Whether relationship status shows up on your Facebook timeline depends on your privacy settings. By default, relationship status is set to be visible to the public, but you can control who sees this information.
Making Relationship Status Private
Here are the steps to make your relationship status private on Facebook:
- Click on the down arrow in the top right corner and select “Settings”.
- On the left sidebar, click “Privacy”.
- Under the “How people find and contact you” section, click “Edit” beside “Who can see your future posts?”.
- Under the “Activity Status” section, click the dropdown beside “Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?” and select “No”.
- Scroll down and click “Limit Past Posts” under the “Limit the Audience for Old Posts” section.
- Click “Friends” beside “Who can see posts you’ve shared with friends of friends or the public?” to change it to “Only Me”.
- Scroll down further and click “Edit” beside “Who can see your relationship status?”.
- Select your desired privacy setting, like “Only Me”, to limit who can view your relationship status.
Once you have made your relationship status private, it will no longer be visible to the public or in your timeline. Only people you select will be able to see your relationship information.
Relationship Status Visibility
Here is an overview of the different relationship status visibility settings and what they mean:
| Setting | Who Can See |
|---|---|
| Public | Anyone including people off of Facebook |
| Friends | Your friends on Facebook |
| Only Me | Only you |
| Specific friends or lists | Only the friends or lists you select |
So if you select “Only Me”, your relationship status will be completely private and not show up on your timeline or be visible to anyone else. The “Public” setting will display your relationship status on your profile and make it viewable by everyone.
Relationship Status History
It’s important to note that even if you change your relationship status visibility now, your previous status history can still be seen. For example, if you were “In a Relationship” publicly last year, anyone could still see that past status. Here’s how to limit this:
- Go to your profile and click on your relationship status in the intro section.
- In the pop-up, click the three dots next to your status.
- Select “Limit Old Posts” and change the audience to “Only Me”.
This will make your previous relationship statuses only visible to you moving forward.
Removing Relationship Status Entirely
If you want to remove your relationship status from Facebook altogether, follow these steps:
- Go to your profile and click on your relationship status in the intro section.
- In the pop-up, click “Remove”.
Your relationship status will now be empty on your profile. You can always add it again in the future if you choose.
Relationship Status On Messenger
Your Facebook relationship status may also be displayed on Messenger under your name. Here’s how to control who sees it in Messenger:
- Open Messenger and tap your profile photo.
- Tap your name at the top.
- Tap “Share Your Info”.
- Under relationship, tap the audience to select who can view it.
So in Messenger you can choose to show your relationship status to everyone, no one, or only some people.
Controlling Status Updates
Whenever you update your relationship status, a post is generated on your timeline mentioning the change. For example “John is now single”. Here’s how to prevent these updates from being posted:
- Go to “Settings” then “Privacy”.
- Under “Your activity” click “Status updates”.
- Uncheck “Share relationship status”.
- Uncheck “Share religious views”.
- Uncheck “Share political views”.
This will make it so any changes to these statuses do not create a timeline post or story. The information will still show up on your profile.
Limiting Status Visibility
You can limit which friends see your new relationship status updates in their News Feed and on your profile:
- Go to “Settings” then “Privacy”.
- Click “Limit the audience for posts that contain”
- Click “Friends except” and select who you want to exclude.
This will prevent your status updates from showing to the friends or lists you excluded in News Feed or timeline views.
Conclusion
In summary, your Facebook relationship status visibility depends on your privacy settings. The default is public, but you can change it to be private or visible to only certain friends or lists. You can also limit old relationship status history, remove the status entirely, control visibility in Messenger, and exclude people from seeing new status updates.
Managing your relationship status privacy on Facebook does take some effort navigating through the many options. But the control is there and worth exploring if you want to limit who sees sensitive relationship information.
As with anything related to social media and privacy, be thoughtful about what you share publicly online. While relationship milestones can be exciting life events to update friends and family on, oversharing relationship details may have future consequences.
Maintain open communication with your partner on what information you both feel comfortable publicly posting. And err on the side of caution when considering making anything about intimate relationships public on social platforms.
The intended audience today may be your close friends and family. But once something is online, it becomes part of your digital footprint and identity. So consider your comfort level, as well as your partner’s, before sharing private details to the world.
Facebook’s default settings lean towards openness and visibility which benefits their business model. But you can take control of what information is out there about your relationships if you invest time into updating your privacy settings.
While milestones are great to note for memories, not every stage of a relationship needs a digital announcement. Some special moments are better kept between just the two of you. Or shared privately in person with those closest to you.
Think about what aspects of your romantic life you are comfortable being universally visible online. And don’t forget to revisit your privacy settings as relationships come and go to limit digital footprints left behind from the past.
Managing privacy is an ongoing process as life changes unfold. But being mindful of what relationship details you share can help you feel empowered in choosing what the online world sees and knows about your personal life.
The heart wants what the heart wants, as the saying goes. So let your timeline reflect the parts of your romantic journey you genuinely want to broadcast online.
And keep the intimate moments just between you and your special someone, protected from the public eye. You control the privacy dial when it comes to your relationship status updates.
So whether you proudly want to announce your new relationship to the digital world, keep it hidden as private just for you, or somewhere in between, Facebook’s settings give you that choice and flexibility.
Decide what feels right for your unique situation and relationship needs. Then customize your sharing preferences accordingly.
Love and technology will continue to evolve together. But when used mindfully, you get to choose how much your relationship intertwines with your online presence.
So empower yourself to openly share or discreetly conceal your relationship status on the timeline. Just understand the options available and decide how much you want on display.
Privacy matters, especially when it comes to romance. So take control and shape your status visibility from your heart, for your life.