Smart Comments To Say On Facebook

I received an e-mail recently asking "When I comment on someone else's post, how can I keep that activity from showing up on my profile for all my friends to see?"

This is an excellent question and something to keep in mind when commenting. Your comments and likes on Facebook are shared with different audiences depending on theprivacy setting of the original post. Since you can't control theprivacy setting of original post, think before you like or comment!

(Originally posted in 2012; updated December 2019)

Here's how it works

When you comment on someone's post (status update or link or photo or anything they've shared), the privacy setting of the post you are commenting on dictates the privacy setting of your comment.

You can quickly determine the privacy setting of the original post by the icon next to it. The most often used settings are Public and Friends.

You might also see others, for example Custom.

The gear icon means "Custom". Custom could mean "Friends of Friends", or a custom privacy setting.

Anytime you see those icons on Facebook, hover or click on the icon to learn about the audience of any post. For example, "Who can see Jean's post? Jean's friends". Or if someone is tagged in the post, then you might see "Jean's friends; and friends of anyone tagged".

Here's an example. My friend Mary "liked" her friend Jeanine's post. I don't know Jeanine, I am not friends with Jeanine, I have never heard of Jeanine! But, I am able to see this post, along with Mary's "like". The reason I am able to see this, is because Jeanine's privacy setting is toshare this post with Public.

If Jeanine had shared this with just "Friends", then I would not have seen the post or Mary's "like". (This screenshot was taken several years ago when Facebook used a "ticker" along the right side of the page. As of this update in 2019, there is no ticker. I might not come across this post so readily now; but the fact that the post is public means a greater chance that I might see it.)

Screenshot of a public status update with a comment, seen in the Facebook ticker

Learn More

Facebook has updated their "Help" section and they now provide information that is actually helpful. Here's more on the topic, from the Help section.

"If I make a comment on something and then the person who posted it changes the audience, who can see my comment?Anyone who can see a post can see comments made on that post."

Always check the privacy setting of the posts you're commenting on.Learn more about sharing privacy. If you aren't comfortable with who can see the post, don't comment on it or like it.