Facebook allows you to control the privacy settings for your profile so you can choose who can see your name and other personal information. By default, your name is visible to anyone on Facebook. However, you can change this setting to hide your name from public search results and restrict access only to your friends or a custom audience.
Hiding your name from public search is a good idea if you want more privacy and don’t want random people to easily find you on Facebook. Your profile will still appear in searches done by your friends, but it won’t show up for strangers searching Facebook.
Should I hide my Facebook name from public search?
Here are some things to consider when deciding whether to hide your Facebook name:
- Privacy – Hiding your name gives you more privacy and protects you from unwanted friend requests or messages from strangers.
- Professional presence – If you use Facebook for professional networking or promoting a business, you may not want your name hidden.
- Finding old friends – Friends from your past may have a hard time finding you if your name is hidden.
- Communication – It’s harder for people to identify you and send message requests if your name is hidden.
Overall, hiding your name is recommended if you want to limit your visibility and presence on Facebook. But it also depends on how you use Facebook and your preferences for privacy vs visibility.
How to hide your Facebook name from public search
Hiding your Facebook name is easy to do by adjusting your privacy settings. Here is a step-by-step guide:
1. Click on the arrow in the top right corner and select “Settings”.
2. On the left sidebar, click on “Privacy”.
3. Under the “How people find and contact you” section, click on “Who can see your future posts?”.
4. Change the option from “Public” to “Friends” or a more restrictive option like “Only Me”.
5. Scroll down and click “Review all your privacy settings”.
6. Under “Profile Privacy”, click on “Who can see your friends list” and change it to “Friends” or another option besides “Public”.
7. Click on “Who can look you up using the email address you provided?” and change it to “Friends” or stricter.
8. Click on “Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?” and change it to “Friends” or stricter.
9. Click “Back” to save your new privacy settings.
Confirm your name is hidden
To confirm your name is no longer visible in public Facebook searches:
1. Log out of your Facebook account.
2. Go to facebook.com and try searching for your name in the main search bar at the top.
3. You shouldn’t see your profile appear in the search results, confirming your name is now hidden from public view.
Limitations of hiding your name
While hiding your name increases privacy, there are a few important limitations:
– Friends can still find you through search and share your profile.
– Your name may appear in friends’ posts you are tagged in.
– Your profile can show up in search results for your username or phone number.
– Facebook may display your name in “People You May Know” suggestions to friends.
– Hiding your name doesn’t affect visibility of past posts.
So even with your name hidden, some people may still be able to find you through friends, tags, usernames, or other info. But it does make you harder to locate through a general public name search.
Additional privacy tips
Along with hiding your name, here are some other tips to increase privacy on Facebook:
- Remove your profile photo and use an avatar or blank image instead.
- Don’t provide your email, phone number, address, or birthday on your profile.
- Block users you don’t know who try to add you as a friend.
- Review tags from friends and untag yourself from any posts you don’t want public.
- Make old posts only visible to you under “Manage Activity”.
- Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know.
Using a combination of these settings and practices will make you much less visible and searchable on Facebook.
What happens if I delete my Facebook account?
If you delete your Facebook account entirely, your name and profile will no longer appear in any searches. However, Facebook may retain some data for a period of time after deletion.
Here’s what happens when you delete a Facebook account:
– Your profile, photos, posts, and all other data are erased from active databases.
– Friends will no longer see your profile or be able to search for you.
– Your messaging history is deleted.
– You lose access to all Facebook services and apps.
– Facebook may retain some data for up to 90 days in case you change your mind.
– There is an option to request permanent deletion after the 90 day grace period.
So deleting your account is the most definitive way to remove your name from public view on Facebook. Just keep in mind it’s permanent and you’ll lose access to all your Facebook data.
Pros and cons of deleting Facebook
Before deleting your Facebook account, consider these potential pros and cons:
### Pros:
– Increased privacy and zero online presence.
– Avoid spending time or getting distracted on Facebook.
– Permanently erase old posts and photos.
– Stop Facebook from tracking your activity and data.
### Cons:
– Lose access to all Facebook content and memories.
– Get disconnected from friends, family, groups on Facebook.
– Lose photo and video backups stored on Facebook.
– Miss out on events, invitations, and information shared via Facebook.
– Can’t easily reactivate the account or retrieve data.
Overall, the pros of increased privacy and reduced distractions may outweigh the cons for some people. But deleting Facebook means permanently cutting ties with friends and memories on the platform.
Conclusion
Hiding your Facebook name from public search only takes a few minutes by updating your privacy settings. This prevents random strangers from locating your profile in searches.
To maximize privacy, also restrict visibility of posts, untag yourself, and limit sharing of contact info when possible. Or consider deleting your account entirely if you want to remove your online presence.
Just weigh the pros and cons first, since deleting Facebook means you’ll lose access to all content and connections on the platform. Hiding your name provides more privacy without fully disconnecting from friends and family.