How to Make Your Facebook Pages and Groups Completely Private
By Danielle Fernandez
Facebook is equipped with various security and privacy settings that you can use to make the pages and groups you run completely private. You can, for example, limit participation to a certain age group, prohibit others from posting on your page or set your group's visibility to Secret so that only those invited to join can find it. These same privacy settings are also effective for hiding the pages and groups that you have personally liked from the view of other Facebook users.
Make Page Completely Private
Facebook pages are designed for large groups of like-minded people and are public to all Facebook users, so you won't be able to make them completely private. You can, however, limit the audience so only specific individuals have access. Page privacy controls enable country and age restrictions -- which limit visibility to individuals in specific locations and age groups -- and can also be used to limit others from posting and prohibit the use of profanity and other specific keywords. From the top of your page, click "Edit Page" and select "Edit Settings" to modify the page's privacy settings.
Make Group Completely Private
Groups offer a virtual space for smaller groups of people, with privacy settings that you can't obtain with a page. The Secret setting offers the most limitations of the three privacy options for groups. The other two options are Open, which limits nothing, and Closed, which implements moderate privacy. A Secret Group is visible only to members; new users cannot even view the group in search results and gain access solely byway of an invitation from a current member. To change your group's privacy settings, click the gear icon on the group page and select "Edit Group Settings."
Hide the Pages and Groups You've Liked
You can ensure your liked groups and pages are completely hidden by modifying your personal profile's privacy settings. Click your name at the top of any Facebook page -- while signed into your personal account and not as a group or page admin -- to navigate to your Timeline. Select "About" under your cover photo and scroll to the section you would like to hide. To configure your group visibility, for example, scroll to the Groups section. Click the pencil icon at the top right corner of that section and select "Edit Privacy," and then use the audience selector to limit visibility.
Audience Visibility Settings
A Public audience makes content visible to anyone on the Internet. A "Friends of Friends" audience includes your friends as well as the friends of your friends and is the maximum audience visibility available to Facebook users who are minors. A Friends audience displays content only to your Facebook friends. A post with an Only Me audience is visible only to you -- making it the ideal setting to hide your content completely. A Custom audience can be manually configured to include or prohibit specific Facebook users.
References
- Facebook: How Are Pages Different From Groups? Which One Should I Create?
- Facebook: Where Are the Privacy Controls for My Facebook Page?
- Facebook: How Can I Proactively Moderate Content Posted on My Page?
- Facebook: What Are the Privacy Options for Groups?
- Facebook: How Do I Change the Privacy for a Group I Admin?
- Facebook: Can I Choose Who Can See Pages and Other Things I've Liked?
- Facebook: Can I Choose Who Can See Pages and Other Things I've Liked?
Writer Bio
Based in Tampa, Fla., Danielle Fernandez been writing, editing and illustrating all things technology, lifestyle and education since 1999. Her work has appeared in the Tampa Tribune, Working Mother magazine, and a variety of technical publications, including BICSI's "Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual." Fernandez holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of South Florida.