How to Make Facebook Private in 2024 (Easy Steps)

Understanding Facebook‘s Privacy Controls

Facebook offers users extensive privacy settings to control what information is visible to others. Accessing these controls is the first step to making your Facebook more private.

To access your privacy settings on desktop:

1. Click on the down arrow in the top right of your Facebook window.
2. Select "Settings & Privacy" from the dropdown menu.
3. Click on "Privacy Shortcuts" in the left menu.

On mobile devices, open the menu icon and tap "Settings & Privacy" then "Privacy Shortcuts."

These shortcuts provide an overview of key privacy topics, like who can see your posts and profile info. But for more advanced controls, go to "Settings" then "Privacy."

Adjusting Post Privacy

By default, Facebook sets your posts to be visible by all your friends. To make them more private:

1. From your News Feed, click on a post‘s overflow menu (three dots).
2. Select "Edit Audience"
3. Choose from options like "Public," "Friends except X" or "Only me."

You can also set a default audience so all future posts have a certain visibility. Just go back to your privacy settings.

Additionally, review your post history and limit old posts‘ visibility too using the steps above.

Managing Your Friends List

Facebook allows people to browse your friends by default. To hide it:

1. Go to your profile and click "Friends" below your cover photo.
2. Click the pencil icon to edit the list.
3. Select "Edit Privacy" in the dropdown menu.
4. Choose "Only Me" to hide your list.

This prevents random people from accessing your friends and sending them friend requests.

Controlling Profile Viewability

Even if your posts are private, people can still access parts of your public profile like your bio and profile picture. To limit this:

1. Click on your profile picture or cover photo.
2. Choose "View As" from the dropdown menu.
3. Toggle between public, friends, and only me views.

This lets you preview precisely what people can see. You can then edit sections individually to customize visibility.

Blocking Annoying Friends

Oversharing friends can clutter your feed. Instead of unfriending, you can hide their posts:

1. Click on the dropdown menu from their latest post.
2. Choose "Snooze [Name]" to hide their content for 30 days.

You can fully block particularly bothersome people:

1. Go to their profile.
2. Click on the three dots icon.
3. Select "Block" to prevent them from accessing your profile or tagging you.

This is more severe than unfollowing but less drastic than unfriending.

Limiting Visitor Posts and Tags

Strangers can still comment on public posts or tag you in images. To limit this:

1. Go back to your privacy settings.
2. Click on "Tags" and "Posts."
3. Choose "Friends" for "Who can see posts others tag you in" and "Who can post on your timeline."

This prevents non-friends from spamming your profile.

Securing Your Account

Fortifying login protections prevents account hijacking. Follow these tips:

• Enable two-factor authentication using your phone number or authentication app.
• Create a complex 8+ character password using letters, numbers and symbols.
• Avoid reusing passwords between accounts.
• Review login notifications regularly for unauthorized access attempts.

Staying vigilant preserves control over your private data.

Controlling Personal Data Usage

Facebook utilizes your personal data to improve ad targeting and site recommendations. To limit this:

1. Go back to "Settings" then click "Ads".
2. Choose "Not allowed" for data usage options like app history, website history, etc.

You can also download your Facebook data archive to review exactly what personal information Facebook has collected about you so far.

Adjusting these settings prevents unauthorized data usage or sharing.

Using Privacy Checkup

Facebook‘s privacy checkup tool provides customized step-by-step recommendations:

1. Go back to "Settings" then click "Privacy Checkup" on the left.
2. Follow the prompts to review key account visibility, security, and data permissions.

Think of it like an annual privacy exam for your account health. Run regular checkups to catch any changes.

Monitoring Activity Log

Facebook‘s activity log catalogues every interaction on the platform. To review it:

1. Click the down arrow from the top right.
2. Select “Activity log” from the menu.

Scroll down to see your full history of likes, posts, clicks, locations, logins, removals, and more. You can delete individual items or date ranges. Checking it regularly allows you to maintain control over your digital footprint.

Extra Tips for Mobile

The Facebook app requires additional considerations:

• Review app permissions and limit unnecessary access like contacts or microphone.
• Disable background app refresh and location services for the Facebook app specifically.
• Log out fully after each session or enable automatic log outs after a period of inactivity.

These app-specific tweaks prevent hidden data gathering.

Also enable spam filters and be cautious about random messaging friend requests on mobile. Opening sketchy links on the Facebook app can trigger malicious activity. Report spam or harassment to Facebook promptly.

Key Takeaways

Controlling your privacy on Facebook takes some effort but allows you to securely manage your digital footprint. Follow these core recommendations:

• Adjust post, profile and friend list visibility in your main privacy settings.
• Limit old post visibility, tags from strangers and friend spam/harassment via posts, followers or messages with tools like blocking, snoozing and activity log filtering.
• Secure your account login with strong credentials and two-factor authentication.
• Control personal data usage for ads and delete unnecessary historical information via your activity log and data archive.
• Run regular privacy checkups, especially after Facebook updates its policies.

Paying attention to privacy controls allows you to curate the Facebook experience on your own terms. Now go make your account more private!