Social media can be a great way to stay connected with friends and family, but it can also feel invasive at times. One common complaint is that some users don’t want certain posts or photos to be open to comments from just anyone. Fortunately, Facebook provides options to limit commenting to only you on individual posts.
Why Would You Want to Limit Comments?
Here are some common reasons why someone might want to limit comments on a Facebook post to just themselves:
- To maintain privacy – You may want to share an announcement or life update without opening it up to everyone on your friends list to comment on.
- To avoid negativity – If some of your connections tend to leave rude or inappropriate comments, you may want to shut that down by only allowing yourself to comment.
- To stay focused – For posts related to sensitive topics like politics or religion, you may want to stick to your own narrative without outside opinions derailing the conversation.
The bottom line is that commenting is opt-in on Facebook – you get to decide who can participate in the discussion on each post. Setting comments to “Only me” gives you total control.
How to Limit Comments on Desktop
If you primarily access Facebook on a desktop computer, here are simple steps to restrict comments when creating a new post:
- Click the “Create Post” box at the top of your feed and begin writing.
- Click the audience selector (globe icon) below the text box. It will likely be set to “Public” by default.
- Select “Only me” from the dropdown menu. “Only me” means only you can comment on that post.
- Click “Post” to share it on your timeline. Only you will be able to comment on this post.
And that’s it! The post will now be shared only with your selected audience, which in this case is just you. No one else will be able to see or interact with that post.
How to Limit Comments on Mobile
The process works similarly in the Facebook mobile app:
- Tap the status box at the top to create a post.
- Tap the audience selector (people icon) below the text box.
- Choose “Only me” from the list of options.
- Tap “Post” to share the post only with yourself.
This will restrict commenting to only you, the original poster. No other friends or followers will be able to comment.
How to Change the Comment Audience After Posting
What if you share a post then realize you want to limit commenting after the fact? Luckily you can still change the audience settings on posts that are already live on your profile:
- Go to your post and click the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Select “Edit post” from the dropdown menu.
- Click the audience selector and change it to “Only me.”
- Click “Save” to make the change.
This will immediately restrict any new comments to just you. Existing comments will remain, but no one else will be able to add a new comment.
Other Commenting Options
“Only me” is the most restrictive commenting option, but Facebook does provide some additional controls:
- Public – Anyone can comment, even people who aren’t your friends.
- Friends – Your friends on Facebook can comment.
- Friends except… – Your friends can comment, except for specific people you exclude.
- Specific friends – You select individual friends who can comment.
Choose the option that provides the right balance for each situation. The process for changing the audience is the same for all options.
Limiting Comments on Facebook Pages
These same techniques can be used to restrict commenting on posts made on Facebook Pages. Page admins can limit comments to themselves or their other admin team members as needed. The process is the same:
- When writing a post, click the audience selector.
- Choose “Only admins” to limit commenting to page admins only.
- Click “Post” to publish the post.
Page admins can also change the comment audience after publishing just like regular users can.
Avoiding Comment Privacy Issues
When limiting comments to “Only me,” be aware that those comments will still be visible to anyone who has access to your account. For example:
- Friends you are logged in with can see your comments.
- Your posts/comments may sync to linked platforms like Messenger.
- Facebook admins or hackers who access your account can see all activity.
So don’t commented privately on anything you want to keep completely private from everyone. Those comments could potentially be seen by people other than yourself.
Conclusion
The ability to choose your audience and limit commenting on Facebook posts gives you more control over your social media experience. By setting comments to “Only me,” you can shape the narrative and eliminate outside noise on individual posts as needed. Just be conscious that “only me” doesn’t necessarily mean 100% private.