There are a few reasons why some Facebook stories may show comments while others do not. The main factors that determine whether comments will be shown include the privacy settings of the post, the relationship between the viewer and poster, and the age/virality of the post.
Post Privacy Settings
The privacy settings chosen by the original poster of the Facebook story have a big impact on who can see and interact with the post. There are a few common privacy options:
- Public – Anyone on or off Facebook can see the post and comment on it
- Friends – Only the poster’s friends on Facebook can see the post and comment
- Friends except… – Friends except those specifically excluded can see and comment
- Specific friends – Only certain friends selected by the poster can see and comment
- Only me – Only the original poster can see the post
Posts set to “Public” will display comments to everyone. Posts set to “Friends” or “Specific friends” will only show comments to those included friends. And posts set to “Only me” will not show comments to anyone else.
Viewer’s Relationship to Poster
In addition to the privacy setting, the relationship between the viewer looking at the story and the original poster also matters. For example, let’s say the post is set to “Friends” privacy:
- Friends of the poster will see the story and all comments on it
- Non-friends will not see the story at all
And if the post is set to “Public,” then:
- Anyone can see the story
- But only friends of the poster can see all comments on the story
- Non-friends may see a subset of recent or popular comments
So your connection to the person who posted the story dictates the level of comments you can view.
Age and Virality of Post
The age and virality of a Facebook post also affect which comments are shown. For very popular posts that receive a lot of engagement, Facebook’s algorithms will select a subset of comments to showcase rather than displaying all comments:
- Recently posted comments are more likely to be shown
- “Popular” comments that receive a lot of likes and replies may also be displayed
- A certain number of top-level comments are shown, but not all replies
This curation of comments happens so that people aren’t overwhelmed by viewing hundreds or thousands of comments on viral posts. For newer posts or those with low engagement, it’s more likely that all comments will be shown chronologically.
Comment Previews
In some cases, you may see a preview of the comments on a post even if you can’t view the full thread. For example:
- The post itself may show “X Comments” or a preview of one comment
- Shared stories may display a preview of comments from the original post
- The comments section in News Feed may show a preview of comments on posts you otherwise couldn’t view
These previews give some insight into the discussion without allowing access to read or engage with the full comment thread.
Ways Comments Can Be Hidden
In summary, here are some reasons why comments on a Facebook post may be hidden from certain viewers or restricted altogether:
- Post privacy is set to “Friends” or “Specific friends” only
- You are not friends with the original poster
- Comments are disabled on the post
- The post is very old or has a high volume of engagement
- Comments have been filtered or limited by Facebook’s algorithms
- Commenters have been blocked by the page owner or original poster
- The post was shared from another user or page that you don’t have access to
The privacy and visibility of comments depends on multiple factors, so you may not always be able to view the full discussion on a Facebook story.
How to See More Comments on a Post
If you want to have access to more comments on a Facebook post, here are some things you can try:
- Add or confirm your friendship with the original poster
- Ask the poster to adjust the audience to Public or Friends/Public
- Interact with the post by reacting, commenting, sharing, etc to boost the post’s visibility in your feed
- Refresh the post after some time has passed to load new comments
- Visit the original poster’s profile and scroll back to find the post there
- Use Facebook’s filters to view Most Relevant or Most Recent comments
However, if visibility is limited due to the poster’s privacy settings or your relationship to them, there is no way to access more restricted comments on that post.
Conclusion
In summary, Facebook comment visibility is controlled by a few key factors:
- Privacy settings chosen by the original poster
- Your relationship and connection to the poster
- The age and engagement level of the post
- Comment curation algorithms on viral posts
- Restrictions set by page owners and original posters
Due to these factors, some Facebook stories will show preview comments, partial comments, or no comments at all based on who is viewing the post. The best way to see more is to strengthen direct connections with posters and interact more with the posts you want to view. But in some cases, full comment access is not possible if you are outside the intended visibility set by the poster.