Open Settings & privacy → Settings
On mobile tap the menu then the gear; on the web it’s under your profile photo.
Skip to content
Illustration — your profile, seen by each audience. Not the real app.
Visibility
Who can see my Facebook profile and posts?
Only the audience you choose. Facebook lets you set a separate audience for your profile details, each individual post and all future posts — and preview the result with <b>View as</b>.
Preview by audience
Jordan Miller
This is you — viewing as Public
| Detail | For this audience |
|---|---|
| Profile & cover photo | VisibleHidden |
| Name and username | VisibleHidden |
| Current city — “Austin, TX” | VisibleHidden |
| Workplace — “Northside Clinic” | VisibleHidden |
| Friends list | VisibleHidden |
| Email and phone | VisibleHidden |
| Posts from 2019–2021 | VisibleHidden |
How to do it
Go to Audience and visibility → Posts
Set “Who can see your future posts” — this becomes the default for new posts.
Use Profile → View as
See your profile the way the public, or a specific person, sees it, then hide anything you don’t want shared.
Limit past posts
One setting changes old Public posts to Friends — run it after you change the default.
What each option means
| Detail | Public | Friends | Only me |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your posts & photos | Public | Friends | Only me |
| Friends list | Public | Friends | Only me |
| Who can look you up by email | Everyone | Friends of friends | Friends |
Worth knowing
Setting a post to <b>Only me</b> hides it from everyone else, but anyone already allowed to see it may have saved or screenshotted it. Changing an audience never un-shares what’s already out.
Questions
Can I change the audience of one old post?
Yes — open the post, tap the audience selector next to the date and pick a new one. It only affects that post.
Does View as show my friends what they see?
View as previews the public view and specific people; it’s a preview only and doesn’t change anything.
Sources
How to see the public view of your profile (View as)facebook.com/help
Choose who can see your previous postsfacebook.com/help
Public information on Facebookfacebook.com/help
Facts are checked against these Facebook Help pages. Items marked “not yet verified” are confirmed before this guide is published.