How do I make a group message private on Facebook?

Facebook group messaging allows users to communicate with multiple people at once in a private digital space. While group chats are private by default, there may be times when you want to increase the privacy of a conversation. Making a Facebook group chat private prevents anyone who is not part of the group from seeing the conversation.

There are a few simple steps to make a group chat private on Facebook’s website and mobile app. Doing so ensures that only the members you intentionally added to the conversation can view and participate. Making a group message private is a great way to discuss sensitive topics or have conversations you only want a select group of people to be part of.

Prerequisites for making a group message private

Before making a Facebook group message private, ensure the following:

• You created the group message
• You are currently a member of the group message
• The group message already has at least one other participant besides yourself

If you meet these requirements, you can make your Facebook group message private. The steps are slightly different on mobile and desktop, so choose the instructions below for the platform you are using.

Making a group message private on desktop

Follow these steps to make a group message private on Facebook’s desktop website:

1. Open Facebook and go to the group conversation you want to make private. Make sure you are on the Messages page.
2. In the upper right of the chat window, click the People icon (outline of two heads and shoulders).
3. In the drop-down menu that appears, click on the lock icon next to Privacy.

The lock icon will turn from grey to blue, indicating the group message is now private. Only you and the participants you added can view the conversation moving forward.

Things to note

• If you are the creator of the group message, you can add new people at any time, even after making the chat private.
• Other members cannot add participants once the chat is set to private.
• If someone already in the message removes themselves, they will not be able to view the conversation anymore.

Making a Facebook group message private on mobile

Here are the steps to make a group chat private using Facebook’s mobile app:

1. Open the Facebook app and go to the group conversation.
2. Tap the group name at the top of the chat to open the conversation details.
3. Tap Audience below the group name.
4. Tap the toggle next to Private Conversation to enable it.

The toggle will turn green when activated, indicating the chat is now private. As with the desktop instructions, only existing members will see messages moving forward.

Things to note

• You must be the creator of the mobile group chat to make it private. Other members do not have the ability.
• Anyone you remove from the chat will no longer be able to view it.
• You can add new members after making the conversation private.

Who can access a private group chat?

When you make a Facebook group message private, access is restricted to only people you intentionally added to the conversation. Here is an overview of who can and cannot view a private group chat:

Can access a private group chat

• The creator of the group message
• Anyone added by the creator before making the chat private
• Anyone added by the creator after making the chat private

Cannot access a private group chat

• Facebook friends who were not added to the specific group message
• Anyone removed by the creator of the group message
• Anyone who voluntarily left the group message
• Hackers or anyone else without authorized access

So in summary, the only people who can view a private group chat are intended members added on Facebook Messenger by the admin who started the conversation.

If someone is removed from a private group chat

If the creator of a private Facebook group message removes someone from the conversation, that person loses access right away. They will no longer be able to view new messages in the group chat.

Similarly, if a participant voluntarily exits a private group message, they will automatically lose the ability to continue seeing the conversation.

In either case, the person removed from the private chat will not get any type of notification that they have lost access. The group message will simply disappear from their list of conversations on Facebook Messenger.

Things to note

• A person removed from a private chat cannot rejoin on their own. Only the admin can add them back.
• If a new admin is assigned, they take on full rights to remove people and make additions.
• A private conversation remains private even if the original creator leaves.

So in short, leaving or getting removed from a private group chat means losing all access permanently unless the admin explicitly adds you back into the conversation.

Changing a private chat back to public

For various reasons, group chat creators may want to revert a private Facebook conversation back to being public. Here is how to make a private group chat public again:

On Facebook desktop

1. Go to the private group chat and click on the People icon in the top right corner.
2. Click the Privacy lock icon again, which will now be blue.

This will make the chat public once more. Anyone you were friends with on Facebook can now see the conversation again.

On the Facebook mobile app

1. Open the private group chat and tap on the group name.
2. Tap Audience below the group name.
3. Turn off the Private Conversation toggle.

This similarly makes the chat public again. All Facebook friends can access and join the conversation moving forward.

Things to note

• Only the admin can revert a private chat back to being public.
• All previous messages in the chat remain visible after making public.
• You may want to notify participants before making a private chat public again.

So in summary, the process to make a private chat public again is quite straightforward. The admin simply needs to adjust the privacy settings for the group conversation.

Conclusion

Making Facebook group chats private is easy and can be done in just a few steps. Doing so helps have more intimate conversations with fewer people. Follow the guide above to change group message privacy settings on both desktop and mobile.

Here are some key takeaways:

• Only conversation creators can make group messages private or public again
• Private chats keep conversations contained to only intended members
• People removed lose access instantly with no notifications
• The chat creator has full control over adding new members
• Toggling the privacy setting is the only way to change access

Knowing how to convert group messages to private on Facebook is useful for limiting messaging to certain circles. Just be sure those you exclude are not expecting access to the conversation before restricting visibility.