Do you want to lock a Facebook profile but don’t know how to do so? Follow the guide to know how you can make it possible. We shall see the steps for the same, and know what it means. So, let us begin.
What does it mean to ‘lock’ a Facebook profile?
“Locking” your Facebook profile means instantly putting a strict privacy barrier around almost everything you post and safeguarding it. To put it in simpler words, it is a method that is just a one-click way to make all your photos, posts, and stories visible only to people you have accepted as friends. This protects your uploads from going into the hands of people you barely know. Anyone not on your friend list comes into this category and won’t be able to see any of your content. Like they won’t be able to zoom in on your profile picture or cover photo, view your timeline posts, or even see most of your “About” information. It protects your profile against its content being visible or shareable with everyone. That differentiates it better from a public profile.
When should I lock my Facebook profile?
You should lock your Facebook profile whenever you want an extra layer of privacy and protection. It’s a great idea if you’re concerned about identity theft or cyberstalking, as it drastically reduces the chances of that happening. It prevents strangers from downloading your photos or viewing your past posts, which is an amazing thing considering how it used to work in the past. Now your posts, uploads, and timeline are only visible to selected people, and no one can randomly open your profile and access it. There is no specific time as to when you can lock it. You can do so whenever you feel like it!
Steps to lock a Facebook profile – USA
Now that we know what locking a profile means on Facebook, let us understand the steps that can help a person do so.
Set Default Post Audience
You need to take care of some basic things first. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Audience and Visibility > Posts. Change “Who can see your future posts?” to Friends, and the rest comes later.
Limit Past Posts
Use the “Limit Past Posts” tool in the same section on your screen to automatically change all your old public or “Friends of Friends” posts to Friends only. This will not allow anyone to access the posts you made in the past.
Control Tagging and Being Tagged
Now, in the Profile and Tagging section, you have to enable both “Reviewing” options to approve tags before they appear on your profile.
Restrict the Factor of Discoverability
In the section on How People Find and Contact You, you’ve got to change who can look you up to Friends. Here, you need to turn off the option that allows external search engines to access your profile or link.
With that in place, your profile is locked. You don’t have to do a step extra, and you’ll practically be protected on the platform.
