You Can Be Invisible on Facebook

Years ago I had a client that had a fantastic problem. She would occasionally be a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show and each time a show aired, her website traffic would skyrocket and her social media friend requests would fill up her message boxes. She didn’t care to use Facebook for personal reasons and simply wanted to use it under the radar.

Why would you want to be invisible on Facebook?

There are many reasons that people want to use Facebook without the friend element: marketing a business, advertising, managing events, or participating in a group. They don’t want to waste time, get caught up in drama, have to manage the digital relationships, or worry about data security.

In the instance with my client, she wanted to use her Facebook business page to promote, advertise, and connect with potential clients – that’s it. She found it wasn’t realistic to be in the public eye and have to manage hundreds and thousands of friend requests. She was frustrated and figured her only option was to delete her Facebook account. I tinkered around in the settings and found a solution for her needs.

Under the Radar Option

The solution below is not for everyone. It involves tightening up your security and privacy settings and when you’re done, you’ll effectively be invisible while on the platform.

It works best if you are a light or minimal user or don’t currently have an account. If you already have Friends on the site, you may want to let them know you are “vanishing” from Facebook.

You will have to disconnect from your Friends – all of them – and no longer post from your Profile. In order to delete Friends, you will have to go to their Profiles one at a time and click on the Friends button and choose Unfriend. No, they won’t receive a notification. And No, there is no mass Unfriend feature. They make it slow on purpose. Ready?

How to go Invisible

• Log-in to Facebook
• Go to Settings
• Click on Privacy tab

• In Your Activity
• Who can see your future posts?
• Click on Edit and find More (the option you want is hidden from view)
• Click on More and choose the option Only Me
• Review all your posts and things you’re tagged in Use Activity Log (edit as you see fit)
• Limit the audience for posts you’ve shared with friends of friends or Public, choose Limit Past Posts (edit as you see fit)

• In How People Find and Contact You
• Who can send you friend requests?
• Click on Edit and choose Friends of Friends (most secure option)
• Who can look you up using the email address you provided?
• Friends (you can create an email that you only use for Facebook or other junk type services so that no one can look you up via email)
• Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?
• Friends (right now FB is catching flack for allowing people to look us up with secure numbers and they are also advertising to us with this information)
• Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?
• No

• Click on Timeline and Tagging tab
• In Timeline
• Who can post on your timeline?
• Click on Edit and choose Only Me
• In Tagging
• Who can see posts you’re tagged in on your timeline?
• Click on Edit and choose Only Me
• In Review
• Review posts you’re tagged in before the post appears on your timeline?
• Click on Edit and choose Enabled

Facebook Users Can No Longer See You

You may now use Facebook without being seen or found. You are friendless and not posting to the News Feed or from your Profile (even if you did, it’s seen by Only Me, remember?). Managing Pages, Closed & Secret Groups, and Monitoring Events is where you will be able to function under the radar.