How to Hide Your Friends List on Facebook (App and Desktop)

Your friends list says a lot about you: who your family are, where you've worked, who your clients are. Scammers know this too, and a visible list makes it easier for someone to clone your profile and message your friends pretending to be you. Hiding it takes a minute, and it's one of the first privacy changes I suggest to anyone who uses Facebook for work.

Hide your Facebook friends list in the app

Menus vary by app version, and Facebook has moved privacy settings around over the years. The route described in guides based on Facebook's help pages is:

1. Tap the menu, then Settings and privacy, then Settings.
2. Under Audience and visibility, tap How people find and contact you.
3. Tap Who can see your friends list?
4. Choose Only me to hide it from everyone, or Friends to hide it from strangers.

Hide the friends list on Facebook from a computer

1. Click your profile picture at the top right, then Settings and privacy, then Settings.
2. Open Privacy, or How people find and contact you, from the left-hand menu.
3. Find Who can see your friends list? and click Edit or the audience next to it.
4. Pick the audience you want and save.

If you can't see these labels, use the search box at the top of the Settings page and type friends list. It's quicker than hunting through menus that change between versions.

Which Facebook friends list audience to choose

Audience	Who can see your list
Public	Anyone, on or off Facebook
Friends	Only people you're friends with
Friends except	All your friends apart from people you pick
Specific friends	Only the friends you pick
Only me	Nobody but you
Custom	A mix of lists and names you choose

Not every option shows on every device. The app sometimes offers a shorter list, so use a computer if you want Friends except or Custom.

What hiding your friends list on Facebook can't hide

This is where people get caught out. Hiding the list stops others browsing your full friends list, but:

• People who visit your profile may still see friends you have in common with them.
• Your friends decide who sees their own friends lists, so if theirs is public, your name can appear there.
• Your public comments and reactions on other people's posts are still visible to whoever can see those posts.
• Tags in public photos or posts can still show who you know.

So hiding the list is a good step, but it isn't invisibility. If you'd like to go further, my guide to locking your Facebook profile from strangers covers the other settings worth changing.

Hiding friends list versus restricting or locking on Facebook

These controls often get mixed up, so here's how they differ:

• Hiding your friends list changes who can browse your connections.
• The Restricted list changes what one specific friend can see of your posts. My guide on restricting someone on Facebook explains it.
• Your post audience controls who sees each post you share.

Your groups are a separate setting again. I've explained how to hide Facebook groups from your profile in another guide, and it's worth doing at the same time.

Why business owners should hide their Facebook friends list

If you work with clients, your friends list can show your whole client base to anyone who looks, including competitors. A visible list also makes you an easier target for cloned profiles, where someone copies your name and photo and sends friend requests to your friends. Hiding the list makes that harder.

I'd also suggest keeping your business presence on a Page rather than your personal profile. That way, people who want to follow your work can do so without needing to see who you know.

Spotting a cloned Facebook profile using your name

Hiding your friends list makes cloning harder, but it's worth knowing the signs in case it's already happened. A cloned profile usually copies your name and profile picture and then sends friend requests to people you know, often followed by messages asking for help or sharing a link.

• Friends tell you they've had a second friend request from you.
• Someone mentions a message from you that you never sent.
• A search for your name shows a profile with your photo that isn't yours.

If that happens, report the fake profile to Facebook using the report option on that profile, and post a short note on your real profile asking friends not to accept requests or reply to messages from the copy. Then tighten your settings, including the friends list, so the next attempt has less to work with.

If your Facebook friends list still shows after hiding it

• Check you saved the change. On a computer, some versions need you to click Done and then close the box.
• Look at your profile from another account, or ask a friend to check, rather than trusting your own view. You'll always see your full list.
• Remember that mutual friends may still show to visitors, which is expected.
• Update the app if the setting looks different from the steps above.

Frequently asked questions

Can I hide my friends list from everyone on Facebook?

Yes. Set Who can see your friends list? to Only me. Visitors may still see mutual friends.

Will my friends know I've hidden my friends list?

Facebook doesn't send a notification. They'd only notice if they tried to view your list.

Can I hide my friends list from one person only?

Yes. On a computer, choose Friends except and pick that person.

Why can people still see mutual friends?

Mutual friends can still show on your profile even when your list is hidden, because those connections also appear on the other person's side.

Should I set my friends list to Friends or Only me?

Friends stops strangers seeing it while letting people you know see who you know. Only me is the tightest option, and the one I'd pick if you're worried about cloned profiles.

Does hiding my friends list hide my followers?

No. Who can see your followers is a separate setting in the same part of your privacy settings. Menus vary by app version.