Facebook likes allow you to interact with posts from friends, family, businesses, and other entities you follow on Facebook. When you like a post, you are letting the author of that post know you appreciated or enjoyed their content. Your like is visible to the author and anyone else who can view that post. However, you can control the visibility of your likes so that only you can see them. This gives you more privacy and control over your activity on Facebook. Below are quick answers to common questions about setting your Facebook likes to be visible to only you:
Why make my likes only visible to me?
Making your likes private allows you to interact with posts without sharing that activity broadly. This gives you more control over your privacy. You may wish to like posts related to sensitive topics or by pages you don’t want others knowing you follow. Keeping your likes private prevents that information being visible.
Does setting likes to “Only Me” remove existing likes?
No, setting your likes to be visible to only you does not remove likes you’ve already made public. It only changes the visibility setting going forward on new likes.
Can people see if I’ve liked their posts if my likes are private?
Yes, if you like someone’s post directly, they will still be notified of your like and be able to see it, even if your like visibility is set to “Only Me.” This setting only controls the broader visibility of your likes.
Will page admins be notified if I like their page privately?
No, if your likes are set to private, page admins will not receive notifications when you like their page or posts, even though you can still interact with the content.
Step-by-Step Guide
Here is a step-by-step guide to setting your Facebook likes to be visible to only you:
1. Access your Facebook settings
– On desktop: Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy” then “Settings.”
– On mobile: Tap the three horizontal lines in the bottom right corner, then select “Settings & Privacy” then “Settings.”
2. Select “Privacy”
– On the left sidebar, click “Privacy.”
3. Click “Activity Status”
– Under the “Your Activity” section, click “Activity Status.”
4. Change like visibility to “Only Me”
– Under the “Likes” section, use the dropdown to select “Only Me.”
5. Save your settings
– Click “Back” to return to the Privacy page and scroll down.
– Click “Save Changes” at the bottom to confirm.
Once you’ve saved these settings, all your future likes will only be visible to you. Anyone else who visits your profile or a post you’ve liked will not see that you liked it.
Other Ways to Control Like Visibility
In addition to the global “Only Me” setting for likes, you have a few other options to manage like visibility:
Adjust visibility when liking a post
When liking an individual post, use the dropdown next to the Like button to change who can see your like before interacting.
Create a custom friend list
You can make a list with select friends and choose to show your likes to just that customized list instead of all friends.
Unlike a post
If you want to remove existing likes that are public, you can unlike the post. This will remove your past like from public view.
Delete likes from your activity log
In your activity log, you can delete individual likes or clear them in bulk. This removes the activity from your profile’s view.
The Pros and Cons of Private Likes
There are both advantages and disadvantages to liking content privately instead of publicly:
Pros
- Increased privacy and control over your information
- Ability to like sensitive or controversial posts without notice
- Remove association with pages you don’t want public
- Reduce clutter on your profile from lots of likes
Cons
- Pages and friends won’t get notifications of your engagement
- Reduces your ability to amplify posts through likes
- Makes it harder to find and revisit posts you’ve liked
- Limits social interactions around commonly liked content
Other Facebook Privacy Tips
In addition to controlling your like visibility, here are some other tips for managing your privacy on Facebook:
Adjust default audience for posts
Set your default post audience to friends instead of public to limit who can see your posts. You can still change it manually per post.
Review and limit profile info visibility
Go through each section of your profile and account settings to see what is visible. Edit as needed.
Be cautious about tagging
Tag people sparingly, as tagged posts may be more broadly visible. Avoid tagging locations.
Browse privately with Facebook View As
Use View As to see what your profile looks like to the public or specific people. This lets you identify any potentially sensitive info.
Limit ad targeting
Opt out of targeted ads and analysis for ads to restrict how your data is used.
Clean up old posts and activity
Delete or hide outdated posts, info, and activity that you no longer want public.
Conclusion
Liking Facebook posts is a popular way to engage with content, but it also shares information about you publicly. By setting your likes to be visible to “Only Me,” you can control your privacy and only share what you want about the posts, pages, and profiles you interact with. Restricting the audience for your likes lets you get more value from Facebook while maintaining your comfort level with sharing information. Along with the other privacy tips discussed, it’s a great option to consider as part of an overall social media privacy strategy.