How to Change Who Can See Your Posts on Facebook (2026)

Most of us have posted something on Facebook and then wished a different crowd could see it. It might be a holiday photo meant for family that landed in front of clients, or a work update shared with friends when it should have gone out to everyone. The good news is that you can change the audience after the fact, one post at a time or for everything at once.

I've pulled together Facebook's own steps for a computer and the Android app, what each audience choice means, and the limits that catch people out.

Changing who can see a single Facebook post from a computer

Facebook's help centre says you can use the audience selector to change who can see things you share on your timeline, such as posts and photos, after you've shared them.

1. Click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook, then click your name to go to your profile.
2. Scroll down to the post you want to edit.
3. Click the audience selector next to the date or time on the post. The icon changes depending on the current audience.
4. Select a new audience from the options, such as Public, Friends or Only me.

Changing who can see a post in the Facebook app on Android

1. Tap Menu in the top left of Facebook, then tap your name.
2. Scroll down to the post you want to edit.
3. Tap Options in the top right of the post and select Edit privacy.
4. Select a new audience, such as Public, Friends or Only me.

I've confirmed the Android wording only. If you use an iPhone, the labels may differ slightly, because menus vary by app version, so look for the Options button on the post.

What each Facebook audience choice means

Facebook's help pages describe the options like this. Yours may not show every one.

Audience	Who sees the post, per Facebook's help centre
Public	Anyone, including people off Facebook
Friends (+ friends of anyone tagged)	Your friends, plus the tagged person and their friends if anyone is tagged
Only me	Just you. It appears in your Feed but not your friends' feeds, and tagging someone doesn't widen it
Custom	Specific people or friend lists you choose to share with or hide from, plus groups or networks you belong to

How tagging widens who can see a Facebook post

This one surprises people. If you post to Friends and tag someone, Facebook says the audience expands to include the tagged person and their friends. If you don't want that, click the audience selector next to the story, select Custom and untick the Friends of those tagged box.

Choosing Only me is different: when you tag someone in a post set to Only me, the audience doesn't expand to include them.

Setting a default audience for future Facebook posts

Changing one post doesn't change the next. Facebook's help pages say a default audience selects the audience for your future posts, and that changing a specific post's audience doesn't affect those future ones. On a computer:

1. Click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook.
2. Select Settings and privacy, then click Settings.
3. Scroll down to Audience and visibility, then click Posts.
4. Click next to Who can see your future posts? and select the audience.
5. Click Done.

If you run a business, it's worth thinking about which default suits you. A default of Friends is gentler for a personal profile, while a default of Public suits someone who wants every update to reach new people. Either way, you can still override it on any single post.

Changing who can see all your past Facebook posts at once

If you've got years of posts to tidy, doing them one by one is painful. Facebook's help centre describes a shortcut called Limit past posts. It changes all your past posts that are visible to more than just your friends, such as posts shared with Public, so that only your friends can see them.

1. Click your profile picture, then Settings and privacy, then Settings.
2. On the left, click Posts.
3. Next to Limit who can see past posts, click Limit past posts.
4. Click Limit past posts again to confirm.

Read the small print before you confirm, because Facebook is clear about the limits:

• It changes the audience of all those past posts to Friends, and it can't be reversed in one click. To go back, you'd change each post individually.
• Posts you shared with a custom audience, such as Friends except acquaintances or Close Friends, aren't changed.
• If you tagged someone, the post's audience still includes the tagged person and people they include.
• It only controls posts you've shared. If you're tagged in someone else's post, they control that audience.

What you can't change about who sees your Facebook posts

Even with the right audience, there are limits Facebook spells out. When you share something on someone else's timeline, that person controls the audience for the post. If you're tagged in a post made by someone else, they decide who sees it, though you can remove the tag.

There's also sharing to think about. Facebook's help pages say that when someone clicks Share below your post, they can't share your photos, videos or status updates with people who weren't in the audience you originally chose. A link is different: when a friend shares a link you posted, they can share it with a wider audience than you chose, although any text you added in your post won't be shared.

Tidying your Facebook posts for creators and small business owners

Think of your audience setting as a doorway. Posts about a launch, a product or an event usually want the widest door. Photos of your family and your weekend usually don't. If your profile mixes the two, a short audit is worthwhile: scroll back through a year or so of posts and move anything personal to Friends or Only me.

Your friends list is the other half of this. If Friends is your default, the people on it decide who sees your private life, so it's worth knowing who you've added. My guide to adding friends on Facebook explains how requests work, and if you'd rather remove a post than restrict it, I've written about finding archived Facebook posts too.

If you can't change who sees a Facebook post

• Check who owns the post. If someone else posted on your timeline, or you posted on theirs, they control the audience.
• Look for the selector in the right place. On a computer it sits next to the date or time. On Android, tap Options on the post and choose Edit privacy.
• Think about tags. A Friends post with a tag also shows to the tagged person's friends until you change it with Custom.
• Update the app. Menus vary by app version, and an old one might label things differently.
• If a post contains something harmful about you, report it to Facebook, and if you're ever in danger, contact the police.

This guide is part of my Facebook Help: 80 Guides to Pages, Groups, Ads, Stories and Fixes.

Frequently asked questions

How do I change who can see a post on Facebook?

Go to the post on your profile, click the audience selector next to the date, or tap Options then Edit privacy in the Android app, and choose a new audience such as Public, Friends or Only me.

Can I change the audience for all my old posts at once?

Yes, with Limit past posts in Settings under Posts. It changes posts visible to more than just friends so only your friends can see them, and it can't be reversed in one click.

Why can more people see my post than I chose?

If you tagged someone, Facebook says a Friends post expands to include the tagged person and their friends. Choose Custom and untick Friends of those tagged to stop that.

How do I set the audience for future posts?

Go to Settings and privacy, Settings, then Posts under Audience and visibility, and choose an audience next to Who can see your future posts?

Can I control who sees posts I'm tagged in?

Not the post itself. Facebook says the person who made it controls the audience, though you can remove the tag.