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
