With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook has become one of the most popular social media platforms for connecting with friends, family, and acquaintances. However, having such a public presence online also comes with privacy risks. You may wish to limit who can find and view your Facebook profile for personal or professional reasons. Luckily, Facebook offers several options to make your profile harder to locate.
Use Privacy Settings
The first step to making your Facebook profile difficult to find is adjusting your privacy settings. Facebook’s privacy settings allow you control over who can see your posts, photos, friends list, and more. Here are some specific settings to look at:
- Limit Past Posts: Under “Activity Privacy,” limit old posts from being visible to the public or non-friends.
- Restrict Searchability: Under “How people can find and contact you,” toggle off allowing search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile.
- Limit Audience for New Posts: Under “Default Privacy,” limit your posts to friends only or a custom group instead of public.
- Review Friend Requests: Under “How people can find and contact you,” disable the setting to allow anyone to send you friend requests. This means you can reject unwanted requests.
Adjusting these and other privacy options in your settings makes it harder for non-friends and strangers to access and learn about you through your profile.
Use a Restricted Profile Picture
Your Facebook profile picture is one of the easiest ways for people to find you. Using a photo that only shows a partial view of your face or an object instead can make you harder to identify at a glance. Some ideas include:
- A photo of your eyes or lower half of your face
- The back of your head
- A nature scene or other object
- An avatar or Bitmoji
Having a vague profile picture requires visitors to your profile to look closer at other identifying details to confirm it is you. This adds an extra barrier to strangers locating you.
Limit Shared Personal Details
Be wary of the personal details you choose to share on your Facebook profile. Info like your hometown, employer, school, birthday, relationship status, and family members can aid strangers in finding and identifying you. Consider omitting or restricting access to fields like:
- Hometown
- Places Lived
- Employer
- Schools
- Birthdate
- Relationship Status
- Family Members
You can enter this info but customize the audience allowed to view it. For example, show schools only to friends or hide your birthday completely. Providing less personal context makes connecting you to your profile more challenging.
Avoid Unique Profile Names
Using a unique or identifiable name, nickname, or variations of your real name for your Facebook profile also makes you easier to find. Instead, consider more anonymous profile names like:
- Initials (A.B.)
- First name only
- Vague references (NatureLover123)
- Completely random names
Having a common first name like “Mike” or generic handle gives fewer clues for strangers to locate your specific profile. You want to avoid distinct names that can pinpoint you in searches.
Don’t Link Other Social Accounts
Limit associating your Facebook profile with other social media accounts. Facebook allows linking accounts like Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, Goodreads, and more for easy cross-posting. However, interlinking multiple accounts also provides more personal breadcrumbs for people to follow to find your Facebook profile.
Avoid connecting your accounts when possible. If you do link them, consider tweaking your names and handles across platforms to make tracing connections back to your Facebook harder.
Disable Your Facebook URL
By default, Facebook generates a customized URL web address for your profile using your name, like www.facebook.com/yourname. This URL makes you easy to find in a web search. You can disable your custom Facebook URL in your profile settings so only the generic profile ID shows up.
This small change requires someone to know your specific Facebook ID number to view your profile. Those trying to find you no longer have a web address tied to your name.
Block Facebook from Search Sites
Requesting removal of your Facebook profile from prominent search platforms is another option. This prevents your profile from appearing in results on sites like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others. To do so:
- Fill out the Google removal request form asking to delist links to your Facebook profile.
- You can also submit removal forms directly through Bing and Yahoo as well.
- For DuckDuckGo, click “Remove from DuckDuckGo” on undesirable search results.
Getting delisted makes it less likely your profile will pop up on name searches. However, this isn’t a foolproof method as Facebook may show up intermittently.
Avoid Sharing Your Profile Link Publicly
Be careful where you intentionally share the direct link to your Facebook profile online. Posting it on public forums, in your email signature, on dating profiles, and on other websites provides an easy avenue for strangers to access your profile.
Only share your link privately with people you trust. Avoid leaving a trail of your profile URL across the internet to untrusted eyes.
Use Facebook Anonymously
If you want to use Facebook but remain anonymous, consider creating a fake profile entirely. Some ways to appear anonymous include:
- Using a made up name unassociated with your real identity
- Providing no photo or personal details
- Not adding any friends
- Using a new email address not linked to you
- Browsing Facebook logged out while using privacy software to mask your IP address and location
This allows you to view Facebook content while remaining untraceable. However, interacting anonymously violates Facebook’s policies and your account could get reported or deactivated.
Deactivate Your Account
The most guaranteed way to make your Facebook profile impossible to locate is deactivating your account entirely. You can deactivate temporarily or permanently delete your account:
- Temporary deactivation – Your profile is hidden until you log back in. Content remains intact.
- Permanent deletion – Your profile, posts, photos, messages, and all other data is erased from Facebook after 14 days.
With no profile left to find, this completely removes your visibility on Facebook. Just know it also means losing access to everything you’ve shared on the platform over time.
Use Account Security Features
Enabling Facebook’s account security options provides additional protection against unwanted discovery. Features to consider include:
- Login approvals – Require a code sent to your phone or backup email to login from unrecognized devices.
- Login alerts – Get notifications when your account logs in from new locations.
- Trusted contacts – Facebook notifies chosen friends if you’re unable to access your account.
- Identity verification – Verify your identity by providing government ID to strengthen account security.
Having extra authentication barriers and activity monitoring makes it tougher for others to access your account and profile details without your knowledge.
Conclusion
Balancing privacy and security with social connectivity takes some work on Facebook. Making thoughtful choices about what you share, who you connect with, and your account visibility allows maintaining control over your online identity. Limiting personal details, customizing privacy settings, and using anonymous browsing techniques goes a long way in minimizing your digital footprint.
Finding the right balance takes experimenting with Facebook’s many privacy tools. Being proactive about locking down your profile saves you from unwanted attention while still letting you benefit from social media participation.