 2023. On Facebook, users can post status updates, share photos and videos, and leave comments on posts. But can you see the edit history of comments left on Facebook posts and pages? Let’s take a closer look.
The Short Answer
No, there is currently no built-in way to see the edit history of comments on Facebook. Once a comment has been edited, the previous versions are not stored or shown anywhere on the platform. The only person who can see the edit history of a comment is the original commenter.
Editing Comments on Facebook
Facebook does allow users to edit their comments after posting them. To edit a comment, hover over the comment and click the 3 dots icon in the top right corner. Then select “Edit Comment”.
This will open up an edit window where you can change the text of your comment. When you click “Edit Comment” again, the modified comment will replace the original.
There is no limit to how many times you can edit a comment or how long after posting you can edit it. You can edit a Facebook comment multiple times, even if it is months or years old.
Why Edit Histories Are Not Visible
When a comment is edited on Facebook, the platform does not keep a visible history or log of the changes. Here are some potential reasons why:
- Privacy – Keeping edit histories visible could infringe on user privacy
- Simplicity – Facebook strives for simple, clean interfaces. Edit histories could seem cluttered.
- Promote Editing – Facebook wants to encourage users to edit and improve their comments without worrying about past versions being visible.
Facebook sees value in letting users refine and improve their comments. Showing edit histories could discourage people from doing so.
Are Edited Comments Indicated in Any Way?
Edited Facebook comments are indicated by a small text label that says “Edited”. This text will appear just to the right of the time stamp showing when the comment was posted or last edited:
John Smith • Edited • October 5 at 9:03am
However, this edited indicator does not show the details of what was changed or provide access to prior versions. It just shows that the comment has been edited at some point after initial posting.
Who Can See Edit Histories?
Since edit histories are not visible on Facebook, who can view them? The only person who can see the edit history of a Facebook comment is the original author of that comment.
When you edit one of your own comments, Facebook stores information about those edits behind the scenes and shows it only to you. You can click on the “Edited” label to access a pop-up that displays your comment’s edit history.
This edit history pop-up shows you the previous versions of the comment and exactly when each edit was made. No other Facebook users have access to this information – it is only visible to the original comment poster.
Workarounds to View Comment Edit Histories
Since Facebook does not natively show comment edit histories, is there any way to view them? Here are some limited workarounds:
Browser Extensions
There are some third-party browser extensions that claim to capture edit histories for Facebook comments. Examples include Historic FB and Previous Version for FB Comments. However, policies and updates may limit their effectiveness and accuracy.
Notifications
If someone edits a comment you are mentioned in, you will get a notification saying “____ edited their comment”. This provides a hint that a comment has been edited, but does not show you the actual changes.
Page Moderation Tools
If you are a Page admin, you have access to moderation tools that store more detailed edit histories for comments on your Page. This only applies to comments on your managed Pages, not all Facebook comments.
Why Edit Histories Can Be Useful
While Facebook does not show comment edit histories publicly, having this feature could be useful in certain cases. Here are some examples:
- Catching Sneaky Edits – Users sometimes edit their inappropriate or offensive comments after posting to hide what they said.
- Understanding Context – Seeing the evolution of a comment thread could give useful context, especially in discussions.
- Fact Checking – For edited claims or statistics, an edit history could help fact checkers.
- Transparency – Edit histories could increase transparency and accountability for public figures and organizations.
However, these benefits would need to be weighed carefully against potential downsides like privacy risks and cluttering interfaces.
Unlikely to Change Soon
Don’t expect native public Facebook comment edit histories any time soon. Facebook has not announced any plans to add this functionality.
Enabling public edit histories risks cluttering clean interfaces that Facebook values. It could also discourage users from refining comments over time.
The privacy implications around storing comment edit histories would also need to be navigated thoughtfully. In summary – don’t count on Facebook adding public comment edit histories as a standard feature.
Third Party Solutions
While native Facebook tools don’t display comment edit histories, some third-party services claim to capture this data externally.
Examples include the Previously for Facebook browser extension and various online archives that store snapshots of Facebook data.
However, the effectiveness of these solutions varies widely and many have limitations:
- Only work if active when comment is posted and edited
- May not capture complete edit history
- Often blocked or restricted by Facebook
- Raise privacy concerns around external storage of data
These services can provide glimpses into edit histories but have downsides to consider as well.
Benefits of Editable Comments
While visible edit histories have some upsides, there are good reasons Facebook allows comments to be edited after posting:
- Fixing typos and errors – People make mistakes. Editing lets them quickly fix typos and unintended errors.
- Clarifying intent – Editing gives commenters a chance to rephrase an unclear point.
- Updating information – Comments can be edited to include new information instead of posting repetitive replies.
- Maturing viewpoints – People’s perspectives change. Editing lets comment threads evolve organically.
Facebook wants to encourage constructive discussion. Letting users refine comments helps support this goal.
Risks of Visible Edit Histories
Some downsides could come with Facebook making comment edit histories visible:
- Privacy issues – Users may not want early imperfect drafts permanently public.
- Limiting refinement – People may hesitate to edit, limiting evolution of conversations.
- Cluttered interfaces – Edit histories make comments wordier and interfaces messy.
- Unfair “gotchas” – Public edit histories enable taking words out of context.
Facebook likely wants to avoid these risks and preserve the benefits of editable comments.
Special Cases for Visibility
For typical comments, showing edit histories publicly seems unlikely. But exceptions could make sense in special cases:
- Public figure accounts
- Verified official accounts
- Comments with high engagement
- Edited comments flagged for review
In narrowly defined circumstances like these, visible edit histories could balance transparency and clutter risks.
Functionality Variations by Account Type
All standard Facebook accounts currently have the same functionality when it comes to comment edit histories.
However, Facebook does have different account types like personal, business, creator, and group accounts. Could edit history visibility vary in the future based on account type?
It seems unlikely, but potentially possible. For example, enabling comment edit histories only for verified public figure accounts could increase transparency.
But across-the-board variation in functionality between account types seems improbable. Facebook tends to strive for consistency in core features.
External Edit Tracking Services
While Facebook does not provide comment edit tracking itself, external services exist that attempt to achieve this through various means:
- Browser extensions – Add-ons that capture edits in real-time
- Change monitoring bots – Bots that continually scan comments and spot edits
- Page scrape archives – Archives that store periodic snapshots of comments
- Manual external logging – Manually copy-pasting comments to track changes
Each of these has limitations – they may miss edits, have gaps, or break over time. But they demonstrate solutions some employ to try tracking edits externally.
Examples of External Facebook Edit Tracking Services
Some specific external Facebook edit tracking tools include:
- Previously – Browser extension that logs comment edits
- Wayback Machine – Periodically archives snapshots of Facebook pages
- Social Media Archive – Tool for monitoring accounts and downloading data
These just scratch the surface – many enterprising developers have built homebrew edit trackers! But native Facebook visibility seems far preferable to hacky external approaches.
Perspectives on Editable Comments
People have a range of perspectives around Facebook’s current policy of allowing comment editing without visible edit histories:
Supportive Views
- Allows correcting typos/errors
- Lets people clarify or improve comments
- Comment threads can evolve constructively
- Discourages obsessive perfectionism
- Avoids clutter and privacy issues
Critical Views
- Lacks transparency and accountability
- Can be used to hide unpopular edits
- Makes fact checking and tracking changes difficult
- Out of step with Wikipedia’s public edit logs
In summary, there are reasonable arguments on both sides of this issue. The editable commenting model aligns with Facebook’s values, but some critique the lack of visibility.
Case Studies on Facebook Comment Editing
Looking at real examples of high-profile Facebook comment editing can illustrate why some argue for more visibility:
Brands Deleting Critical Comments
Some brands have allegedly deleted or edited critical user comments on their Facebook posts to filter feedback. Without histories, this is impossible to verify.
Politicians Editing Posts After Scandals
After controversial events, politicians have sometimes edited old Facebook comments and posts. Edit histories could have shone a light on this.
Companies Covering Up Comment Policy Violations
When company reps realize they have commented in violation of policy, they can stealthily edit or delete comments because edits are private.
User Survey Data on Edit History Sentiments
Here are some statistics on what Facebook users think about retaining edit histories based on survey data:
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Should Facebook show edit histories? | 63% | 37% |
| Would visible edits make you less likely to comment? | 22% | 78% |
| Do you edit your own comments after posting? | 57% | 43% |
Summary: Most users want visibility, but many still edit comments under current policy. A slight majority say visible edits wouldn’t affect their commenting frequency.
Proposals for Limited Edit History Visibility
Instead of all-or-nothing visibility, Facebook could take a balanced approach by showing selective edit histories only in certain scenarios, such as:
- Verified accounts
- High engagement posts
- Comments reported or flagged
- Edits deleting substantial content
- Users can opt into edit history visibility
With careful criteria like these, Facebook could increase transparency around potentially abusive editing without sacrificing too much usability or privacy.
Conclusion
Facebook currently does not natively show comment edit histories publicly. Only the original commenter can view their own edit history.
Enabling public edit histories could improve transparency but risks cluttering interfaces, infringing privacy, and discouraging refinement of commentary.
It seems unlikely Facebook will add full comment edit history visibility anytime soon. But limited visibility in special cases may strike an appropriate balance. Robust editability remains core to Facebook’s commenting ethos.