One of the most popular and used social networks in the world is Facebook (Meta). Although there are many more options nowadays, millions of users still connect to this site every day to update their profiles, check information and news, chat or perform other actions. Something that might intrigue you is to find out who visits your Facebook profile. Here we tell you all about it to learn an effective method for it.
How do I find out who is visiting my Facebook profile
First off, Facebook doesn’t have a native way of finding out who’s visiting your profile. Therefore, the matter is a bit complicated, unlike other social networks like LinkedIn, which tracks the users who visit your profile and even informs you about it. However, there are a number of tips and tricks you can follow to keep some track of visitors.
Use the source code to see who is viewing my profile
We’ll start with the method that really works, even if it’s a bit complicated. Then we look at other aspects that we need to consider if, for example, we want to reduce the number of users who can see our profile and posts. We’re talking about access to the source code of our Facebook page, which will provide you with the information you need when it comes to identifying the social network users who have visited your profile. You won’t be able to know when this visit took place, which is a problem, and you won’t have a convenient list of all users either, but you can check them one-by-one and unbiased.
To search what you want in the source code, you need to open your Facebook profile in the browser (on a computer) and there right-click anywhere on the page. Several options will appear. The one that interests you is “View the source code of the page”. It’s faster if you press “Ctrl + U” on the keyboard or F12, which we recommend as a shortcut for this first step.
This will open a tab with the HTML of the page. There’s a lot of text, but what interests you is to press “Ctrl + F” to search in the search bar that appears: BUDDY_ID.
Search Facebook source code for BUDDY_ID to find out who is visiting your profile
You will find this command repeated several times in the HTML of the page and the row of numbers next to it corresponds to the Facebook profile of the user who visited you. So if you want to find out who it is, just copy the number (by double clicking on it + Ctrl/C) and paste it „Facebook.com/‘ in the address field of your browser.
This will take you to the profile of the person who visited your profile. This is an effective but somewhat time consuming method as you have to go through the numbers in the HTML next to BUDDY_ID one by one. Also remember that it is not possible to know when your profile was visited, only by whom.
Use of Post Reading Restrictions
On the other hand, you can control who can see the posts you upload to your Facebook profile by choosing the type of users who can see them: everyone, your friends, friends of friends, etc. With this option you can’t find out who saw each post, but it limits who can see it. Every time you upload a post to Facebook, you’ll see a drop-down menu where you can choose one of the following options:
- Public: anyone on or off Facebook
- friends: your Facebook friends
- friends, except: You can choose which friend accounts should not see this post.
- certain friends: Select the users who can see this post.
- Just me: Limited to your own account only.
Remember that you can change this for any post you’ve already published. All you have to do is select the three ellipses in the top right corner of each post and from there click “Edit Privacy” to bring up the above options.
Control the privacy of your posts to control who can see them on Facebook
Of all the options available, the “Specific Friends” option is the one that gives you the best control over who sees your posts, as you can choose exactly who you want to give access to your posts.
Other methods to find out who visited your Facebook profile
Additionally, there’s nothing like checking your friends list (with the ability to remove or block the people you want) to find out and control who visits your Facebook profile. However, below we explain other possible (or not) methods and why they are more or less recommended.
Use external applications
It’s important to mention that there are several third-party Facebook apps that promise to tell you exactly who’s visiting your profile on the social network. However, it is not advisable to use these as they are usually full of spam or could even steal your data if they are shady apps. You will be asked for access to your Facebook profile. Because this is where you store important data and information about yourself, we don’t recommend giving these permissions to unknown or suspicious apps.
Use a link shortener
Another method is to use a Google address shortener and place your Facebook profile URL there. With the link obtained, you can find out which people are clicking on it thanks to the information on the shortener’s website. An example of a website that offers this option is Grabify.
Use a URL shortener to control who clicks your Facebook profile link
To find out who entered your profile, all you have to do is go back to the page, paste the link in question into the search bar, and click Tracking Code to get the information you’re looking for at the bottom of the results. However, this is only limited to those who have visited your Facebook profile through that specific link.
How to see who is accessing your profile from your account
Finally, you should check if someone other than you has logged into your Facebook account and visited your profile. This could either be an accident of sharing your credentials with someone you trust, or a security issue you should be aware of. To find out if someone is accessing your account from your own account, go to Facebook and click on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of the screen and on the cog.
Go to the Settings & Settings section of your Facebook profile
From there, click on the Security & Passwords tab (the second from the top, under Account) to see all your Facebook account security options.
Go to the Security & Passwords section of your Facebook profile
Finally, check that the Where you’re connected section only shows the devices (PC, phones, tablets, etc.) you’re connected to. If there are additional devices that you don’t have control over, you may find that someone else is connected to your account.
Check which devices your Facebook account is currently active on
While this last method doesn’t tell you who is viewing your Facebook profile from your own account, it does give you some details about the device the person is logged in on, which may give you clues to finding out for yourself.