What does “Lock your profile” do, and should I use it?
Locking your profile gives people who aren’t your friends a limited view: only friends see the photos and posts on your profile, your full-resolution profile picture and cover photo, your stories, and your new posts and photos. It isn’t offered everywhere — only in certain countries. Where you don’t see the option, the settings below cover most of its changes.
- Photos and posts on the profileEach post’s audience
- Full-size profile picturePublic
- StoriesStory audience
- Name and usernamePublic
- About infoAs you set it, where offered
Unlocked: each part follows its own audience.
FbSpy is independent and not affiliated with Facebook or Meta. We help you with your own account only.
What changes when you lock
What people who aren’t your friends see — unlocked and locked
- Photos and posts on your profileUnlockedEach post’s own audience LockedFriends only
- Full-resolution profile picture and cover photoUnlockedPublic LockedFriends only
- StoriesUnlockedYour story audience LockedFriends only
- New posts and photosUnlockedThe audience you choose for each LockedFriends only
- Past posts shared with PublicUnlockedPublic LockedChanged to Friends
- Profile review and tag reviewUnlockedYour choice LockedTurned on
- About infoUnlockedThe audience you set, where a detail has one LockedOnly a portion visible to everyone
If you can’t lock your profile: set the pieces yourself
- 1Settings and privacy Settings Audience and visibilityChoose who can see your posts and stories. Stories and reels have their own audience, separate from posts.
- 2Settings Posts Limit past postsChanges past Public posts to Friends — the same change Lock profile makes to old posts, except for posts with a custom audience.
- 3Settings Profile and taggingChoose who can see what others post on your profile.
- 4About Options EditChoose who can see profile details such as places you’ve lived or your relationships.
If Lock profile isn’t available to you
Facebook Help lists the settings to use instead:
- Privacy Checkup.
- The audience selector, to choose who you share posts, photos and other information with.
- Basic info, to choose who can see it.
- Your story privacy settings.
- Profile review and tag review.
- Profile picture guard.
- Who can friend and follow you.
- Who Facebook can suggest your profile to based on your email address or phone number.
What locking won’t change
Locking limits what non-friends see on your profile. It doesn’t change everything:
- Your public profile still has 6 parts anyone can see: name, gender, username, user ID, profile picture and cover photo. Lock keeps only the full-resolution picture and cover for friends.
- The limited view is for people you aren’t friends with.
- Posts and comments in public groups stay public.
- Posts other people make on their own profiles keep the audience they choose, even if they tag you. For posts friends add to your profile, your Profile and tagging setting decides.
Lock is 1 switch, but it isn’t a way to make your account invisible.
Lock profile’s changes, and the nearest setting
For most of Lock profile’s changes there’s a setting you can use on its own — useful where Lock isn’t offered, or if you only want part of it:
- Photos and posts on your profile, and new posts: choose the audience of each post, and your default in Settings → Audience and visibility → Posts.
- Old Public posts: Settings → Posts → Limit past posts changes them to Friends in one go.
- Stories: set the story audience separately from posts.
- Tagged posts: timeline review lets you approve or dismiss them before they appear on your profile.
- About info: About → Options → Edit sets the audience of profile details.
These settings aren’t the same as Lock profile; they let you choose one part at a time.
Related: Who can see my profileLimit past postsWhat’s public
When you see Profile locked on someone else
If you see Profile locked on someone’s profile, that person chose to lock it and show a limited view to people they aren’t friends with. It isn’t a fault, and it isn’t something to get around.
Questions
01Does locking hide me from my friends?
No. The limited view is for people you aren’t friends with.
02Why can’t I find Lock profile?
It isn’t available everywhere — only in certain countries. Use the settings listed above instead.
03What happens to my old public posts?
Posts you shared with Public in the past change to Friends.
04Can people still see my profile picture?
Your profile picture is part of your public profile. With Lock on, only friends see it in full resolution.
05What do people see of my About info?
Only a portion of it is visible to everyone.
06Is profile review turned on automatically?
Yes. Locking turns on profile review and tag review.
Continue with your account
- Who can see my Facebook profile and posts?Who sees your profile · audiences one by one
- How do I limit who can see my old Facebook posts?Who sees your profile · old public posts
- What on my Facebook profile is always public?Who sees your profile · what lock leaves public
- Who can send me a friend request?How people find you · requests from non-friends
Sources for this guide
Facts on this page come from the Facebook Help pages listed here, checked on 4 November 2026.