The main goal of this guide is to help you lock your Facebook profile for increased privacy and security. By locking your profile, you can restrict most of your content and activity to friends only, helping to protect your personal information from unwanted eyes.
How to lock your Facebook profile securely
Follow these simple steps to effectively lock your Facebook profile and enhance your privacy settings.
- Go to your Facebook profile. If you are able to lock your profile in your country, proceed to the next step using your Android, iPhone, iPad, or computer.
- If you’re on the mobile app, tap Profile at the bottom of the screen. If you’re using a web browser, click your name at the top-right corner of Facebook.
- Click or tap the three horizontal dots (•••) at the top of your profile.
- Select Lock Profile and confirm. If available, this option will be near the bottom of the menu. Information about locking your profile will expand.
- Once confirmed, your profile content will immediately lock to everyone except your friends.
- You can unlock your Facebook profile at any time by clicking the three dots and selecting Unlock Profile.
If locking isn’t available
- Make your past posts friends-only. If you cannot lock your profile, you can still limit visibility on your previous content:
- Mobile app: Tap the three-line menu, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Posts > Limit who can see past posts. Tap Limit Past Posts, then tap it again to confirm.
- Computer: Click the menu at the top-right, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Posts > Limit Past Posts and confirm twice.
- Make future posts friends-only to ensure your new posts are visible only to your friends:
- Mobile app: Tap the three-line menu, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Posts > Who can see your future posts? and select Friends.
- Computer: Click the menu, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Posts, then select Friends from the menu.
- Hide the visible information on your profile:
- Click or tap About and select Contact and Basic Info.
- Click or tap the pencil icon next to each piece of information and set privacy to Friends or Only me.
- Click or tap Save when you’re finished.
- To make future stories friends-only, adjust the privacy settings during the share process:
- After uploading or recording a story, tap the gear icon or the word Privacy at the bottom, then choose Friends.
- Turn on Profile and Tag Review to control which tagged posts and photos appear on your profile:
- Mobile app: Tap the three-line menu, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Profile and Tagging. Set all options to Friends and turn both “Reviewing” options On.
- Computer: Click the menu at the top-right, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Profile and tagging. Adjust all options to Friends and enable the two “Reviewing” sliders.
- Control who can add you as a friend: Navigate to Settings & Privacy > Settings > How People Find and Contact You > Who can send you friend requests? and select Friends of friends.
- Prevent others from finding your profile by changing visibility settings:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > How people find and contact you.
- Adjust each option to Friends or Only me.
- Toggle off Allow search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile to limit external searches.
Once you’ve secured your Facebook profile, it’s important to periodically review your privacy settings. Regularly check who can send you friend requests and who can see your posts to ensure maximum privacy.
Additionally, consider educating yourself on further privacy measures on social media platforms. Staying informed about updates and new features can help you maintain your online security effectively.
