How do i view facebook as someone else
How to View Your Facebook Profile as Someone Else Would View It
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You can never be too careful when posting things on Facebook. Events and images meant to share with friends or family can accidentally become available to other eyes. There are settings intended to prevent this, but checking every post to confirm the “Private” status is quite challenging.
Fortunately, Facebook has the option to let you see which of your uploads are viewable by everyone. This article shows you how to view your Facebook Profile as someone else would, giving you control over what content you make public.
Viewing Your Facebook Profile as Public on Windows, Mac, or Linux
Viewing your profile as others see it is a simple process when on a PC or Mac. To do so, follow these instructions:
- Open “Facebook” in a browser, then click on the “upside-down triangle” (Account menu) in the top-right section.
- Select “See Your Profile” at the very top.
- Click on the “horizontal ellipsis” (three horizontal dots) under the profile header.
- Choose “Profile and tagging settings.”
- Scroll down the right pane to the bottom. Next to the “eye icon,” click on “View as” to view what others see on your profile page.
Viewing Your Facebook Profile as Public on Android/iOS/iPhone
Facebook Mobile lets you view your Facebook profile as public as a browser can, though enabling it is slightly different. Here’s what you need to do:
- Open the “Facebook app” and go to your “profile page” by tapping on your “profile icon” or the “hamburger icon” (Top of the screen for Android or bottom of the screen for iOS).
- To access your profile menu, tap on the “horizontal ellipsis” (three horizontal lines).
- Select “View As.”
- Your profile appears, displaying all publicly viewable content.
Why Would You Want to View Your Profile as Someone Else?
Social Media has dramatically changed how we communicate with others. It has made posting our thoughts and daily habits second nature. However, taking what we upload for granted can lead to many security risks for you and your family and should not be ignored.
People underestimate the amount of data a simple picture displays. A street sign, a landmark, or even the surrounding houses can give away your location to anyone persistent enough to try and find it, not to mention all of the location data in the image file itself.
If you post images to show off to friends, that is well and good, but it is an easy enough mistake to forget to switch back privacy settings once they become public. Viewing your profile as someone else allows you to see which posts you have made available to everyone else.
You can quickly decide whether these posts are OK to be left to your public profile or subsequently be made private. The ‘View As’ option lets you see all your ‘public’ posts simultaneously and eliminates the tedious post-by-post inspection process.
Take Control of What Others See
If you viewed your profile and felt like too much or too little information is available for public view, you can curate what others see. Of course, you can block people so they can’t see your profile at all, but you can also make some posts private and some posts public.
You can also restrict who can see which posts. For example, if you have Facebook friends you don’t want to see certain posts, you can restrict those individuals.
If you use the View As feature and see a lot of content you don’t want to show everyone you can make your account private. Fortunately, switching your profile from Public to Private (and vise versa) is simple. We have an article here that will walk you through all the steps.
To restrict the posts that other users see tap on the three dot icon next to the post. Then, select Edit Privacy. Tap Friends Except… and add the friends you don’t want to see your posts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to more questions you may have about Facebook’s View As feature.
How do I exit the View As feature?
When you’ve finished inspecting what others can see on Facebook you can easily get back to Facebook’s normal view. All you need to do is click or tap Exit View As in the upper right-hand corner.
Can I view my Facebook profile as a specific person?
Unfortunately, no. Facebook used to offer the option to choose how you could view your profile. You could choose Public or as a specific person. The company, however, removed the feature sometime around 2019.
The only way to see what another person sees (aside from the Public view) is to log into their Facebook account and search your profile.
Keeping Track of Your Uploads
Social media has become so mundane that it is taken for granted in modern times. People post almost anything and everything, from big celebrations to what they’ve had for lunch. Keeping track of what you upload is essential, as you don’t want to share things with people you don’t want to see.
(Updated 2021) How to View What Your Facebook Profile Looks Like to Others
Written by Anne Felicitas, Editor of AdvertiseMint, Facebook Ad Agency.
Update October 2, 2020: The Facebook View As feature is once again available to desktop devices, appearing under the cover photo. This previously removed feature, restored after the rollout of Facebook’s redesign, shows you what your desktop Facebook profile looks like through the eyes of the public, or people you’re not connected with as friends.
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Update May 31, 2019: After an 8-month hiatus, the View As feature has now officially returned, slowly rolling out to both Android and Apple devices. The View As Feature was disabled back in September of 2018 because of a security issue that affected 50 million accounts. In response, Facebook disabled the feature temporarily.
With this tool’s return comes two big changes. First, the new View As appears to only be available to mobile devices. Previously, it could also be assessed from desktop devices, although that is now not the case. Second, the new View As tool can only show you a version of your Timeline from the eyes of the public, not the eyes of specific users. Previously, you could choose a specific Facebook user to view what that person can see from your Timeline (see the original version of this article below.)
You can find the new View As feature under your Facebook profile photo.
Once clicked, the feature will load a version of your Timeline through the eyes of the public (people who are not your Facebook friends).
Scrolling through my timeline, viewing it as “public,” I can see the posts I published with the “public” as my privacy setting.
Note, however, that this feature is still slowly rolling out—not everyone will have access to this feature yet. If you don’t see the View As feature on your app, try updating it. If not, the best you can do is wait until it rolls out to you.
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Note: This feature was been disabled due to a security issue. In September 2018, Facebook’s engineering team discovered that attackers used a vulnerability in Facebook’s “View As” code to steal access tokens, which were the equivalent of “digital keys” that could be used to access people’s profiles. Nearly 50 million accounts were affected by this hack.
To prevent further damage and stop the hack, Facebook fixed the vulnerability and alerted the authorities.
The social network also reset the tokens of the 50 million affected accounts, as well as an additional 40 million that, although were not affected, used the View As tool. This was an extra precautionary step.
Unfortunately, as another precautionary step, Facebook also disabled the View As tool. Facebook did not indicate when it will restore the View As feature. The following article documents how this feature was previously accessible.
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Have you ever wondered what your Facebook profile looks like to others? I certainly do.
Although my profile is private, I often allow some of my individual posts to appear to the public, which I can do by adjusting each of my posts’ privacy settings.
Unfortunately, as I post more and more each day, adding more content to my Timeline, I can’t remember the posts that are appearing to the public and the number of those posts. As a result, I have no idea what my Facebook profile looks like to people who aren’t in my friends list.
For example, my mother. What will my profile look like to mom who, because I didn’t add her on Facebook, stalks my profile once in a while to see what I’m up to? Will she see my feminist rant from three weeks ago, a rant that I don’t want her to see? How about my boss? Will he see my crazy weekend in Mexico? How far will strangers have to scroll to discover embarrassing, teenage posts from five years ago?
As it turns out, I’m not the only person know wants to know what my Facebook profile looks like to the public. Do a simple Google search, and the first few Q&A pages from Facebook will appear, containing questions from Facebook users who want to know how to view their profiles as though they were snooping strangers.
As I was looking through Facebook’s settings, wanting to discover new or old features that may be useful to our readers, I recently discovered a viewing tool that allows you to see what your profile looks like to others. “Others” include Facebook friends and strangers who aren’t included in your friends list.
Perhaps you, much like me, wondered the same thing. If so, then this article will confirm your speculations. Here’s how to view what your Facebook profile looks like to others.
Step 1: Go to Settings
Click the expand button (shaped like an upside-down triangle) to get to settings, the second-to-the-last option from the dropdown menu.
If you’re not familiar with your Facebook settings then you should start doing so now. Settings give you the power to control how you want Facebook to work for you. For example, if you’re having trouble with stalkers, you can apply and remove blocks from your settings page under the section called “blocking.” If you want to prevent certain apps from gathering data about you, you can do so from the Apps and Websites section.
Step 2: Go to Timeline and Tagging
From the options located on the left side of your screen, click “Timeline and Tagging.” There, you can also control the options for tagged posts. For example, you can control who can see your tagged posts and enable the feature that allows you to review tagged posts before posting on your Timeline, and, finally, the reason you’re reading this article, what your profile looks like to other people.
Step 3: Click “View As”
On your page, you will see various subsections. Click “View As” under the “Who can see things on my Timeline?” subsection.
After clicking to view, Facebook will direct you to your timeline that people who aren’t your Facebook friends can see. If you can see certain posts and photos, this means those posts and photos are available for public eyes because you posted with a public privacy setting. If you don’t see any content at all, it’s because your profile is private.
Although the example profile below is a private profile, it contains images, information, and photos that are viewable to the public because those posts’ privacy settings were set to “public” rather than to “friends.”
Step 4: Click “View as Specific Person”
But wait—there’s more. Not only can you view your profile through the eyes of the public, but you can also view your profile through the eyes of specific Facebook friends. To do this, click “View as Specific Person” on the black tab hovering above your profile.
After clicking “View as Specific Person,” a search engine, in which you will type in the person whose eyes you want to borrow, will appear. Note that you can only search for Facebook friends. Attempting to search for people who aren’t your Facebook friends will reap futile results.
There you have it. That’s how you can view your profile picture in the perspective of a user not included in your friends list. No longer will you have to wonder, worrying about your Timeline’s appearance to others, worrying about whether or not that embarrassing post from when you were 15 is a mere few scrolls away from discovery.
Now that you know what your Facebook profile looks like to others, take the time to scroll through your Timeline and find the embarrassing posts visible to the public. Then, by clicking on the three-doted button on the upper-right corner of each post, change the privacy settings from public to private. This will allow you to hide posts that you no longer what the public to see.
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Managing Facebook Page Roles
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We're updating the mobile version of Facebook.com. More
You can manage the classic or new version of Pages. The new version is not yet available for all Pages.
New version of Pages
If you have a new version of a Facebook Page and have full control over it, you can control what people can access and perform certain tasks on the Page. You can grant access rights to a person at any time, as well as change or revoke them. Learn more about access rights in the new version of Pages.
Cannot grant access to the Page to a gray account. If you want to give access to the Page to someone using a gray account, they will need to access the Page from their personal Facebook account or create a new one. You can then grant that new account access to the Page.
Note. To manage access to a Page, you need to switch to it.
How do I grant access to Facebook?
How do I grant access to perform certain tasks?
How do I change access rights to perform certain tasks?
How do I revoke access to a Facebook Page or permission to perform certain tasks?
Classic Pages
Only page administrators can manage roles on a Page. A Role on a Page can be assigned to any number of people. Learn more about how to find out your role and what the powers of roles are.
In some cases, gray accounts cannot be made Page admins. If you have a gray account and want to become a Page admin, create a new account.
Mobile Classic
How do I assign a role?
If you are an administrator:
Click the icon in the upper right corner of the Facebook window.
Click Pages.
Go to your Page and click More.
Click Edit Settings > Roles on the Page.
Click Add Person to Page. You may need to enter a password to continue.
Start typing a name and select the person from the list that appears.
Click a username to select a role, and then click Add.
Note. People who aren't on your friends list must accept your invitation before they can manage a Page.
How to remove a role?
If you are an administrator:
Click the icon in the upper right corner of the Facebook window.
Click Pages.
Go to Page and click More.
Click Edit Settings > Roles on the Page.
Click next to the name of the person you want to remove. You may need to enter a password to continue.
Click Remove and then confirm your choice.
You can remove yourself from the Page at any time, but if you're the only admin, you'll need to add another admin first.
How to change your role
If you are an administrator:
Click the icon in the upper right corner of the Facebook window.
Click Pages.
Go to your Page and click More.
Click Edit Settings > Roles on the Page.
Click next to the name of the person whose role you want to change. You may need to enter a password to continue.
Select a new role and click Save.
New version for mobile browser
How to assign a role?
To add a new user who is not your Facebook friend, log in to Facebook from a computer.
If the user is your Facebook friend:
Click the icon in the top right corner of the Facebook window.
Click Pages.
Go to the Page and click the icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Click Page Roles and then Add User.
Find the friend you want to add, or select a friend from the recommendations and click Choose a role on the Page. You may need to enter a password to continue.
Click a username to select a role, and then click Add.
Depending on the settings selected, the user may receive a notification or an email that they have been assigned a new role.
How to change the role?
If you are an administrator:
Click the icon in the upper right corner of the Facebook window.
Click Pages.
Go to the Page and click the icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Click Roles on the Page.
Click next to the name of the person whose role you want to change. You may need to enter a password to continue.
Select a new role and click Save.
How to remove the role
If you are an administrator:
Click the icon in the upper right corner of the Facebook window.
Click Pages.
Go to the Page and click the icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Click Roles on the Page.
Click next to the name of the person you want to remove. You may need to enter a password to continue.
Click Delete and then click Delete again to confirm the action.
Note. You will not be able to remove or remove the roles of other administrators until seven days after gaining the administrator role.
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You can manage the classic or new version of Pages. The new version is not yet available for all Pages.
You can only assign a Page owner on a computer.
Classic Pages
To make a Business Manager account the owner of a Page, you must be an administrator of both the Business Manager account and the Page.
To assign a funding statement on behalf of a Page owner, you must be the author and Page administrator.
To assign or change the owner of a Page:
On the menu to the left of the Ribbon, click Pages.
Go to your Page.
Select Settings.
Select Page Transparency.
In the Assign Page Owner section, click Assign.
Select a verified Business Manager account or funding source statement and click Assign.
Once you assign a Page owner, a new section called "Other Pages you manage" will appear in the "Page Transparency" section.
To assign owners to multiple Pages:
On the menu to the left of the Ribbon, click Pages.
Open a Page that has an owner assigned to it.
Select Settings.
Select Page Transparency.
In the Page Transparency settings, under Other Pages You Manage, click Assign.
From the list, select the Pages you want to assign owners to.
Click Assign.
New version of Pages
If you have full access to a Facebook Page, you can switch to it and assign or change its owner. To designate a Business Manager account as the owner of a Facebook Page, you must be a Business Manager account administrator with full access to the Page.
To assign a funding statement on behalf of a Page owner, you must be the author of the statement and have full access to the Page at the Facebook level.
If you only have issue-level access, you won't be able to assign a Page owner or funder claim.
To assign or change a Page owner:
Sign in to Facebook and click your profile photo in the top right corner of the screen.
Select the desired Page.
