How to change privacy settings in a group on facebook
Understanding Privacy Settings | Facebook Community
What are Privacy Settings and how can I find them in my group?
The privacy settings of your group (Public/Private) tell you who can see your group's content and its members. In a Private group, only members can see who's in the group and what they post. In a Public group, anyone can see who's in the group and what they post, including non-members.
Discoverability of the group (e.g. finding your group in search both on and off Facebook, group suggestions) is a separate toggle. And, admins can make their group discoverability either Hidden or Visible.
Your privacy settings can be found in your Group’s admin tools under “Privacy”
Previous privacy settings are have been changed to be called:
- Public Groups → Public, Visible
- Closed Groups → Private, Visible
- Secret Groups → Private, Hidden
Things to keep in mind as you set your Privacy Settings
What Private and Public each mean for your members and other Facebook users:
| Public | Private | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can see what members post, comment and share in the group? | Anyone | Current Members |
| Who can see the list of members in the group? | People on Facebook | Current Members |
| Who can see who the admins and moderators are? | People on Facebook | Current Members |
- Private groups with 5,000 or more members can't change their privacy to public.
- Groups are limited to one privacy setting change every 28 days
- Admins who change their group's privacy you will have a 24 hour grace period to change it back.
- All members of your group will get a notification that you have changed the group's privacy.
- Invited members are members of a group who can see the group in preview mode.
- When a Page joins a group there could be several admins of that Page. All of them can see and interact with posts and members of the group.
- If an admin of the group has added a third-party app, the app has access to posts and comments in the group.
- Third-party apps can't access who wrote posts and comments unless the app has been given permission by the author.
- Select rights owners may be able to search sale group posts to prevent the misuse of intellectual property on Facebook.
- For college communities, only members of the community can see other members and posts. Only members of the college community can join community groups.
- For open groups within college communities, anyone in the community can see who’s in the group and what they post.
You can find your privacy settings in your group in your Admin Tools under Group Settings
Why is this important for my group?
Privacy can help determine the type of content and members you’d like to be a part of your community.
Consider your privacy settings based on the type of content and subject matter in your community.
For more on how to determine what setting is right for you, check out “Choosing the right privacy for your group”.
How can I change my privacy in my group?
Steps to find your group’s Privacy Settings:
1. Go to your group, open Admin Tools and open your Settings
2. Under Basic Group Info, click the Privacy button
3. Decide if you would like your group to be public or private
Be sure to consider your members and the content they post to choose the best privacy settings for your group.
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Related tips from admins
Change Facebook group privacy settings
You can restrict access to your Facebook group by managing the privacy settings. Let's learn how to do this on a PC, Android/iPhone or the mobile version of Facebook.
Jim, one of our readers contacted us recently to know how to change the privacy of a Facebook group. He intended to change the privacy from closed to secret, but wasn’t able to find the relevant option. Hence, while helping him, I also decided to write this guide, just in case somebody else is in the same boat as Jim.
Facebook allows 3 types of privacy settings for a group – Public, Closed and Secret. You can check out this post to know the differences among the 3 group privacy options. You can freely change your Facebook group from public to closed or secret. You can also change it back to allow more exposure and reach.
Restrictions for larger groups: Facebook has restrictions on groups which have more than 5,000 members.
You are only allowed to move to a more restrictive privacy setting.
So, if your group is larger than 5,000 members, then take caution and review before changing the privacy settings. For example, if you change your group from closed to secret, then you cannot revert it back to closed if you want to do that in the future. Facebook gives you 24 hours to revert this change after which it is permanent.
Contents
You need to be a group admin to make changes to the privacy of a group. Facebook group privacy change takes only a few seconds to complete and all group members as well as admins are notified when the privacy change takes place. Here’s how to change the group privacy on different Facebook platforms.
Details for Web (Desktop) version
- Open the Facebook group in your internet browser (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari or whatever you use).
- Click on the “More” button and click again on Edit group settings.
- Click on Change privacy settings to make changes to the privacy settings of the group.
- Select the new privacy type from Open, Closed, or Secret and confirm the change.
That should do the trick for you on the desktop version of Facebook. If you’re on a mobile device and using either the app or the mobile web version, then refer to the details below to make the privacy change on your mobile device.
Details for Android and iOS app
A desktop isn’t needed for making a change as simple as the group privacy. So, if you are using the Android or iOS app, then refer to the steps below to make your FB group closed, secret or open.
- First of all, open the Facebook group on your mobile app. Again, you need to be an admin to make changes to group privacy.
- Now tap on Admin Tools and Settings. Then tap on Settings from the new options that appear. Manage group settings
- Keep scrolling down till you spot Privacy. Tap on it and choose the new group privacy setting as desired. Change privacy settings
Your privacy settings will be updated momentarily and all group members will be notified.
I’d like to remind you once again that you cannot move to a less restrictive setting in case your group has more than 5k members. So, make such a change only when you are absolutely sure about what you are doing.
Details for Mobile browser
If you are using Facebook on your mobile phone, but not willing to download the app, then also you can change Facebook group privacy. Here are the steps that you need to follow:
- Open the group homepage and tap on More. Then tap on View group info from the popup menu that appears. Group info
- Tap on the Edit group settings option found towards the end of the page. (It was the 2nd last option for me.)
- Now tap on Change Privacy. You will be presented with a new menu wherein you can select the new privacy setting for the group.
It is also possible to make changes to group privacy on the basic version of Facebook. However, since smartphones are getting cheaper, I’d skip that part.
If you’re using the basic version of Facebook and looking for a way to make the privacy change, then feel free to leave a comment or reach me via an email. I’d be glad to assist you.
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What is the difference between public and private Facebook groups and how do I change this privacy setting?
Help Center
Using Facebook
Groups
We're updating the mobile version of Facebook.com. More
The privacy settings of a Facebook group can only be changed by its administrator.
There are 2 privacy settings for Facebook groups:
Public - Everyone on and off Facebook can see group members and their posts. nine0003
Private - Only people in the group can see other group members and their posts.
Learn more about the differences between public and private groups.
Changing the privacy settings of public groups
You can make a public group private. If an administrator uses the scheduling feature to change privacy settings, they can cancel the scheduled change within 3 days.
If a public group becomes private, you won't be able to undo this action. nine0003
Keep the following in mind.
All administrators will be notified of the scheduled change date.
When a group is closed, all members will receive a notification.
If the change is reverted, the group will remain public and all administrators will be notified.
To change the privacy settings of a public Facebook group you administer:
Mobile Classic
Click the icon in the top right corner of the Facebook window, scroll down to Groups, click Groups at the top of the screen, and select your group.
Click More and select View group info.
Select Edit group settings.
In the Privacy section, select Private.
Click Save.
New version for mobile browser
Click the icon in the upper right corner of the Facebook window, select Groups and find the one you want.
