What happens when you limit past posts on Facebook?

Facebook allows users to go back and limit the audience for their past posts. This can be done for a variety of reasons, such as privacy concerns, embarassing old posts, or posts that are no longer relevant. When you limit the audience of a post, it essentially “hides” it from being viewed by people outside of the audience you select.

Why would you limit the audience of past posts?

There are a few main reasons why someone might want to limit the audience of their old Facebook posts:

Privacy – You may have posted things in the past that you no longer want certain people to see, like old friends, coworkers, family members, etc. Limiting the audience is a way to retroactively control who can view your post history.

Embarrassing content – We’ve all posted silly or regrettable things when we were younger. You can limit the audience on those old embarrassing posts so they’re not visible to many people.
Irrelevant content – Posts about old relationships, jobs, hobbies, opinions, etc may no longer be relevant. Limiting the audience can hide them from current friends and connections.
Job seeking – Sometimes old posts can jeopardize job interviews or professional opportunities. Limiting the audience of those types of posts can prevent them from being found.

In general, people limit old posts so they can curate what parts of their history are visible to different audiences on Facebook. It allows for greater control over your digital footprint.

How to limit the audience of past posts

Facebook has made it relatively easy to go back through your timeline and limit old posts. Here is a step-by-step guide:

Go to your profile page and click on “Activity Log” in the left sidebar

In the filters at the top, choose “Posts” to show all your old posts in chronological order
Click on any post you want to limit. From here you can click on the audience selector that says “Public”.
Choose a new, smaller audience. For example, you can limit to “Only Me” or to a customized group like “Close Friends”.

Click “Confirm” to save the audience limit.
Repeat for any other posts you want to limit.

It’s a quick and straightforward process to restrict those old posts. You’ll simply see a note that says “Limited Audience” on each post that has been restricted.

What happens when you limit the audience?

When you limit the audience of a post, here is what happens:

The post is hidden from being viewed by anyone not in the new audience you selected.
For you, the post looks normal and you can still see it.

People outside the new audience will not get any notification about the post being limited.
Limited posts do not show up on your Timeline or get shared in other places.
You can undo the audience limit at any time to make the post public again.

Essentially, limiting the audience is like turning back time and posting to a smaller group originally. The post is not deleted – it just becomes invisible to those outside the limited group.

What happens to likes and comments when you limit audience?

When you limit the audience of a post, the likes and comments are also affected in the following ways:

People outside the new audience will no longer be able to see existing likes and comments.

They will also not be able to add any new likes or comments.
Your post will show an updated like and comment count based only on the new audience.
If someone liked or commented on the post who is not in the new audience, their name will no longer appear.

So limiting the audience essentially resets the visibility of all interactions for that post. Only the people who can now see the post will be able to view past and future activity.

Can other people tell if you limited an old post?

When you limit an old Facebook post, it is not obvious to others that the audience has been changed. Here is what other people will see:

For people within the new, limited audience, the post looks completely normal.

For people outside the new audience, the post seems to have disappeared. They simply won’t see it in your timeline anymore.
No one gets notified about the post being limited. It quietly becomes invisible to those outside the new audience.

So limiting a post’s audience is completely anonymous and invisible to other people on Facebook. They will simply not see the post anymore, without realizing it was deliberately hidden from them.

Can limiting old posts impact your Facebook reach?

Limiting the audience of old posts likely has minimal impact on your current reach and engagement on Facebook. Here are some factors to be aware of:

Facebook’s algorithm cares most about recent activity – old posts have little weight.
Your current followers will not notice posts being limited.

Limited posts still count towards lifetime post totals used in metrics.
You can still share your new posts normally.

In most cases, limiting old posts will not be detrimental to your Facebook presence. The only exception could be if you are limiting a very viral, popular post that is still driving traffic and engagement. Otherwise, cleaning up your old posts is unlikely to hurt your stats.

Should you limit audience for embarrassing or problematic posts?

If you have embarrassing, controversial or problematic old posts on Facebook, limiting the audience can be a smart strategy. Here are some benefits of hiding these types of posts:

Prevent current friends or colleagues from seeing undesirable content.
Avoid future issues if the post resurfaces and is taken out of context.

Maintain your personal brand and reputation.
Portray your chosen personality and values accurately.

Limiting embarrassing content will not delete it entirely – but can minimize who has access to it. This “out of sight, out of mind” approach helps give you control over your digital footprint.

Example embarrassing post scenarios

Here are some examples of embarrassing or problematic posts you may want to limit the audience for:

Photos from a time you experimented with questionable fashion/hair/lifestyle choices
Old opinions, jokes or language you no longer find appropriate

Photos with an old partner you don’t necessarily want a new partner to find
Venting about a frustrating job from which you have now moved on
Politically charged statements that no longer reflect your views

Photos where you are drinking if you now work somewhere with formal conduct standards

Should you proactively limit audience of future posts?

Rather than limiting audiences for your posts retroactively, you can also be proactive. Here are some benefits of consciously limiting future post audiences:

Prevent issues and embarrassing posts in the first place.

Maintain privacy around family photos or activities.
Keep personal or confidential information protected.
Build your presence more strategically.

Based on your goals for Facebook, you may want to utilize privacy settings or be more selective in who can see different categories of your posts right from the start.

Ways to proactively limit post audiences

Here are some ways you can be proactive in limiting the audience for your Facebook posts:

Use post privacy settings to go outside your default audience.

Create friend lists with specific groups to target (close friends, family, coworkers etc).
Check your audience after posting and adjust if needed.
Periodically review and limit audience of older posts.

Combining privacy settings, targeted friend lists, and post-by-post adjustments gives you granular control over who sees what. This prevents having to clean up posts after the fact.

Should businesses limit the audience of their old posts?

For businesses using Facebook Pages, limiting old posts may also be a smart strategy. Here are some potential reasons a business may want to limit old post audiences:

Hide posts referencing discontinued products or services.

Address comments by unhappy customers that have since been resolved.
Remove event posts from years past that are outdated.
Take down job postings that are no longer relevant.

Address controversial PR situations that have blown over.

Pages have less ability to fully delete or remove old posts. So limiting audience access is the next best option for removing outdated business content.

How businesses can limit audiences for Page posts

Page administrators can use these steps to limit the audience of old posts:

Go to your Page and click “Settings”
Click on “Templates and Tabs” in the left menu
Choose “Posts” to view your feed chronologically

Open the menu for any post and select “Limit Old Post”
Choose the new audience (Public, Friends, Only Me)
Click “Confirm” to save the audience limit

This will prevent the general public from seeing the post while keeping it intact for your connections. Use this to clean up your Page’s outdated content.

Can limiting old posts impact your business marketing?

As with personal accounts, limiting old posts likely has minimal effect on your Facebook marketing and visibility. However, a few factors for Pages to consider:

Hiding very popular posts with high engagement could lower reach.

Be cautious limiting recent posts that still have marketing value.
Focus on posts more than a few months old for best practices.
Evaluate limiting posts against marketing/engagement goals.

In most cases, cleaning up sporadic outdated posts will not disrupt your Facebook marketing strategy. Just use common sense based on the performance of posts you want to limit.

Conclusion

Limiting the audience of old Facebook posts can help regain control over your digital footprint. For both personal profiles and business Pages, it is a useful tool for curating what parts of your history are visible moving forward. In most cases, retroactively limiting post visibility has minimal side effects on your overall Facebook presence.

Be thoughtful and strategic regarding which posts could benefit from limited exposure due to privacy, irrelevance or embarrassment. Finding the right balance allows you to enjoy the positive benefits of interacting on Facebook, without anxiety over what may come back to haunt you!