How to Hide a Facebook Account and Not Deactivate It

You may need to have a Facebook account for business purposes — such as to administer a Facebook business page — while not wanting to be found by or connect with other users on the social network. While deactivating your account prevents you from partaking in any activity on Facebook, you can instead hide your Facebook profile so that no one can find it. You'll still have an account, but to those who are looking for your profile, it won't look like you do.

Sign in to your Facebook account (link in Resources).

Click the downward-facing arrow in the menu bar, and then click "Privacy Settings."

Click the "Edit Settings" link in the "How You Connect" section.

Change the "Who can look you up using the email address or phone number you provided?" to "Friends." Do the same with the "Who can send you Facebook messages?" option. Change the "Who can send you friend requests?" setting to "Friends of Friends." If your account has no friend connections, these changes will essentially make your profile invisible to the world.

Click "Done."

Click the "Manage Past Post Visibility" link, and then click the "Limit Old Posts" button to change the visibility of all past "Public" and "Friends of Friends" posts to "Friends"-only.