Facebook Marketplace allows users to buy and sell items locally. When you create a Marketplace post to sell an item, you may wonder if the post is visible to your Facebook friends or if it’s only shown to people searching Marketplace in your area.
The short answer is: Yes, your Facebook friends can see your Marketplace posts in their News Feeds if you’ve enabled this setting. By default, Facebook does show your Marketplace posts to friends, but you can control the visibility in your settings.
Do Facebook friends see my Marketplace posts by default?
When you first create a Marketplace post to sell an item, Facebook automatically makes the post public. This means it will show up in the News Feeds of your Facebook friends by default.
Facebook’s algorithm will determine which friends see your Marketplace post in their feed based on how often they interact with your profile and posts. Friends who frequently like, comment on, or share your other posts are more likely to see your Marketplace posts as well.
So unless you change the privacy settings, any Marketplace listings you create are visible to your friends who frequently engage with your profile. Your friends can also search Marketplace and will see your active sales posts when browsing items for sale in your area.
How to control if friends see your Marketplace posts
If you don’t want your Facebook friends seeing the items you have for sale, you can change a privacy setting for Marketplace:
- Go to Facebook Marketplace
- Click on “Sell” at the top
- Click on the 3 dots icon next to an active post and select “Change privacy”
- Uncheck the box next to “Friends”
This will make the individual post completely private, so it will only be visible to people searching Marketplace, not your friends.
You can also change the default privacy setting for future Marketplace posts:
- Go to Marketplace > Sell
- Click on the 3 dots next to “Privacy shortcut”
- Uncheck “Friends”
Now any new posts you create will have friends hidden by default. You have to change this for each existing post individually though.
Do Facebook friends get notified of my Marketplace posts?
In addition to your posts being visible in the News Feed, do your friends get notified when you make a new Marketplace post?
The answer is no, Facebook does not send notifications to your friends when you post something new for sale in Marketplace. The only notifications sent are to people who have engaged with that specific post by commenting, liking, or sharing it.
So you don’t have to worry about spamming all your friends every time you list an item for sale. The posts are visible to them in their feed, but won’t trigger notifications.
Can I choose specific friends to hide Marketplace posts from?
Instead of making your Marketplace posts completely private, can you hide them from just certain friends on Facebook?
Unfortunately, there is no built-in way to customize visibility to only exclude specific friends. Your options are:
- Public – Visible to all friends
- Private – Hidden from all friends
You cannot pick and choose individual friends to hide Marketplace posts from. It’s all or nothing when it comes to your friends list.
However, you could create a restricted friends list and add the friends you want to hide posts from there. Then when making a new Marketplace post, choose the “Except Restricted” privacy option. This will show the post to all your friends except those on your Restricted list.
Do Facebook friends see when I comment on Marketplace posts?
When you interact with Marketplace posts created by others in your area, this activity can also be visible to your Facebook friends.
If you comment on someone else’s Marketplace post, your friends will see that comment and post in their News Feed like they would any other interaction. Marketplace commenting works the same as commenting on friends’ posts or public Pages.
So your friends can see when you inquire about items for sale, negotiate prices, arrange pick-up times, etc. Any Marketplace interaction with another user will be public to your friends.
However, only that specific post you commented on would be visible. Your browsing or searching of Marketplace listings would not show up in your friends’ feeds unless you actively engage with a post.
Does Marketplace activity show up on my Timeline?
Your Facebook Timeline acts as a history of your activity on the platform. This includes posts you’ve shared, Pages you’ve interacted with, life events, and more.
So does your Marketplace activity also show up on your public Timeline that all friends can view?
The answer is no. While your friends may see Marketplace posts in their feeds, this activity does not appear on your personal Timeline at all. Your Timeline only includes things you’ve actively posted – it does not show browsing or interactions with other users’ posts.
So you don’t have to worry about all your Marketplace activity being summarized and highlighted on your profile. Only your own sale posts will be visible to friends scrolling through your Timeline.
Can I review my Marketplace privacy settings?
If you want a comprehensive overview of exactly which privacy settings you have configured for Marketplace, there are a couple places you can check:
View privacy settings for your sale posts
To see the privacy configuration for all your active sale posts in Marketplace:
- Go to the Marketplace homepage
- Click “Selling” at the top
- Click the arrow next to “Privacy shortcut”
This will show you which audience (Public, Friends, or Private) each of your sale posts is currently visible to. You can also change the privacy here if needed.
View default privacy setting for new posts
To see the default privacy setting that will be applied to new Marketplace posts you create:
- Go to Marketplace > Selling
- Click the 3 dots next to “Privacy shortcut”
This will show your current default privacy setting for new posts. You can also edit the default here.
So in summary, reviewing these two privacy shortcuts will show you exactly which friends can see your current and future Marketplace activity. Adjust as needed for your comfort level.
Can I see the full list of friends who can view my Marketplace posts?
As we learned above, by default your Marketplace sale posts are visible to your friends in their News Feeds. Is there any way to see the full list of which friends can actually view your posts?
Unfortunately, there is no way to view the exact list of friends that have access to your Marketplace posts. The only visibility settings are:
- Public – All friends
- Private – Only people searching Marketplace
You cannot select individual friends to hide posts from, and Facebook does not show you the list of friends that your public posts are visible to.
The visibility is based on Facebook’s algorithm, which controls what posts your friends see higher in their feeds based on engagement patterns. There’s no feature that shows the underlying list of eligible friends.
So you have to make the visibility choice for all friends or none – you can’t view or select specific individuals who can access your Marketplace activity.
If I delete a Marketplace post, do friends still see it?
When you’re ready to remove a Marketplace post for an item you’ve sold, you probably want it completely deleted from visibility.
But if one of your friends previously saw the post in their News Feed, does deleting the post remove it from their feed as well?
The answer is yes – when you delete a Marketplace post, it is removed from all News Feeds and is no longer visible to anyone on Facebook.
Facebook’s system updates in real-time, so the post disappears immediately after you delete it. Even if friends interacted with or shared your post previously, once deleted, it will no longer show up for anyone.
The only place the post could still be visible after deleting is if another user took a screenshot of your post before you deleted it. But in terms of Facebook access, deleting a post fully removes it from sight for all users.
So you don’t have to worry about your friends being able to still view your sold Marketplace posts. When you delete them, that content is gone from Facebook.
Can I see if my friends share or save my Marketplace posts?
While your Facebook friends can see your Marketplace posts in their feeds, they have the option to take additional actions:
- Sharing your post to their own News Feed
- Saving your post privately
Is there any way to see if your friends have shared or saved your Marketplace listings?
Unfortunately, Facebook does not notify you or provide any way to view if other users have shared or saved your Marketplace posts.
Even for regular posts on your Timeline, there is no notification if friends share your post to their own profile. Facebook considers this re-sharing user generated content.
For saving posts, only the user who saved it can view their own private saved list – this is not visible to the original post creator.
So in summary, while friends can freely share or save your Marketplace posts, you have no way of knowing if or when they do so. Facebook does not provide any analytics or visibility into these types of post interactions.
Can I report inappropriate interactions on my Marketplace posts?
In general, interactions between users on Marketplace listings should remain professional and focused on buying and selling. However, sometimes comment conversations on posts can get out of hand.
If you receive abusive, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate comments or messages via Marketplace, you can report this content to Facebook:
- Click the 3 dots next to the comment
- Select “Report”
- Choose reason:
- Harassment
- Hate speech
- Scam
- Unauthorized sales
- Other
Facebook’s team will review the report and take action if the content violates their community standards, which prohibit bullying, harassment, discrimination, and other toxic behavior.
Reporting inappropriate Marketplace interactions helps keep the community safe for everyone. Marketplace should be a positive experience – don’t hesitate to report any damaging behavior from other users.
Conclusion
Facebook Marketplace provides a convenient way to buy and sell locally through the social network. But as a semi-public marketplace, you may be unsure of how visible your activity is to your friends on Facebook.
The key points to remember are:
- By default, Marketplace sale posts are public and visible in News Feeds
- You can change privacy settings to hide posts from friends
- Interacting with others’ posts is also public
- Marketplace activity does not show on your Timeline
- You cannot view the specific friends who can see posts
- Deleting posts removes them fully from Facebook
Adjusting your Marketplace privacy settings based on your preferences is recommended. Public posts get more exposure, but limit visibility if you don’t want friends involved in your sales.
With the right configuration, Marketplace can be a useful platform for connecting local buyers and sellers without compromising your privacy. Carefully review the options available to tailor Marketplace to your comfort level for sharing.