Making your friends list private on Facebook is an important setting to consider for maintaining privacy and security on the platform. While it is not absolutely required to make your list private, there are some clear benefits to doing so that are worth understanding.
What does a private friends list on Facebook mean?
When your friends list is set to private on Facebook, it means that other people who are not your friends on Facebook cannot see your full list of friends. Your friends list will appear empty or sparse to anyone not connected to you.
This prevents strangers, acquaintances, or even friends of friends from browsing your connections and contacts on the platform without your consent. It allows you to exert more control over who can see your digital relationships and associations.
What are the risks of a public friends list?
Some of the potential risks of having a public friends list on Facebook include:
- Profile scraping – Strangers or bots can harvest your public list of friends for marketing, social engineering, or other purposes.
- Encourages contacts from people you may not know – Since anyone can browse your friends, it may result in friend requests or messages from strangers.
- Privacy violation – Friends may not want their connections visible publicly either, so it exposes their preferences too.
- Reputational risks – Associations with certain contacts could be taken out of context by others.
- Stalking/harassment risks – Criminals or abusive contacts can leverage a public friend list for targeting.
What are the benefits of a private friends list?
Some of the advantages of keeping your Facebook friends list private include:
- Prevents scraping or harvesting of your contacts.
- Reduces unwanted contact from strangers.
- Upholds friends’ privacy preferences as well.
- Limits misuse of your social connections.
- Reduces risks of stalking or harassment.
- Feels safer and more secure overall.
How to Make Your Facebook Friends List Private
Making your friends list fully private on Facebook only takes a few steps. Here is how to do it:
- Click on the down arrow in the top right of Facebook and go to “Settings”.
- Select “Privacy” in the left column.
- Click “Edit” next to “Who can see your friends list?”
- Change the setting from “Public” to “Only Me”.
- Click “Confirm” to save the change.
Once you do this, your full friends list will now only be visible to you when logged into your account. No one else will be able to browse it.
Other Facebook privacy settings to consider
In addition to your friends list visibility, here are some other key Facebook privacy settings to consider:
- Review posts you’re tagged in before they appear on your profile.
- Limit the audience for posts you’re tagged in.
- Disable search engine indexing of your public profile.
- Restrict who can send you friend requests.
- Block specific people as needed.
Taking advantage of Facebook’s privacy controls allows you to share comfortably online.
Risks of a Completely Private Profile
While minimizing your public presence on Facebook has clear benefits, there are some potential drawbacks to be aware of if you lock down your profile completely.
Difficulty connecting with new people
If your profile and friends list is totally private, it may make it harder to connect with new people organically on Facebook. Mutual friends may not know you are on the platform.
Appearing aloof or standoffish
An empty looking profile can sometimes be interpreted as aloofness or sounding “too cool” for social connections.
Limiting beneficial openness
Appropriate openness online can lead to fulfilling relationships, new opportunities, and an enjoyable sense of community.
Being unable to identify contacts
You may encounter someone familiar but be unable to identify how you are connected on Facebook if all associations are limited.
Finding a Balance
Like most social media privacy decisions, it is wise to find a reasonable balance between safety and openness. Here are some ways to maintain privacy while still benefiting from selective transparency.
Keep friend list private but profile public
You can still appear in searches and interact more openly if you keep your profile visible to the public or friends of friends, while just restricting your friends list visibility.
Limit past posts visibility
You can make old posts private or delete them while still actively posting new public content to be more social.
Use friend lists selectively
You can create specific friend lists on Facebook, like for close friends or family. When posting, you can then customize the audience to only share with certain lists.
Interact 1-on-1
You can still connect personally with new contacts through direct messaging, without needing a visible friends list or public profile.
Conclusion
Making your friends list private on Facebook is recommended for security and privacy reasons, but still allowing some public visibility can help maintain social benefits. Review all your profile and privacy settings to find an approach that works for your comfort level and social needs on the platform. With Facebook’s customizable tools, you can find the right balance for you.
| Pros of Private Friends List | Cons of Private Friends List |
|---|---|
|
|
| Ways to Balance Privacy | Description |
|---|---|
| Keep profile public | Still appear in searches while restricting friends list |
| Limit past post visibility | Make old posts private while still posting new public updates |
| Use friend lists | Customize audiences when posting to different groups |
| Direct messaging | Personally connect with new contacts 1-on-1 |