Founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, Facebook (Meta) has become a big name in the social media industry. It was only Facebook and YouTube in the initial days of social media development but soon Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and many other platforms joined the lane. Though many new networking platforms have been launched Facebook still tops the list as it’s said Old is Gold. It’s used for multiple purposes like connecting with friends through voice or video calls, starting a business or selling products at the Facebook marketplace, recommending friends, posting images, videos, etc. With time, Facebook has also evolved a lot and launched additional features as well. One such is the ‘Lock Profile’ feature for strengthening user’s privacy on Facebook, specifically women. Currently, it’s rolled out in 12 selected countries only and soon will be launched in other countries as well.

Countries With Facebook Lock Profile Feature

• India
• Saudi Arabia
• Sudan
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Ukraine
• Afghanistan
• Pakistan
• Iraq
• Egypt
• Morocco
• Turkey
• Myanmar

What Is Facebook Lock Profile Feature?

In 2020, Facebook introduced a brand-new feature ‘Lock Profile’ for protecting user’s privacy. Through this security feature, you can lock your profile and keep your information accessible only to the people added to your friend list. Those who are not added to your friend list won’t be able to see your profile or download your profile picture or cover photo. To view your old or new posts they have to add you as a friend and then only all the posts will be visible to them. However, one can send you messages and see a few details like name, hometown, current city mentioned about you in your Facebook profile.

Why Should You Lock Your Facebook Profile?

Facebook’s database was attacked by Bangladesh and Vietnam hackers in December 2020 when they illegally invaded the system and stole millions of user’s data. This incident shook the Facebook management and that’s when they decided to implement a strong security feature for the users so that no one can steal their data or have access to it. Some major benefits of locking a Facebook profile include avoiding unwanted strangers, content stealers, limited sharing, and maintaining a professional image. A short brief on locking Facebook profiles is mentioned below too.

• Adds security layer to your profile
• You have sole control over your personal information
• Only you and your friends can see your posts, videos, etc
• Your data is at less risk of getting stolen or misused by hackers
• You have a limited audience whom you know personally or professionally

Additionally, Facebook has also launched one more security feature for users known as Vanish mode. This feature can be used while texting on Facebook Messenger. It deletes the entire conversation after some time as soon as you activate it. Henceforth, no one can take screenshots of your conversation and use them for unfair means. You should enable this feature whenever you’re chatting with someone (known or unknown) on Facebook. The best part is that the Vanish mode feature is available on Instagram as well. So it’s a win-win situation for the users.

Also Read: What Does The Green Dot Mean On Facebook: Online Status Confirmation

Steps To Lock Profile On Facebook

The procedure to lock Facebook profiles differs for mobile and PC users. In case you were wondering how people are doing it and wanted to lock your profile as well. Here’s the step-by-step guide to do the same.

For Android Users

• Step 1: Open your Facebook account & tap on your profile picture
• Step 2: Click on the three horizontal dots
• Step 3: Go to ‘Profile Settings’ and scroll downwards
• Step 4: Tap on the ‘Lock Profile’ Option
• Step 5: Read the displayed instructions and tap on ‘Lock your profile’ visible in the lower screen area. A confirmation message will appear stating that ‘You locked your profile. Only your friends can see the photos and posts on your timeline.
• Step 6: Click on the ‘Ok’ option and start scrolling Facebook like before

For Desktop Users

• Step 1: Open the Facebook official website
• Step 2: Sign in to your account using your email address and password
• Step 3: Tap on your Profile picture to open your Profile page
• Step 4:
  Click on the 3 horizontal dots displayed under the ‘Edit Profile’ option
• Step 5: Choose ‘Lock Profile’ out of all the available options. A pop-up window will appear on your screen.
• Step 6: Tap on the ‘Lock Your Profile’ option to lock your Facebook profile

4 Easy Ways To See Facebook Locked Profile

The ‘Lock Profile’ feature is implemented by almost every Facebook user and now stalking someone like your crush or a family member has become more difficult. However, there are a few alternative techniques through which you can see locked profiles on Facebook.

Method 1: Send Friend Request

Rather than stalking someone, it’s always best to connect with them. You can easily send friend requests to a person on Facebook by tapping on the ‘Add Friend’ button. Once you’ve sent the request and the other person has accepted it you can easily view all their posts, images, videos, and other details posted on their profile.

Method 2: Ask Mutual Friend To Show You

If you don’t want to get in touch with the specific person then you can ask a common friend to share their details with you. This is slightly wrong practice but as long as you’re not using the data for wrong purposes it’s fine. Your friend can either see the post screenshots or you can check that person’s profile through your friend’s account. Make sure that you return the phone to your friend and don’t invade their privacy as well.

Method 3: Through Smartphone Browser

To see or download a locked Facebook photo you can use your mobile phone browser. This is a basic method and is preferred by many individuals. The steps are pretty simple.

• Step 1: Open the Facebook app and login
• Step 2: Type the person’s name in the search bar whose profile you want to view
• Step 3: Click on the URL address bar
• Step 4: Add “mbasic” at the end of the Facebook word and search for the profile
• Step 5: Long tap on the Profile Picture
• Step 6: Click on the ‘Download Image’ option. You can now view the downloaded image on your device

Method 4: Opt For Google Images

Through this method, you can get additional details about a person like their LinkedIn Profile, personal blog, or other social media platform usernames apart from images and videos. Although it’s not guaranteed that this method will 100% work, you can still give it a try.

• Step 1: Visit the Facebook browser
• Step 2: Go to the search bar and type Photos of <Profile Name>. The Profile Name section should be replaced with the person’s name. For Example Photos Of Rahul Kumar
• Step 3: Navigate through sections like images, and videos to find details about that person.

Also Read: How To Hide Online Activity Status On Facebook

Conclusion

Almost 5,16,900,000 people use the Facebook application and maintaining their privacy is Facebook’s responsibility. Hence, this lock profile feature is the best approach. It lets the user keep their information private as it’s solely a person’s choice whether they want to share it or not. Also, though we have mentioned some methods to see a locked Facebook profile still we would advise you to opt for the first one, i.e., sending them a friend request and then knowing about them rather than going with other methods as those may not show relevant results.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q) Are there any trustworthy tools to see Facebook-locked profiles?

Ans: There’s no such legitimate tool developed for checking locked profiles secretly. Even if they’re some illegal tools, downloading them is harmful to your device. They have malware and viruses which tamper with the device.

Q) What kind of information is visible to restricted friends on Facebook?

Ans: Restricted friends can only see your profile information, and posts if you have made them public. They can also see the posts in which you tag them.