This often-overlooked privacy setting on your Facebook profile can protect your identity & boost your security online
For social truyền thông media users with privacy concerns, sites like Facebook have a dark side. Your Facebook profile can reveal a lot of information about you, especially if you have lax privacy settings. That includes a few things you may have never thought twice about, like who can see your Friends list. While allowing others to lớn see this menu can pose problems on a personal level, it can also put you at risk for everything from harassment to lớn identity theft. So if you’re looking for tech tips khổng lồ beef up your online security, learning how khổng lồ hide friends on Facebook is a good place to start.
Bạn đang xem: How to make your friends list private on facebook
“Facebook used to lớn be great for finding friends và relatives we had lost cảm ứng with, but with the rise in online harassment, cybercrime and identity theft, it’s no longer always wise lớn keep profiles publicly available,” says Veronika Vebere, head of Demand Generation for Sendible, a social media branding agency.
Below, we’ll give you the lowdown on how to lớn hide a Friends menu on Facebook và take control of what you nói qua online—and why you should. When you’re up lớn speed, learn more about Facebook’s other privacy features, including how khổng lồ use Facebook’s secret conversations and how to lớn tell if someone blocked you, as well as how to see who views your Facebook profile and your Instagram profile too.
What does it mean lớn hide your Friends danh mục on Facebook?
With Facebook’s default privacy settings, the Friends section of your profile is public. This means that anyone can view your Friends list, from your closest friends và family members khổng lồ strangers on the internet. Fortunately, Facebook users can adjust this setting khổng lồ limit who can see the people they are connected with. By knowing how lớn hide friends on Facebook, you can restrict who sees this danh mục to your Facebook friends, certain friends or only yourself.
Keep in mind that you can only control your own Friends menu settings. If your friends keep their Friends section public, anyone can see that you are connected with them. This could lead to lớn online harassment & stalking, according lớn experts. “People may not remember your full name,” Vebere says, “but they could remember who you used lớn hang out with and try khổng lồ find you through their Friends lists.”
Jealous exes or other bad actors also might try lớn track down your tài khoản through a connection’s public Friends các mục on Facebook. From there, they could send you threatening or bullying messages. Plus, by using clues from your profile lượt thích photos or location tags, they might learn where you’ve been, stalk you or target you with a doxxing attack.
The solution? Try lớn limit your connections khổng lồ people you trust to lớn keep their Facebook Friends menu private, Vebere says. Alternatively, you might also want to lớn private your Facebook profile to lớn protect your privacy.
Why would someone want to hide their Friends list on Facebook?
There are many benefits lớn learning how lớn hide friends on Facebook. Lượt thích the restrict on Instagram feature, this setting can protect your privacy, prevent your information from falling into the wrong hands và avoid leaving your loved ones vulnerable to lớn Facebook scams.
“Any information containing a person’s full name, especially when accompanied by posts that include location tags & visual images, pose an increased risk,” Vebere says. “Bad actors don’t need much more than your full name
For example, cybercriminals can use your full name and profile photo lớn create a nhái Facebook account impersonating you. If your Facebook Friends danh sách is public, they could send messages to lớn your connections, pretending lớn be you & asking them for money, sensitive information or other favors. Since the phony trương mục uses real photos, criminals can fool your friends and family into thinking they are actually speaking lớn you.
FYI, other bad Facebook habits, such as taking Facebook quizzes và linking your phone number to your profile, could also put your information at risk.
How can I hide my Friends menu on Facebook?
To learn how to lớn hide friends on Facebook on your computer or smartphone, follow these steps:
On a desktop
Step 1: Log in to your Facebook account, và click your profile picture in the vị trí cao nhất right-hand corner of your screen.
Step 2: Select “Settings & privacy,” then click on “Settings.”
Step 4: Find the setting “Who can see your Friends list?” under “How people find and contact you.”
Step 5: Click “Edit” on the right.
Step 6: In the dropdown menu, select the group of people you would lượt thích to be able khổng lồ view your Friends list: Friends, Specific Friends, Friends Except, Only Me or Custom.
Step 5: Tap “Who can see your Friends list?”
Step 6: Select who you would like to be able khổng lồ view your Friends list.
Xem thêm: Facebook App Là Gì Trên Facebook Apps Là Gì? Facebook App Id Là Gì
Keep in mind that these steps may be slightly different on older-model phones.
What does it mean if I can’t see someone’s friends on Facebook?
If you are friends with a Facebook user và can’t see their other friends on Facebook, they might have customized their profile to remove your access to lớn their Friends list. Not seeing someone else’s friends on Facebook doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve unfollowed or blocked you, though. More than likely, they changed their Facebook privacy settings to prevent users they are not connected khổng lồ from viewing their Friends list. Next, learn how to change your name on Facebook.
Social media platforms encourage everyone to share their lives online, but some sharing can be risky. One common scam involves scammers looking at your Facebook friends list and attempting khổng lồ create a cloned Facebook account. They then message your friends, pretending to be you, and ask them to send money. Khổng lồ safeguard your privacy, consider making specific parts of your Facebook profile private. If you’re also interested in making your entire profile private, we have a separate article available. In this guide, we’ll focus on showing how to hide your friends danh sách on Facebook.QUICK ANSWER
To hide your Facebook friends list, go lớn your profile, then navigate khổng lồ Settings và Privacy > Settings. Select How people can find and contact you, then find the section Who can see your friends list? in the left pane. Adjust the settings from Public khổng lồ Only me.
JUMP to KEY SECTIONS
How to lớn hide your Facebook friends danh sách (desktop)
For desktop users, follow these steps:
Go to your profile –> Settings và privacy –> Settings This is where you can control privacy settings for photos, posts, & more, including your friends list.
Scroll down lớn the How people can find and liên hệ you section, look for the option labeled Who can see your friends list?
Click the drop-down menu to access friends các mục privacy settings. To lớn hide your danh sách from everyone, choose Only me.
If you wish khổng lồ be more specific about who can view your friends list, you have the choices of Friends, Specific friends, Friends except…, Custom or Close friends. Just note that if you go with Public, your friends các mục becomes visible lớn all users.
How khổng lồ hide your Facebook friends danh sách (mobile)
Start by tapping the thực đơn icon at the bottom (represented by three horizontal lines).Scroll down and tap Settings và Privacy, then select Settings.In the Audience & Visibility section, select How People Find and contact You.Next, tap the blue box next lớn Who can see your friends list?.Now, choose your desired privacy cấp độ for your friends các mục (select Only me if you want khổng lồ hide it from everyone).
How to kiểm tra what your profile looks lượt thích to others
Go lớn your profile and click the three dots (…) icon.Click View as in the menu.
Now, Facebook will show you what your profile looks lượt thích to someone who doesn’t meet your privacy settings. If the friends các mục is now gone, it has worked.
Bear in mind that this setting is not foolproof. For example, if you nội dung something & tag a friend, it will appear on their timeline along with your name. So, any determined person can make connections between you và other people by searching for you on Facebook & browsing other people’s timelines. However, this is significantly more challenging và time-consuming than simply looking at your friends các mục on your own page.
There is no direct way to tell if someone has hidden their friends các mục from you on Facebook, but there are some signs to look for: if you used khổng lồ see their friends danh sách but can’t anymore, if you can’t find their friends when searching, or if a mutual friend can see the menu while you can’t, they likely have hidden it.
How to keep my Facebook profile hidden from other people's suggested friends menu after adding my phone number?
If you don’t want your Facebook profile to appear in the suggested friends lists of others after they’ve added your phone number lớn their contacts, click on your profile picture > Settings & Privacy > Settings. Select How people can find and liên hệ you, & adjust the settings in the Who can Facebook suggest your profile to section.
