With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook has become one of the most popular social media platforms for people to connect with friends, family, and others. However, after years of use, many Facebook profiles tend to get cluttered with old posts, unused apps, and overshared content. Cleaning up your Facebook profile allows you to present a more polished version of yourself, helps protect your privacy and security, and can even make the platform more enjoyable to use. Here are some tips on how to do a thorough cleanup of your Facebook profile.
Review and Remove Unwanted Posts
The primary way that people interact on Facebook is by posting status updates, sharing photos, commenting on posts, and more. But after many years of actively using Facebook, your profile may contain posts you no longer want visible. Here are some ways to identify and remove unwanted, irrelevant, or embarrassing posts:
- Use the Activity Log tool to browse your entire Facebook history. You can filter posts by date range, type of post, and more to dig up old posts.
- Try searching your name to see what comes up that others can view publicly.
- Check past posts you’ve been tagged in by friends.
- Look through your photos and videos for any you want to delete.
- Read your past posts from when you were younger with fresh eyes – would your current self want them public?
Once you’ve identified any posts, photos, videos, or tags you want removed, delete or untag them. Keep in mind that simply removing the posts from your timeline doesn’t completely erase them.
Adjust Privacy Settings
Facebook’s complex and frequently changing privacy settings allow you control over who can see your posts, profile information, friends list, and more. Taking the time to adjust these settings during your cleanup allows you to hide content from broader public viewing.
Go to Settings > Privacy to manage your privacy controls. Some key settings to consider:
- Posts – Change settings like who can see future posts, who can see posts you’re tagged in, and more.
- Profile and Tagging – Choose who can send you friend requests or see posts you’re tagged in.
- Ads – Limit how your data is used for ad targeting.
- Apps and Websites – Revoke access for unused third party apps.
- Limit Past Posts – Limit visibility of old posts beyond a certain date range or friend group.
Be sure to click “Limit The Audience…” for any section you want to lock down. Go through each settings section and make changes as needed to boost your privacy.
Remove Unused Apps
Over the years you may have connected Facebook to various third party apps and services to play games, take quizzes, and use other features. It’s a good idea to remove any of these apps or services that you no longer use to improve security:
- Go to Settings > Apps and Websites to view connected apps.
- For any you want to remove, click “Remove.”
- Be sure to also check past mobile devices linked and remove those you no longer use.
This prevents any forgotten or unused apps from accessing your profile information moving forward.
Clean Up Friends List
Long-abandoned Facebook accounts you once connected with, distant acquaintances you no longer talk to, and spam or bot accounts can clutter up your friends list over time. Here are some smart ways to clean it up:
- Sort your friends list in order of most recent interactions. Unfriend those you haven’t interacted with in years.
- Go to Friends > Suggestions to view recommended friends. Remove any suggestions you don’t want.
- Type a friend’s name into search. If their account looks unused in years, unfriend.
- Check for any duplicate or spam accounts by comparing profile details side by side.
By removing old and inactive connections, you focus your friends list on current connections you actually engage with.
Remove Groups You Don’t Use
Facebook allows you to organize friends into custom Groups and segment post visibility by Group. If you haven’t touched some Groups in years, consider removing them to declutter:
- Go to Friends > Groups to see all your created Groups.
- Browse through and remove any inactive, obsolete, or spam Groups.
With a cleaned up friend list and relevant Groups, it’s easier to share updates selectively with your intended audiences.
Manage Tags of Yourself
Friends can tag you in their posts, sometimes in photos you’d rather not be featured in. While you can’t fully prevent tagging, you can manage it with these steps:
- Go to Settings > Timeline and Tagging and adjust tag review settings.
- Choose to review all newly added tags before they appear on your profile.
- Browse old posts you’re tagged in. Remove tags on any you want detached from.
Proactively managing tagging reduces chances of inappropriate tags showing on your profile.
Update Profile Info
With Facebook profiles spanning many years, it’s common for the about info and featured details to become outdated. Take this opportunity to refresh it:
- Go to your public profile and click Update Info.
- Edit your bio, job titles, education, current city, and relationship status if needed.
- Change your profile and cover photos to recent ones you like.
- Revisit featured photos and details – update or remove any outdated items.
Accurate profile information presents a better picture of who you currently are to friends and visitors.
Adjust Notifications Settings
Facebook sends various desktop, email, and push notifications by default as part of its engagement strategy. You can cut down on interruptions by adjusting these settings:
- Go to Settings > Notifications to view notification settings.
- Turn off notifications types you find unnecessary or distracting.
- Consider turning off email notifications entirely.
Limiting notifications creates a more focused Facebook experience with less digital distraction.
Join Relevant Groups
An often overlooked part of the Facebook experience is joining interesting and relevant Groups around topics or communities you engage with. As part of your cleanup, look for Groups that provide value:
- Search for your hobbies, career topics, alumni groups, local groups and more.
- Browse recommendations on the Groups discover page.
- Look at Groups your friends have joined or are active in.
- Join 5-10 new Groups that are useful or interesting for you.
Thoughtful Group memberships lead to meaningful connections and discussions on Facebook.
Follow Pages You Like
Similar to Groups, liking or following Pages of brands, local businesses, influencers, or interests you want to keep up with brings engaging content into your feed. Spend some time discovering relevant Pages:
- Check Pages liked by friends who share your interests.
- Search for Pages on topics relevant to your life, career, or studies.
- Use the discover page to get recommendations.
- Like 5-10 new Pages to add useful content to your feed.
The right Page likes keeps your feed refreshed with content you care about.
Clean Up Navigation Bar Links
Facebook provides quick navigation links at the top of your screen. Prune and organize them to suit your needs:
- Hover over each link and click “Remove” to delete unused sections.
- Reorder links by dragging to reflect usage priority.
- Add shortcuts for sections you use frequently, like Groups or Events.
With a decluttered navigation bar, you can quickly access the parts of Facebook you actually use.
Turn On Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication adds critical security when logging into Facebook by requiring both your password and a secondary confirmation step. Enable this for protection:
- Go to Settings > Security and Login.
- Choose Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.
- Follow prompts to enable using an authenticator app or text codes.
With two-factor enabled, only you can access your account even if your password is compromised.
Conclusion
Cleaning your Facebook profile periodically is an important part of responsible social media use. Following this thorough cleanup guide allows you to curate a more organized, up-to-date, and secure profile that aligns with who you are today. So set aside some time for thoughtful maintenance – your future self will thank you. With a decluttered profile, more control over your privacy, and Facebook optimized to your current needs, you can have an improved experience. What strategies have worked for you in keeping your Facebook tidy over the years? Let us know in the comments!