Who Can View Your Facebook Profile? Tips to Browse Secretly

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Know who can see your profile on Facebook

Co-authored by Rain Kengly Reviewed by Candace Gasper

Last Updated: June 2, 2025 Fact Checked

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Can someone tell if I look at their Facebook profile?

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Browsing Secretly

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FAQ

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If you want to look at someone's Facebook profile secretly, you're in luck. Facebook doesn't allow people to see who views their profile page. Users may see other metrics, such as your Likes, Comments, or Story views, but if you're just checking out someone's Facebook profile, there's no way for them to know. Here's who can see if you look at their Facebook, how to make sure nobody catches you lurking, and more.

Can people see if you look at their Facebook?

There is no built-in option to see who views your profile on Facebook. While some third-party apps claim to do this, Facebook confirms that they won't work. If you want to look at profiles secretly, log out of your account, use incognito mode, or create an alternate Facebook account.

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Can someone tell if I look at their Facebook profile?

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No, people can't see if you look at their profile. Whether you're using the Facebook website or the Facebook mobile app to look at someone's profile, Facebook won't give any notifications or indications that you have visited their profile. However, Facebook will notify users if you look at their Story, similar to Snapchat and Instagram.
- Some users suggest that you'll appear on a user's "People you may know" friend suggestion if you look at a person's profile. Others suggest it only appears if you have your location services on and your devices appear online nearby one another. However, there is no confirmation on this matter.^{[1]
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- If you're worried about being tracked, see our section on browsing Facebook privately.

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How to Browse Facebook Privately

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To be absolutely certain your profile views can't be traced back to your account, you should log out of Facebook when looking up any profiles. This will prevent any of your Facebook data from meshing with another user's data. However, this is limited because you'll only be able to view profiles set to Public.
Similar to using Facebook logged out, using incognito mode on your web browser can help you search discreetly. This is helpful if you want to click any external links on a user's page that lead elsewhere, such as another social media site where you're already logged in. However, similar to using Facebook logged out, you'll only be able to view profiles set to Public.
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Create an alternate account. If you're worried about being tracked on your Facebook profile, you can create an alternative account. This alternative account should use a name and photo different from your main account. You can also opt to leave this blank. When you want to browse other profiles, just log in to your alternate account.
- Before you create an alternative account, you may need to create a new email address that doesn't include any identifying information about yourself.
- An alternative account is also helpful if you want to view profiles of users who may have blocked you.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Can someone tell if I look at their Facebook page a lot? There's no built-in tool that allows a Facebook user to see who exactly looks at their profile. However, they can see other interactions, such as Likes and Comments, and may use this information to estimate how often you visit their page.
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How do you check who viewed your Facebook? You can't check who simply viewed your Facebook profile. However, you can look at who has interacted with your post. Simply navigate to your profile and select a post. Select Likes or Comments to view who interacted with your post.
- If you upload a Story, you can always see users who watched it. Just select your Story and select Viewers underneath it.
- If you're worried about people looking at your Facebook profile, you can update your privacy settings to hide certain information or limit its visibility to others.
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Will someone know if I look for them on Facebook? If you simply search for a user, the user won't be notified. However, if you send a friend request, or like or comment on their post, the user will receive a notification.
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Can I use an app to see who viewed my profile? Facebook claims there is no way to check who viewed your Facebook profile, including third-party apps and services. Always be careful with these services, as they usually need private information, such as your login credentials.^{[2]
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- Facebook suggests reporting third-party apps that claim to show who viewed your profile.
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Will I appear on other users' People You May Know? If you simply search for someone on Facebook, it may not be enough to appear on their suggested friends. People You May Know is based on many factors, such as your activity, mutual friends, phone contacts, and more.^{[3]
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