Is your phone number public on Facebook?

In the opening paragraph, it’s important to provide a quick answer to the main question being asked. So to directly answer – no, your personal phone number is not public on your Facebook profile by default. Facebook gives users control over what personal information is visible to others. Your phone number is only visible to people if you intentionally add it and make it public on your profile.

Is your phone number visible to anyone by default on Facebook?

When you first create a Facebook account, your phone number is not publicly visible on your profile. Facebook requires a phone number when creating an account, but this is only used for security purposes and is not displayed anywhere. Some key points:

Your phone number is not part of your public profile information by default. It is not visible to other users.

You have to intentionally add your phone number and make it public if you want it displayed on your profile.
Facebook uses your phone number for security purposes – like account verification and two-factor authentication. But it is kept private.
Your profile only shows your name, profile photo, cover photo, and any other info you add and make public.

So in summary, no – your phone number is not automatically public to other Facebook users when you create an account. You have control over your privacy settings.

How can you add your phone number and make it public?

If you do want your phone number visible on your Facebook profile, you can add it and change the privacy settings. Here is how:

Go to your profile page and click “About” info section.

Click on “Contact and Basic Info” option.
Click “Add Phone” and enter your number.
Change privacy setting to “Public” using the dropdown menu.

Click “Save Changes”.

Now your phone number will be displayed on your public profile for anyone to see. You can toggle this back to “Private” anytime.

Can you hide your phone number if it’s public?

If you had added your phone number but want to hide it again, you can easily change the privacy settings back to private:

Go to your “About” section on profile.
Click “Contact and Basic Info”.
Find your phone number and use dropdown menu to change from “Public” to “Private”.

Click “Save Changes”.

This will immediately remove your phone number from your public profile. It will only be visible to you when you are logged into your account.

Does Facebook use your phone number?

Facebook does require and use your phone number when you first create an account, but only for the following security/verification purposes:

Two-factor authentication – Facebook can send a code to your phone via text to verify logins.
Account verification – May text a code to confirm your identity and verify account ownership.
Login alerts – Can text you if unusual activity noticed when you log in.

Password reset – Can text a code to verify identity if resetting password.

So Facebook does use your number for important security reasons. But they still keep it private and not accessible to other users, unless you intentionally make it public.

Can someone find your number if you’ve made it public?

If you’ve added your phone number to your Facebook profile and set it to public, then yes – anyone can see your phone number. Here are some ways they can find and get your number:

Looking at your public profile page.
Searching for your name and viewing your profile.
Checking friends/connections list if they are connected to you.

Viewing public groups or events you are a member of.
Getting your profile link from a mutual friend.

So keep in mind making your number public opens it up for anyone to see. Always use your best judgement when sharing personal info.

Can search engines index your public phone number?

Potentially yes, if your phone number is visible to the public, search engines like Google could index and include it when crawling Facebook:

Your number could appear in Google search results for your name.
It could be discoverable via Google site-specific searches limited to Facebook.

Image search engines like Google Images could extract it from your profile pic.

So for full privacy, it’s best not to make personal info like your phone number public on social media sites.

Can you remove your number from Facebook?

If you want to delete your phone number from Facebook altogether, you can remove it from your account. Here is how:

Go to “Settings & Privacy” menu.
Click “Settings” and go to “Contact Info” section.
Click “Edit” next to phone number.

Select “Remove Phone Number”.
Confirm by clicking “Remove”.

This will disconnect your phone number from your account completely. However, Facebook may require you to add it again for security purposes in the future.

Should you add your phone number on Facebook?

Here are some pros and cons to consider about adding your phone number:

Pros	Cons
Lets friends/family contact you easily	Loss of privacy if made fully public
Convenient for buyer/seller communications	Potential for unwanted calls/texts if misused
Needed for account security features	Risk of revealing personal info like location

So in summary, adding your phone number has some benefits but also privacy risks. Use your best judgement based on your comfort level.

Conclusion

Your phone number is kept private by default when you create a Facebook account. You have full control over your privacy settings if you want to add it and make it public on your profile. Be cautious before revealing personal contact info publicly on social media. But you can utilize Facebook’s security features that rely on your phone number while still keeping it hidden from other users.