Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 2 billion monthly active users as of 2022. When signing up for a Facebook account, users are prompted to provide personal information like name, email, gender, and date of birth to create a profile. This raises an important question – is the information on your Facebook profile private?
What privacy settings does Facebook offer?
Facebook does provide users with some options to control the privacy settings on their profile:
- Public profile – anyone can see your info
- Friends only – only people you’re connected with can see info
- Custom settings – customize visibility for info like photos, posts, About section etc.
By default, profiles are set to public. So if you want to restrict access to your info, you need to manually edit the privacy options. This can be done via the “Privacy Settings and Tools” menu in Settings. Here you can limit visibility of posts, profile info, contacts etc. But even with maximum privacy, some basic info like name and profile photo remain public.
What profile info is always public?
Regardless of your privacy settings, the following parts of your Facebook profile are always visible to anyone:
- Profile photo
- Cover photo
- Name
- Gender
- Username and User ID (profile URL)
- Networks
- Age range and hometown
These details are considered “public information” by Facebook. Users cannot restrict access to them even if they limit sharing with the strictest privacy settings. So if you wish to keep this info private, the only option is not adding it to your profile at all.
Can someone see your profile if not friends?
If your profile privacy is set to “Friends Only”, people who are not connected to you as friends will only be able to see your public info listed above. They will not be able to see any posts, photos, check-ins or other personal activity and information.
However, it is possible for non-friends to still access parts of your non-public profile in certain situations:
- If you are in common groups, they may see activity within those groups
- If you interact on public pages or posts, some info may be displayed
- If you allow “Friends of Friends” to see some content
- If your friends tag you in public posts or photos
So while a non-friend cannot directly visit your full profile, some elements may be visible based on mutual connections and public interactions.
Can someone see your profile if blocked?
If you block someone on Facebook, they will not be able to see your profile or any content you post. This includes:
- Your posts, photos, videos, and other updates
- Your list of friends and followers
- Any posts you are tagged in by others
- Groups you have joined
So blocking completely removes their access to all non-public parts of your profile. They will only see the basic public info like profile photo, cover photo and username.
Can deactivated profiles be seen?
If you deactivate your Facebook account, your profile is no longer visible to anyone else on Facebook. It is essentially removed from public view until you reactivate it by logging back in. So a deactivated profile cannot be searched for or viewed.
Can closed/memorialized profiles be seen?
Facebook offers two options if you permanently want to remove a profile from view:
- Closing an account – Removes profile and all information from Facebook. Cannot be retrieved.
- Memorializing an account – Profile converted to a “memorial” state in remembrance of deceased. Content remains visible to confirmed friends.
In both cases, the profile no longer appears publicly. Only confirmed friends can locate and access a memorialized profile. Closed accounts are deleted entirely.
Can you browse Facebook anonymously?
There is no official way to browse Facebook anonymously without an account. However, there are some workarounds:
- Using a private/incognito browsing window to visit the site. This prevents cookies linking the activity to your account.
- Accessing Facebook through anonymization tools like VPNs or Tor to mask your IP address.
- Creating a fake or secondary account just for browsing anonymously.
- Using a friend’s account with permission.
But Facebook actively discourages anonymous use and tries to detect and shut down access without an identifiable account. Any unauthorized or suspicious access may get blocked.
Can someone view your location real-time on Facebook?
Facebook does not have any feature to let other people view your real-time location or whereabouts. However, there are some ways others may be able to see location indicators:
- Location tags you add to your own posts and uploads
- Check-ins to places, which show to friends/public depending on settings
- Uploading live videos with location enabled
- Using Nearby Friends to actively share approximate location
All these require active sharing from your side. There is no passive tracking or visibility of real-time location without your permission.
Can someone download your info from Facebook?
Users cannot directly download or export other people’s information from Facebook. However, there are some ways they can obtain information:
- Downloading info others have shared publicly
- Asking you directly for permission to access and export specific data
- Requesting a copy if they are authorized under legal circumstances
- Using unauthorized means like hacking, which violates Facebook’s policies
So while users can’t directly export your private data, they can potentially obtain it through both legitimate and prohibited means in some cases.
Is it possible to browse Facebook without an account?
There is no official way to use Facebook without an account, but there are some unofficial workarounds:
- Accessing Facebook through a private browser to remain anonymous. This allows limited browsing without logging in.
- Using a friend’s account with their permission. This gives you access but ties activity to their account.
- Creating a fake account just for browsing. Against Facebook’s policies if used deceptively.
- Viewing public pages and profiles not requiring login. But core features will be inaccessible.
- Using specialized tools like Facebook extractors to pull data without an account. Violates ToS.
However, Facebook actively prevents anonymous usage and limits what can be seen or done without an identifiable account. Any unauthorized access may get blocked or banned.
Can I tell who viewed my Facebook profile?
There is no feature on Facebook currently that shows exactly who has viewed your profile. However, there are some indications you can use to guess who may have visited:
- Seeing your profile pop up at the top when looking at mutual friends’ profiles indicates they likely visited recently.
- Apps like “Profile Viewer” claim to track views, but aren’t fully reliable or approved by Facebook.
- Paid ads sometimes show you a list of people who visited, but the accuracy is questionable.
So while you can make educated guesses based on hints, there is no foolproof way to confirm exactly who viewed your profile. Facebook has resisted adding this capability due to privacy concerns.
Can I see someone’s profile without sending a friend request?
If someone has their profile privacy set to “Public”, you can view it fully without sending them a friend request. For profiles set to “Friends Only”, you have a couple options to see info without sending a request:
- Use a mutual friend’s account if they grant permission to view the profile
- Create a fake account to send the friend request from – against Facebook policy
- See limited info through public pages and groups you both belong to
- View only their public info that’s visible without request or connection
But to gain access to posts, photos and other non-public elements you need an accepted friend request. Sending one is the only permitted way to unlock that access without the use of an authorized account.
Can someone hack my Facebook profile?
While extremely difficult, it is technically possible for a hacker to gain unauthorized access to your Facebook profile and account. Some potential attack vectors include:
- Guessing or phishing your login credentials
- Exploiting a vulnerability in Facebook’s systems
- Using malware or spyware to capture passwords or data
- Accessing your account on a compromised or unsecured device
- Intercepting unencrypted data sent to Facebook’s servers
However, Facebook has strong security measures in place to detect suspicious activity and prevent hacking attempts. As long as you use unique passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and remain vigilant against scams, your profile is relatively safe from being hacked.
Can someone steal your identity from Facebook profile?
While very uncommon, it is hypothetically possible for someone to steal your identity using information found on your Facebook profile. This could include:
- Full name and date of birth for identity verification
- Hometown, schools, and employers for account security questions
- Photos and posts with personally identifiable details
- Identifiers like email or phone number associated with profile
With enough personal info, a determined criminal could potentially impersonate you or gain access to other accounts. However, as long as you limit what you share publicly and be wary of scams, the risk is very low of identity theft through Facebook.
Conclusion
In summary, while Facebook profiles may seem public, users do have some control over their privacy settings and visibility of content to others on the platform. Core profile info remains public, but sharing of posts and details can be restricted. There are limits to browsing Facebook anonymously or viewing profiles without connections. And while identity theft is hypothetically possible by piecing together details shared on Facebook profiles, it remains highly unlikely for most users who exercise common sense in how much they openly divulge.