Facebook’s privacy settings allow you to control who can view your friends list. By default, Facebook sets your friends list to be visible to your friends. However, you can customize this setting to make your friends list viewable only to you. Here’s how to set who can see your friends on Facebook to only you:
Step 1: Access your Facebook Privacy Settings
On Facebook, click on the down arrow in the top right corner and select “Settings”. This will take you to your Facebook Settings page.
On the left side of the page, click on “Privacy”. This will open up your Privacy Settings.
Step 2: Adjust who can see your friends list
Under the “How people can find and contact you” heading, click on “Who can see your friends list”.
This will open a dropdown menu with different options for who can view your friends list:
- Public: Anyone can see your friends list
- Friends: Only your friends can see your friends list (default setting)
- Only Me: Only you can see your friends list
- Custom: You can customize specifically who can see your friends list
To make your friends list viewable only to you, select “Only Me”.
Step 3: Review other related privacy settings
While you’re in your privacy settings, you may want to review a few other related options:
- Who can look you up: Controls who can search for your profile and send you friend requests. Set to “Friends” to maximize privacy.
- Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile: Controls whether your profile can be indexed by external search engines like Google. Set to “No” for more privacy.
- Who can see your future posts: Controls the default audience for anything you post. Set to “Only Me” to maximize privacy.
Step 4: Double check your new privacy settings
Once you’ve adjusted your settings, scroll back up to the “How people can find and contact you” section. It should now say:
- Who can see your friends list: Only Me
This confirms that only you can now view your full friends list. For an extra layer of protection, you can also click on “Limit Past Posts” in this section to limit old posts to only you as well.
Conclusion
Restricting your Facebook friends list to be viewable only by you is a great way to protect your privacy. Follow the steps above to adjust your privacy settings and limit your friends list visibility. Be sure to also review other related settings like who can search for you and who can see your posts. With the right settings in place, you can feel more comfortable controlling who sees your personal information on Facebook.
| Setting | Recommended Value for Privacy |
|---|---|
| Who can see your friends list | Only Me |
| Who can look you up | Friends |
| Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile | No |
| Who can see your future posts | Only Me |
Related Questions
Can I hide my friends list on Facebook completely?
Yes, you can completely hide your friends list on Facebook from your profile. Simply follow the steps above to set “Who can see your friends list” to “Only Me”. This will remove the friends list from your profile and replace it with a message saying you have chosen to hide your friends list.
What’s the difference between “Only Me” and “Custom” for friends list settings?
“Only Me” limits your friends list visibility to just you. “Custom” allows you to get more granular and set specific individuals or groups who can and cannot see your friends list. For maximum privacy, “Only Me” is recommended.
Can I block a specific friend from seeing my friends list?
Yes, if you use the “Custom” friends list setting, you can block specific individuals from seeing your friends list. Click “Custom” and type in the name of the friend you want to block. Make sure the toggle is set to “No” for that friend. They will no longer be able to view your list of friends.
What happens if I post and tag a friend whose profile viewers are limited?
If you post and tag a friend whose profile viewers are limited only to themselves or their friends, that post will only be visible to mutual friends you share. For example, if you tag a friend whose settings limit their profile to “friends only”, only mutual friends will see that post.
Can I see my friends’ friends lists if they have them limited?
No, you will not be able to see the full friends list of any friend who has set their friends visibility to “Only Me” or “Custom” with you excluded. You will only see mutual friends you share in common.
How Facebook’s Friends List Privacy Settings Have Changed
Facebook’s privacy controls around friends lists have changed and evolved over time. Here is a brief history:
- 2005 – Early Facebook had no privacy controls. All friends lists were public by default.
- 2009 – Option introduced to limit friends list visibility to friends only.
- 2011 – “Only Me” setting introduced after privacy complaints.
- 2013 – “Custom” option added to selectively exclude people.
- 2018 – Access disabled for third party apps and search engines.
- 2021 – Friends list visibility disabled on new accounts.
Overall, the trend has been towards giving users more control and limiting default visibility. The increasing sophistication of Facebook’s privacy settings allows users to better protect their information.
How Friend List Visibility Relates to Facebook’s Privacy Controversies
Facebook has faced scrutiny and controversy over its handling of user privacy settings throughout its history. Here is an overview of some relevant incidents and how friend list settings tie in:
- 2007 – Facebook launched Beacon, which publicly shared users’ activity on outside sites without consent. Friend lists exposed who these broadcasts reached.
- 2009 – Facebook changed settings, making items like friend lists public by default. This was reversed after backlash.
- 2010 – Mark Zuckerberg called the trend toward greater privacy “social norm”. Critics argued for the right to control personal information.
- 2013 – Edward Snowden NSA surveillance revelations highlighted risks of mass data collection. Included accessing friend lists to map connections.
- 2018 – Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal showed how friend data could be exploited to influence elections.
Facebook allowed access and visibility into friend connections for years before fully empowering users to limit visibility. Ongoing reforms have given users more say in who can see friend data.
Pros and Cons of Displaying Your Facebook Friends List Publicly
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Lets friends see your connections | – Exposes your connections to strangers |
| – Makes it easier to find mutual friends | – Opens you to more friend requests |
| – Shows how sociable and popular you are | – Shows how much personal data Facebook has on you |
| – Helps friends-of-friends connect | – Loss of control over who can see your info |
There are benefits to displaying your friends list publicly, such as an enhanced social experience. But serious privacy risks exist as well. Evaluate your own tolerance for sharing information vs keeping your activity more private.
How Facebook Uses Friend List Data Internally
Facebook collects an immense amount of data about its users, including information about your friends list and network. Here are some of the known ways Facebook leverages friend data internally:
- To improve ad targeting and analytics based on your connections.
- To identify which accounts are closely connected for security purposes.
- To detect fake accounts which often lack robust friend networks.
- To quantify how well-connected individuals are for credibility ranking.
- To fuel algorithms showing content from friends and friends-of-friends.
While Facebook offers users more control over friend list visibility now, internally the company still aggregates and analyzes this data in a variety of ways to improve their products and services.
Other Social Networks’ Approaches to Friend List Privacy
Every major social network handles friend/follower visibility differently in their privacy settings:
- Twitter: Followers public by default. Can opt out to protect tweets but not hide followers.
- Instagram: Followers public by default. Can’t hide your followers.
- Snapchat: Friends list always private by default.
- TikTok: Followers public by default. Can choose to make private.
- LinkedIn: Connections visible to your connections by default. Can limit further.
Facebook is on the more advanced side in ultimately giving users granular control to hide friends lists entirely. But most platforms still gravitate toward some public visibility by default for engagement.
How Third Party Apps and Sites Can Access Your Friend List
Facebook has tightened up restrictions around third parties accessing friend data. However, some can still obtain it if you authorize them:
- Apps you explicitly sign-in to via Facebook (grant permission).
- Facebook API partners with strict access rules.
- Downloading your Facebook data will include your friend list info.
- Browser extensions/plug-ins you install may request access.
Be thoughtful about granting permission to third party services to access any broader friend data than they need. Their privacy protections may not be as robust.
Conclusion
Your Facebook friends list can reveal a lot about you personally and socially. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to your privacy settings and limit full friends list access only to yourself if you have concerns. Facebook’s robust privacy options give you granular control. But you have to actively set restrictions, as more visibility is favored by default for social engagement. Evaluate your own preferences for balancing privacy vs convenience when configuring your friends list visibility.