With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. Many people use Facebook to connect with friends and family, share photos and life updates, and join groups and pages related to their interests. However, some users want more privacy and security for their Facebook account.
One way to achieve this is by “locking” your Facebook profile. A locked profile means other Facebook users can’t see certain parts of your profile unless they are your confirmed friends. Locking down your profile is a good way to limit who can see your posts, photos, friends list, and other info.
What does locking your Facebook profile do?
Locking your Facebook profile allows you to set privacy restrictions on certain parts of your profile so they are not visible to other users. Specifically, locking your profile lets you:
- Hide your friends list from non-friends
- Prevent non-friends from viewing your posts
- Block non-friends from seeing your photos and videos
- Stop non-friends from looking up your profile on Facebook search
Your profile remains visible to confirmed friends even when locked. But locking down your profile prevents random Facebook users, acquaintances, coworkers, and anyone else you’re not connected with from accessing parts of your profile.
How to lock your Facebook profile
Locking your Facebook profile only takes a few steps:
- Click the upside down triangle in the top right and go to “Settings”
- Select “Privacy” from the left menu
- Click “Limit Past Posts” under the “Your Activity” section
- Toggle “Limit Old Posts” to “Friends” or “Only Me”
With this setting enabled, only your friends or only you will be able to see posts that are older than the specified date range. You can limit access to posts from the past day, month, year, or All Time.
Other ways to lock down your Facebook profile
In addition to limiting access to your posts, there are other ways to lock down your Facebook profile:
Make your friends list private
By default, anyone can see your friends list on Facebook. To hide it:
- Go to your profile and click “Friends”
- Click the three dots in the top right and select “Edit Privacy”
- Choose “Only Me” or “Friends” for who can see your friends list
Limit profile visibility
You can restrict who can find and view your Facebook profile in searches:
- Go to “Settings” then “Privacy”
- Click “How people find and contact you”
- Edit the “Who can look you up?” setting
Choose “Friends” or “Only Me” to limit profile access.
Review post audience
Double check that new posts are not shared publicly by default:
- Click the audience selector when making a new post
- Choose “Friends” or “Only Me” instead of “Public”
Remove yourself from public search engines
You can opt out of allowing search engines like Google to index your profile:
- Go to “Settings” then “Privacy”
- Click “How people find and contact you”
- Disable “Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?”
Pros of locking your Facebook profile
Here are some of the advantages to locking down your Facebook profile:
- More privacy – Limits the personal info random people can see
- Reduced unwanted contact – Makes it harder for strangers to message or friend request you
- Avoid embarrassment – Previous posts only visible to trusted friends and family
- Improved security – Harder for hackers to access private details about you
- Career protection – Limits what employers/colleagues can find about you
For many people, the privacy benefits outweigh the minor inconvenience of locking down settings.
Cons of locking your Facebook profile
However, there are also some potential drawbacks to be aware of:
- Less openness – Harder for new friends and connections to learn about you
- Less engagement – Public cannot easily share/comment on your posts
- More work – Need to approve each new friend request manually
- Higher maintenance – Must actively update privacy settings as needed
- Less discoverability – Harder for old friends/contacts to find your profile
It requires some extra time and effort to manage a locked profile. You give up some of Facebook’s openness and engagement in favor of increased privacy.
Who should lock their Facebook profile?
Locking down your Facebook profile is most useful for people that want more privacy, security, and selective sharing online. It’s recommended for:
- Celebrities or public figures trying to limit contact from fans/public
- People who post sensitive personal updates for family/close friends only
- Users who have experienced harassment or unwanted contact online
- Professionals who want to protect career reputation
- Anyone concerned with identity theft or hacking
- Individuals going through major life changes like relationships or jobs
Younger users, parents with kids, and those with large extended networks may want to lock profiles. Public figures should always limit public access.
Is it bad to lock your Facebook profile?
For most users, locking your Facebook profile is not a bad idea. The main concern is that it can limit positive connections and engagement on Facebook. But for privacy-conscious users, the benefits generally outweigh the costs.
However, completely blocking all non-friends from seeing your profile can be problematic in some cases:
- Can miss messages from real friends and family not already connected on Facebook
- Prevents old classmates, colleagues, etc from finding you and reconnecting
- Stops new romantic connections from learning about you if trying to date
- Removes the ability to discover contacts through friends of friends
Finding the right balance is key – leave just enough public visibility to allow meaningful new connections when desired.
Should I lock my Facebook profile?
Here are some questions to ask yourself when deciding if you should lock your Facebook profile:
- Have I experienced harassment, bullying, or unwanted contact on Facebook?
- Is there info I only want close friends and family to see?
- Am I concerned about employers/co-workers viewing my profile?
- Do I want to limit who can see my photos, friends, and posts?
- Am I worried about identity theft or hacking?
- Do I post sensitive personal updates related to work, relationships, or my location?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, locking down your profile is likely a smart choice.
How private should you be on Facebook?
Deciding how much to lock down your Facebook profile is a personal decision that depends on your comfort with sharing vs privacy. Here are some guidelines on how private to be:
- Public figure – Lock down all past posts, limit profile visibility, review audiences
- Concerned user – Hide friends list, limit old posts, keep new posts to friends
- Average user – Limit old posts, review post audiences, keep some public visibility
- Active user – Review past posts, check default audiences, keep profile public
- Open user – Share content widely, allow searchability, post publicly
In general, err toward more privacy and sharing only with confirmed friends. But don’t lock down your profile so much that you miss out on connections.
Tips for locking your Facebook profile
To get the most benefit from locking your Facebook profile, keep these tips in mind:
- Gradually tighten privacy over time instead of all at once
- Create friend lists to easily share certain posts with subsets of friends
- Review all security and login settings for your account
- Clean up friends list occasionally by removing inactive connections
- Learn about Facebook privacy settings and update them as needed
- Don’t forget to lock down related accounts like Instagram and Messenger
Conclusion
Locking your Facebook profile allows greater control over privacy and security settings. Limiting the visibility of posts, friends list, profile info, and searchability prevents unwanted contact and access.
While a more private profile means less openness and engagement, for many users the benefits are worth it. Lock down your profile based on comfort level, taking care not to isolate yourself from meaningful connections.
With a few simple settings updates, you can protect your privacy on Facebook without cutting off all social interaction. Lock your profile and still securely connect with the people who matter most.