Facebook’s default privacy settings allow friends to share your posts with their friends. However, you can customize these settings to control exactly who can share your posts.
Can I prevent my posts from being shared?
Yes, you can prevent your posts from being shared by changing your post privacy settings:
- Go to your Facebook profile
- Click the down arrow in the top right corner and select “Settings”
- On the left sidebar, click “Privacy”
- Click “Edit” next to “Who can see my posts?”
- Under “Who can share your posts?” select “Only me”
This will prevent anyone besides yourself from sharing that post. You can also choose “Friends” or “Friends except…” if you want to allow some friends to share but not others.
How do I allow Public sharing of my posts?
To allow anyone on or off Facebook to share your posts:
- Go to your Facebook profile
- Click the down arrow in the top right corner and select “Settings”
- Click “Privacy” on the left sidebar
- Click “Edit” next to “Who can see my posts?”
- Under “Who can share your posts?” select “Public”
With public sharing, your posts can be shared by anyone, even people who aren’t your friends on Facebook. Use this option carefully as it gives you the least control over how your posts are shared.
How do I limit post sharing to Friends only?
To restrict post sharing to only your confirmed friends:
- Go to your Facebook profile
- Click the down arrow and choose “Settings”
- Click “Privacy” on the left sidebar
- Click “Edit” next to “Who can see my posts?”
- Under “Who can share your posts?” select “Friends”
This will prevent your posts from being shared publicly or with friends of friends. Only your direct friends on Facebook will be able to share your posts.
Can I allow Friends except specific people to share my posts?
Yes, you can allow all friends to share posts except for specific people you select:
- Go to your Facebook profile
- Click the down arrow and choose “Settings”
- Click “Privacy” on the left sidebar
- Click “Edit” next to “Who can see my posts?”
- Under “Who can share your posts?” select “Friends except…”
- Type in the names of people you want to exclude from sharing
This gives you more granular control over who can share your posts. Friends won’t be notified that you’ve excluded them.
Can I set different sharing settings for individual posts?
Yes, you can set custom sharing settings for each post when you create it:
- When writing a new post, click the audience selector below the text box
- Click “Friends except…” or “More Options”
- Select a custom set of people who can view and share the post
- Click “Post” to publish it with your settings
The sharing settings you choose will apply only to that individual post, overriding your general sharing preferences.
How do I share a post on someone else’s Timeline?
To share someone else’s post:
- Go to their Facebook profile or Page
- Click the “Share” button below the post
- Select where you want to share it – your Timeline, a friend’s Timeline, a Facebook group, etc
- Add a comment if desired, and click “Post”
Sharing a post to your Timeline will publish it just like your own post. Sharing it to a friend’s Timeline will send it to them as a post notification.
Can someone reshare my post after I shared it?
Yes, when you share a post to your Timeline, your friends can then share it from your Timeline to their own. The share settings on the original post apply to all subsequent shares.
For example, if you shared a post set to “Friends only,” your friend could only share it with their friends as well. The friend of the original poster who shared it publicly could not reshare it publicly.
Can I share posts into Facebook Groups?
Yes, you can share posts into any Facebook Groups you are a member of:
- Go to the post on the author’s Timeline
- Click “Share” below the post
- Click “Share in a group”
- Select the Group you want to share it to
- Add a comment and post
The post will now appear in that Group’s feed. The share settings on the original post do not apply when sharing into Groups.
How do I share multiple posts at once?
You can select and share multiple posts at the same time:
- Go to your Profile and click “Posts”
- Hold down Ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) and click to select multiple posts
- Click the “Share” button at the top above your posts
- Select where you want to share the posts
This lets you easily share several old posts to your Timeline at once, for example.
Can I embed my posts on external sites?
Yes, you can generate an embed code for your posts to embed them on external sites:
- Go to the post on Facebook and click the downward arrow
- Select “Embed”
- Copy the generated iframe code
- Paste the code on the external site’s HTML to embed the post
This allows your Facebook post content to be displayed on other sites outside Facebook.
Can I automatically share my posts to other social networks?
Yes, you can use social media automation tools like Zapier or IFTTT to automatically share your Facebook posts:
- Connect your Facebook account to the tool
- Set up a recipe/zap to share new Facebook posts to another social network
- Customize the content or format as needed for the other network
- The tool will automatically cross-post your Facebook posts
Automating cross-posting takes just a few minutes to set up and requires no ongoing effort.
What happens when friends share my public posts?
When friends share your public post:
- It appears on their Timeline just like their own posts
- Their friends (including your non-friends) will see it
- Likes and comments apply to the original post, not the share
- Deleting the original post also deletes all shares
So public post shares can spread your posts to new audiences beyond your own friends.
Can I find out who has shared my posts?
Yes, you can see who has shared your posts and where:
- Go to your post and click “Shared by”
- Or, go to your Activity Log and view “Posts You’re Tagged In”
This shows you info about each share such as who shared it, when, and where they shared it.
How does sharing affect impressions/reach for my posts?
Sharing expands the reach and impressions of your posts. Each share to a new audience counts as more impressions.
For example:
- Your post reaches 100 people organically
- 3 friends share it to 300 more people
- You get 100 original impressions + 300 additional from shares = 400 total impressions
More sharing means more viral reach for your content beyond just your own followers.
Can I turn off post sharing capabilities completely?
There is no global setting to disable sharing for your Facebook account. But you can achieve the same effect by adjusting your default post audience:
- Go to your profile, click the down arrow and select “Settings”
- Click “Privacy” on the left sidebar
- Click “Edit” next to “Who can see my posts?”
- Under “Who can see your posts?” select “Only me”
This prevents all posts from being viewed or shared by anyone else. You can also do this for individual posts.
Conclusion
Facebook’s granular post privacy settings give you full control over who can view and share your posts.
Keep your sharing circle small for private content. Expand it for public content you want to go viral.
Strike a balance between reach and security. Monitor how far your posts spread by checking shares and impressions.
Cross-posting to groups expands your audience beyond friend networks. Automate sharing to other networks for maximum exposure.
Know exactly who is sharing your posts and where by checking the “Shared by” link.
Use Facebook’s tools responsibly to share content safely and drive meaningful engagement.