Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform with over 2.83 billion monthly active users across the globe. While social media has become an integral part of our lives, we cannot ignore the privacy issues that come with it. In 2019, Facebook faced the biggest data leak in history, which raised serious concerns over Facebook’s ability to protect users’ personal information and privacy. In this context, Facebook introduced the Profile Lock feature to enhance privacy on its platform.
Facebook Profile Lock is a highly regarded feature that offers excellent privacy. This feature allows you to decide who can and cannot see your profile, restricts users from seeing your profile, and prevents them from downloading your photos to create fake accounts. By activating this feature, you can lock your posts and profile photos. This way, only those on your friend list can see, download and share your photos.
How to lock the Facebook profile?
In this guide, we will discuss how to activate Facebook Profile Lock and enhance your privacy on Facebook. Follow these simple steps to activate Facebook Profile Lock:
Guide to Use Facebook Profile Lock feature on Android, iOS app and Desktop
Step 1: Open Facebook
The first step is to open your Facebook account on your mobile phone or computer. If you have not yet created a Facebook account, create one now by visiting the Facebook website.
Step 2: Go to your profile
Once you log in to your Facebook account, go to your profile by clicking on your profile picture.
Step 3: Click on the three dots
Next, click on the three dots located on the top right corner of your Facebook profile.
Step 4: Select “Lock Profile”
From the options that appear, select “Lock Profile.”
Step 5: Confirm
Finally, confirm your decision to lock your Facebook profile by clicking on “Lock Your Profile” on the next page.
Congratulations! You have successfully activated the Facebook Profile Lock feature.
What Changes When You Lock Your Facebook Profile?
Once you activate the Facebook Profile Lock feature, your profile picture and cover photo will remain visible to everyone, including unknown users. However, to see your entire profile, posts, and albums, one will have to send you a friend request. Only a section of your personal information will be visible, and only those on your friend list will be able to see, download, and share your photos.
Your friend request settings and message settings will remain unchanged. This means that you can still send and receive friend requests and messages from anyone. However, you can restrict users from sending messages to you if they are not on your friend list.
In case an unknown user attempts to zoom in or share your profile picture, they will get a message that the profile is locked. You can also choose to block unknown users entirely if you feel unsafe concerning unknown friend requests.
Why is Facebook Profile Lock Feature Important?
Facebook has been introducing many new privacy features to combat privacy concerns on its platform. In December 2020, certain hackers from Vietnam and Bangladesh corrupted Facebook’s entire privacy system, and Facebook’s data was stolen. As a countermeasure, Facebook introduced the Profile Lock feature to enhance privacy and prevent data scraping from its users’ accounts.
After you lock your Facebook profile, you’ll need to enter your password to access it on all devices. Also, your posts won’t be visible to the public, only to your friends. In summary, it’s essential to safeguard your Facebook account from data piracy. By locking your profile, you can protect your data against stalkers and hackers.
