Facebook’s relationship status feature allows users to publicly share whether they are single, in a relationship, engaged, married, in a civil union, in a domestic partnership, in an open relationship, widowed, separated, divorced, or “it’s complicated.” But not everyone can view your relationship status. Here’s a quick overview of who can and can’t see your relationship status on Facebook:
- Anyone who is friends with you on Facebook can see your relationship status.
- Friends of friends or the general public cannot see your relationship status unless you change the privacy settings.
- You can customize your privacy settings so only certain friends can see your relationship status.
- Facebook groups and pages cannot access your relationship status unless you specifically grant them permission.
- Facebook apps must request permission to access your relationship status info.
Read on for more details!
Who Can See Your Facebook Relationship Status By Default
When you first set up your Facebook profile, your relationship status is automatically set to “Single” and the visibility is set to “Public.” That means anyone on Facebook can see that you are single.
However, you can customize this in your privacy settings. Here’s an overview of the default settings:
Friends
By default, all of your Facebook friends can view your relationship status, regardless of whether it’s set to single, in a relationship, engaged, married, etc. The exception is if you have specifically blocked certain friends from seeing your relationship status (more on that below).
So if you’re friends with someone on Facebook, they can see your relationship status update.
Friends of Friends/Public
Unlike your posts or photos, your Facebook relationship status is not visible to friends of friends or the general public by default. Only your direct Facebook friends can see it.
However, you can change this in your privacy settings if you want to make your relationship status public.
Facebook Groups
Your Facebook relationship status will not be shown to any Facebook groups you’ve joined unless you specifically grant that group permission to view your relationship status info.
Facebook Pages
Pages you follow on Facebook (ex: companies, brands, celebrities, etc.) also cannot see your relationship status by default. You’d have to purposefully change your settings to let Pages view that info.
Facebook Apps
Relationship status will not be visible to any third-party Facebook apps or games unless you specifically grant them access. You’ll get a notification if any app tries to access your relationship status and have to approve it first.
So in summary, the only people who can see your relationship status by default are your Facebook friends. No one else can view it unless you change your privacy settings.
Customizing Relationship Status Privacy Settings
You can customize exactly who gets to view your relationship status like this:
- Go to your Facebook profile and click the three dots in the top right.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” then choose “Settings.”
- Click “Privacy” in the left sidebar.
- Under the “Your Activity” heading, click “Edit” next to “Relationship Status.”
- Choose your desired privacy setting: Public, Friends Except…, Only Friends…, Specific Friends…, or Only Me.
- Click “Confirm” to save your changes.
Here are more details on those relationship status privacy options:
Public
Setting your relationship status to public means absolutely anyone on or off Facebook can see it.
Friends Except…
You can exclude specific friends from seeing your relationship status. Just enter the names of friends to block.
Only Friends…
Restricts your relationship status to only certain friend lists or groups you create. For example, you could limit it to “Close Friends” only.
Specific Friends…
Lets you hand pick certain friends who can view your relationship status. All other friends will be excluded.
Only Me
Makes your relationship status completely private so no one else on Facebook can see it.
So in summary, you have full control over who can and can’t view your relationship status. By default it’s limited to friends only, but you can expand it to a public audience or restrict it further if desired.
Changing Relationship Status
Whenever you update your relationship status, it will be shown to the audience you selected in your privacy settings.
For example, if you change your status from “Single” to “In a Relationship”, all friends able to view your relationship status will see that update.
The process to change your relationship status is simple:
- Go to your Facebook profile.
- Click on your current relationship status in the intro section.
- Choose a new status from the dropdown menu.
- Click “Update Status” to save changes.
Your updated relationship status will then instantly be visible to the audience you configured in your privacy settings.
Hiding Your Relationship Status Entirely
What if you want to hide your relationship status completely from everyone? You have two options:
Option 1: Set to “Only Me”
This prevents anyone else on Facebook from seeing your relationship status. To do this:
- Go to your Facebook Privacy Settings.
- Click “Edit” next to Relationship Status.
- Change the audience to “Only Me.”
- Click “Confirm.”
Your relationship status will then be completely private.
Option 2: Remove Relationship Status
You can also remove your relationship status from your profile entirely like this:
- Go to your Facebook profile.
- Click on your current relationship status in the intro section.
- Choose “No status” from the dropdown menu.
- Click “Update Status.”
This will delete your relationship status and leave that section blank.
Either of those two options will prevent anyone from seeing your current relationship status.
Limiting Past Status Updates
Changing your relationship status also updates your history and timeline. Anyone allowed to see your current status can also view historical changes.
If you want to limit visibility of past relationship status updates, do this:
- On Facebook, go to your profile and click on your intro box.
- Hover over the relationship status and click the three dots that appear.
- Select “Limit Past Posts.”
- Adjust the privacy settings for previous posts as desired.
- Click “Limit” to apply changes.
This allows you to retroactively apply privacy limits on who can see your past relationship statuses.
Relationship Status Visibility in Search Engines
Facebook relationship statuses will not appear in Google or other search engine results for your name. That information is not publicly accessible.
So you don’t have to worry about search engines indexing your relationship status – it will remain private to Facebook only.
Summary
Here’s a quick recap of who can see your Facebook relationship status:
- By default, your relationship status is visible to friends only.
- You can customize the privacy settings to limit or expand visibility.
- Friends of friends, public, groups, and pages can’t see it unless you allow it.
- You can hide your relationship status completely or remove it.
- Past relationship statuses can also be limited if desired.
- Search engines like Google won’t index relationship statuses.
So in summary, you have full control over your relationship status privacy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions about Facebook relationship status visibility:
Can my partner see if I change my relationship status?
Yes, if you are connected as friends on Facebook, your partner will see relationship status updates in their News Feed.
Can I see someone else’s relationship status who isn’t my friend?
No, you can only see the relationship statuses of people you are directly connected to as friends on Facebook.
Can I prevent specific people from seeing my relationship status?
Yes! Use the “Friends Except…” privacy setting to block certain friends from seeing your relationship status updates.
If I’m in a relationship but set my status to single, will my partner know?
Yes, your partner will see in their own News Feed that you changed your relationship status to single.
Can I retroactively limit who sees previous relationship status changes?
Yes, you can use the “Limit Past Posts” tool to restrict visibility of old relationship status updates even after posting them.
Will my relationship status appear in Google search results?
No, your Facebook relationship status will not be indexed by Google or other search engines – it remains private.
Conclusion
Facebook gives you full control over your relationship status privacy. By default it’s visible to friends only, but you can customize the settings to expand, restrict, or hide it completely. Relationship statuses remain private to Facebook and do not appear in search engine results. Adjust your privacy settings appropriately for the level of visibility you feel comfortable with.