Social networking sites have revolutionized how people share moments, views, and achievements with others. For example, Facebook is one of the most popular digital environments where personal and professional lives almost converge. However, this presents a concern with regard to who can see your Facebook profile. To assist users with this concern in a better way, Facebook presents users with a facility known as profile locking.
The feature of locking a Facebook account will help users who wish to be connected with friends while maintaining privacy. In this guide, you will learn why this feature is important, how it works, and how to safely use this feature.
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What Makes the Facebook Profile A Beneficial Feature?
Locking your Facebook profile allows you to get greater control over your personal information. Instead of manually adjusting multiple posts or device settings, this feature applies a group of restrictions to access your profile simultaneously. Some of the main benefits of a Facebook profile include:
- Stronger privacy control
- Limits the access of your post to non-friends
- Reduces the risk of misuse of your data
What Happens When You Lock Your Facebook Profile?
When you lock your profile, Facebook also adjusts a number of other settings in one go. The social media platform does this automatically, and all these settings change immediately. After locking your Facebook profile, there are a number of things that may change for you:
- Past and future posts visible to friends only
- Profile pictures and cover photographs are shown in a specific size to non-friends
- Stories can be viewed by friends only
- Some information under the ‘About’ section may not be revealed to the public
In addition to this restriction, the remaining actions of liking, commenting, and sharing of content remain the same for your friends. The only change is that other users not on your friend list can still have a limited view of your profile.
How To Lock a Facebook Profile on Mobile Devices?
Let’s look at the complete process to lock your Facebook Profile for both Android and iOS devices. If you have an Android device, you can lock your Facebook profile by following these five steps:
- Open the Facebook App.
- Tap on your profile picture, which usually appears on the left-hand side of the screen.
- Tap on the three dots Menu icon (on the right hand side). Here you’ll see a ‘Lock profile option, click on it to enable the feature.
- Select ‘Lock your profile’. A pop-up will appear showing the features of Profile locking.
- Tap on ‘Ok’ to complete the process.
Locking your Facebook profile on iOS devices also follows a similar process. These steps are as follows:
- Open Facebook and tap the three-line menu (bottom-right).
- Tap your name to view your profile.
- Tap on the three-dot menu, then select ‘Lock Profile’.
- Confirm by tapping ‘Lock Your Profile’.
How To Lock Your Facebook Profile on Desktop?
If you prefer web browsing, you can lock your Facebook profile from desktop websites as well. The following are a few simple steps in which you can lock your Facebook profile from your laptop or desktop:
- Open your browser, visit www.facebook.com and log in to your Facebook account.
- Click on your profile picture at the top right-hand side of the webpage.
- Now you’ll be redirected to your Facebook profile. Here, you’ll have to click on the three dots under the edit profile button.
- Click on the lock profile.
- In the pop-up, click on ‘Lock Your Profile’ to successfully complete the process.
Quick Look at the Steps of Locking Your Facebook Profile
Let’s revise each process to lock your Facebook profile:
| Aspect | Android | iOS | Desktop (Web) |
| Access Method | Facebook mobile app | Facebook mobile app | Web browser |
| How to Open the Profile? | Tap profile picture | Menu → tap name | Click on the profile picture |
| Menu Used | Three-dot menu on profile | Three-dot menu on profile | Three-dot menu under Edit Profile |
| Lock Option Location | Profile menu | Profile menu | Profile options |
| Confirmation Required | Yes (pop-up → OK) | Yes (Lock Your Profile) | Yes (Lock Your Profile) |
| Overall Process | App-based, quick | App-based, similar to Android | Browser-based |
What Happens When You Lock Your Profile?
After you lock your Facebook profile, you’ll see a blue ring with a lock icon on your profile picture. The icon will be visible to other Facebook users as well. It indicates your profile has been locked and posts of this particular account are limited for a specific audience.
Besides the addition of an icon, you’ll notice the following changes on your Facebook profile:
- Only your friends can see your posts, photos, videos and stories.
- Non-friends cannot zoom in or download your profile picture.
- Most posts will be hidden from people who are not your Facebook friends.
- You’ll be able to receive friend requests despite locking your profile.
*Please note that looking at your profile doesn’t affect your posts in public groups or pages. These posts will remain visible to non-friends Facebook users.
What If the Lock Profile Option Is Not Available?
In a few instances, you may not get the option to lock your Facebook profile. If you do not see the option, it does not indicate a problem with your account. It simply means that the feature may not be currently available in your region. In these situations, you can strengthen your privacy by adjusting the individual’s settings, such as:
- Restricting who can see your friend list
- Controlling who can send friend requests
- Limiting the audience for both past and future posts
Final Thoughts
Locking your Facebook profile helps you to maintain the privacy of your personal life while staying connected to your friends. It helps to simplify various privacy settings into a single action that can easily be used in maintaining your privacy from non-friend Facebook users. Despite this feature not being available in many countries, you can limit comments, posts, and friend requests.
FAQs
1. Can I unlock my Facebook profile after locking it?
Yes, locking your Facebook profile can be turned off anytime by following the same steps with additional on-screen instructions.
2. Does locking a profile affect messaging on Facebook?
Locking your profile does not affect conversations you’ve had on Facebook Messenger. The messaging service works separately from your Facebook activities.
3. After locking my profile, what will happen with the comments I’ve made on my friend’s post?
Your comments will remain visible wherever you interact, based on the audience of that post.
4. Does locking a profile improve account security?
Profile locking increases your privacy visibility but does not replace security features like two-factor authentication.
5. If I lock my profile, will its notification be sent to my friends as well?
Profile locking does not send notifications to your friends, aside from the lock icon appearing on your profile.
