Can I Make an Anonymous Facebook Account?

By Ed Oswald

There is no way to be completely anonymous on Facebook.
i Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Facebook is the most popular social network in the world, with more than a billion users visiting every month. Not everyone on Facebook wants to be found, however, and some users want to remain anonymous. While Facebook’s policies prevent anonymous accounts, there are steps you can take to keep your information private and more difficult to find.

Real Names

Facebook’s Terms of Use require you to give your real name, although shortened versions of your real name are permissible. The use of a fake name could result in the suspension of your profile until your real name is provided. It is also against Facebook policy to create more than one personal account. If your account is disabled, you must submit an appeal to Facebook to get the account reinstated.

Searches

While you cannot hide your identity by using a fake name, you can conceal your presence on Facebook by hiding your profile from public search engines. This prevents your content or profile from appearing in search results. Unfortunately there is no way for you to avoid being searchable from Facebook’s own internal search, but there are further steps that can be taken to conceal your identity.

Privacy

Facebook allows users to control who can view content by offering various visibility settings, each with a higher degree of privacy. From the most visible to the most private they are: “Public,” “Friends,” “Friends Except Acquaintances,” and “Only Me.” The Public setting will allow your content to be seen by any Facebook user, while the Friends setting will limit those posts to just those you have accepted friend requests from. Friends Except Acquaintances will allow you to show your posts to only certain friends, while Only Me makes your posts only viewable to you.

Acquaintances and Custom Settings

Labeling friends as “Acquaintances” allows you to use the Friends Except Acquaintances privacy setting effectively. This is useful when you wish to hide certain content from people that you may not fully trust or don’t know very well. Facebook also has a Custom setting, which will allow you to set up a custom group of friends that you’d like to see certain posts (see links in Resources).

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