How to See Who Is Stalking You on Facebook? – and stop them!

Let’s face it, we’ve all tried to find out who stalks our socials. And unless they leave an accidental like on an old post, it’s hard to find out. But secret stalkers are not always harmless. Sometimes, you may not want just about anyone to view your posts or even see your Facebook profile. 

Now, while Facebook has a few features where you can see the viewers of your posts, they have more privacy features. So you can block, restrict, take a break, lock your account, or share your posts with a chosen few. We’ll try to cover all of that in this article.

How do I see who viewed my Facebook Profile?

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. If a website out there claims that it can tell you who viewed your Facebook profile, it can’t. In the best-case scenario, it will install adware on your phone or computer. And the worst case, which happens to a lot of people, is that it’s a phishing site. And it will eventually hack your account, and you won’t realise it when it happens. These websites commonly ask for login information or access tokens. It’s always a good idea to steer clear of these sites. 

Now that I’m done with my public service announcement, let’s answer the question. Can you see who viewed your Facebook profile? Nope. You can’t. If you could, that would be considered a major security breach at Meta. And they would patch it eventually. The only platforms I know that let you see who viewed your profile are LinkedIn and Truecaller. And it’s a paid feature on both of them. Some dating apps also let you know who right-swiped you. And that’s about it. So, if you were looking for that, you’re out of luck. But please do not go looking for that elsewhere because you will get scammed or hacked. 

How to check who viewed my Facebook Story?

While you can’t see who viewed your profile, you can see who viewed your story. Did they click on it because they were visiting your profile, or did it show up while they were clicking through dozens of other stories? Your guess is as good as ours. But here’s how you check it.

  1. Visit Facebook on your browser or open the mobile app
  2. You should see your story on the top of your News Feed
  3. Alternatively, you can go to your profile by clicking on your profile picture on the top-right (bottom-right for iOS users) and clicking on your name from the drop-down or hamburger menu.
  4. A blue ring around your profile picture means your story is active and it has viewers. 
  5. Click on it and choose View Story.
  6. Once you open the story, there should be a number of viewers at the bottom.
  7. Click on that number, and you will see all the viewers, starting with the ones who reacted to your story. 

How do I prevent someone from viewing my Facebook profile?

The easiest way to do that is to block them. How do you block someone? It’s easy. 

  1. Log into Facebook using a browser or the mobile app.
  2. Locate the search button.
  3. Type in the name of the person you want to block.
  4. Locate their profile and click on it. 
  5. On their profile, below the cover photo, you will find a button with three dots on the right side. Click on it.
  6. Tap on Block and confirm.

How do I limit the contents of my Facebook profile for people outside my friends list?

If you want to limit what people outside of your friend list can see when they view your profile, you can lock your profile. Here’s how to do it.

  1. Log in to your Facebook account. 
  2. Go to your profile by clicking on your profile picture at the top right (bottom right for iOS users) and then clicking on your name from the drop-down or hamburger menu.
  3. On your profile, below the cover photo, click on the three dots.
  4. Select Lock Profile.
  5. Tap on lock your profile.

Locking your profile will make all your past public posts only viewable by friends. Your profile and cover photos will only be in full resolution for your friends. 

People outside of your friends list will only be able to see your bio and the contents of your intro, alongside low-resolution versions of your profile picture and cover photo that cannot be extended.

How do I prevent someone from viewing my Facebook posts?

If you don’t want to block or unfriend someone, only prevent them from viewing your Facebook posts. You can restrict them. That way, they won’t see any of your posts unless they are posted publicly. 

  1. Log in to your Facebook account using the Facebook app or a web browser.
  2. Search for the person you want to restrict.
  3. Go to their profile.
  4. Click on Friends below the cover photo.
  5. Then go to edit friend list.
  6. Tick Restricted.

Once restricted, only the posts you share with the public will be available to them.

How to see less of someone on Facebook?

If you want to see less of someone on Facebook, there are two ways of doing it. If that person is on your friend list, you can quietly unfollow them without them knowing. Here’s how you do that:

  1. Log into your Facebook account using the Facebook app on your phone or a web browser.
  2. Locate the search button on top and look for that person.
  3. Go to their profile.
  4. Click on Friends.
  5. Above the unfriend button, you will find an Unfollow button. Click on it.

Following this method will completely stop showing you all the posts and stories shared by this person unless someone else shares them. You can also choose to take a break from someone on Facebook. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Log into your Facebook account.
  2. Look for the person you want to take a break from.
  3. Click on the three-dots below the cover photo.
  4. Click on Block
  5. When asked to confirm, click on take a break instead.

Then, Facebook will guide you through different ways to disconnect from that person. You can choose to see fewer of their posts or limit what they can see.

How to only share your Facebook post with specific people on your friend list?

If you want to share a Facebook post with a specific group of people, you can use the custom privacy settings:

  1. Log into your Facebook account tap on what’s on your mind.
  2. Create a post as usual.
  3. Below your name on the post, tap on the privacy icon (e.g., Public, Friends).
  4. Select specific friends from the options.
  5. In the specific friends option, enter the names of the people you want to share your post with.
  6. Once selected, save the settings and publish your post.

How to exclude some people from your friend list on your post?

If you want to share your post with your friends but exclude specific individuals, here’s how to do it:

  1. Log in to your Facebook account from a web browser or the Facebook app.
  2. Begin writing your post as you normally would by clicking.
  3. Tap on the privacy icon (e.g., Public, Friends) below your name on the post.
  4. Choose Friends Except… from the options.
  5. Type the names of the friends you want to exclude from seeing your post. 
  6. Once done, save the changes and share your post.

This makes sure that those excluded friends won’t see your post while everyone else on your friend list can. 

How do you edit post privacy after it has already been posted?

If you’ve already posted something but want to change its privacy to prevent people from viewing it or make it public, you can do so by following these steps:

  1. Log into Facebook using a web browser of the mobile app.
  2. Go to your profile and scroll through your timeline and find the post you want to edit.
  3. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner of the post and select Edit Audience.
  4. Choose a new privacy option, such as Public, Friends, Custom, or Friends Except.
  5. Save the changes, and the post will now be visible only to your updated audience.

How to share stories with specific people?

If you want to limit your story’s visibility to a select group of people, here’s how to do it:

  • Open the Facebook app and tap on Create Story.
  • Before publishing your story, tap on the gear icon or privacy settings icon.
  • Select Custom and manually add the names of people you want to share the story with.
  • Save your settings and publish the story.

How to exclude some people from seeing your stories?

If you want to hide your story from certain individuals, follow these steps:

  • Open the Facebook app and tap on Create Story.
  • Tap on the privacy settings icon and select Friends Except…
  • Add the names of the people from whom you want to hide the story.
  • Save your changes and post your story.

Wrapping Up

While it’s a fun idea to be able to see who might be stalking you on Facebook, always make sure you’re not using some problematic web tool that might end up compromising your system and socials. And if you’re too worried about people being able to see your profile or posts, thankfully, Facebook gives you enough privacy options to control that fully. You can restrict individual users, share posts and stories with select friends, and limit user interaction online as much as possible.  These features give you the tools to protect your personal space while staying connected with your closest people.

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