You probably have some photos on Facebook that you wouldn’t want everyone to see. For example, maybe you just got a new job and don’t want your current boss seeing those party pics from last summer.
Or perhaps you have friends from high school who you want to keep things casual with so they won’t be creeped out the next time you run into each other at the grocery store (admittedly, these are both pretty weird examples). Whatever your reasons for wanting to keep certain photos private on Facebook, there are ways to do it. Read on for details and tips on how to make your photos private on Facebook.
Lock Down Your Photo Albums
Facebook allows you to create different photo albums for each occasion or friend group. This way, you can share some photos with one group of people and other photos with a different group of people. You can also lock down an album so that only you can add photos to it. This is useful if you have a few special photos that you want to keep private but don’t want to delete them from your account entirely.
To create a photo album, go to your Facebook profile and click “Photos.” Click the “Create a New Album” button and then select the photos you want to include in the album. You can also choose to add your current photo album to the new album if you want to add photos from one album to another. To lock down an album, click “Albums” and then select the photo album you want to keep private. Select the “Edit Privacy” button, choose “Only Me” from the drop-down menu, and click “Save Changes.”
Set Your Photos to Only Be Seen by Friends
Some people want to share their photos with friends but don’t want the whole world to see them. You can set this privacy setting on individual photos so that your friends see them but the rest of the Facebook world doesn’t. To set up this type of privacy setting on a photo, go to your profile and click “Photos.” Select the photo you want to make private and click the “Edit Privacy” button. Choose “Friends” from the “Who can see this?” drop-down menu and click “Save Changes.”
Hide Individual Photos
If you don’t want certain photos on your profile at all, you can make them hidden photos. Hidden photos won’t show up on your profile but will still show up in regular searches. To make a photo hidden, go to your profile and click “Photos.” Select the photo you want to make hidden and click the “Edit Privacy” button. Choose “Only Friends” from the “Who can see this?” drop-down menu and click “Save Changes.”
Mention Who Can See Your Photos in the Description
Some people like to make their photos private but also want to be able to see the photos when they click through to the person’s page. To make this happen, you can mention the people who should be able to see the photo in the description for the photo. To add the description, select the photo and click the “Edit Privacy” button. Enter the names of the people who should be able to see the photo in the description and click “Save Changes.”
Use Facebook’s Privacy Tool
If you’re still not satisfied with the privacy settings on your photos, you can use Facebook’s Privacy Checkup tool to make sure all of your photos are set to the right privacy level. To do this, go to your Facebook profile and click the “Privacy Checkup” button in the “Tools” section. Click “Next” a few times and then select the photos you want to inspect. Click the “Edit Privacy” button to make sure each photo is set to the right privacy level.
It’s important to keep in mind that even if you make your photos private, you may still show up in the photos of your friends who are sharing them. If you really want to stay out of every photo on Facebook, you can delete your account entirely. This isn’t an option for everyone, but if you’re sick of seeing yourself on the platform, it’s one way to get out of the photos that other people are sharing.
