Facebook Users Can Now Lock Their Profiles From Non-Friends

Facebook had launched the Profile Guard features three years ago to protect the users’s display picture.

Facebook now lets you lock your profile from non-friends just like Instagram.

(Photo: AP /Jenny Kane)

Social media giant Facebook has launched a new safety feature in India that will allow users, especially women, to lock their profiles from non-friends.

The ability to lock the profile is specially designed for women who want more control over their Facebook experience.

The Locking profile feature enables users to apply multiple existing privacy settings plus several new features to their Facebook profile.

“We are deeply aware of the concerns people in India, particularly women, have about protecting their online profile. Today, we are announcing a new feature which, in one easy step, will give people a lot more control, ensure their privacy and keep them safe and secure online,” Ankhi Das, Public Policy Director, Facebook India, said in a statement.   

How To Enable Profile Lock

To enable the feature, a user has to tap 'More' under their name on Facebook profile then select 'Lock Profile' and tap again to confirm.

Once the profile is locked non-friends cannot zoom into, share or download the user's full-size profile picture and cover photo, as well as non-friends, cannot see photos and posts on a locked account timeline (both historic and new).

What is interesting is that this security feature has been added three years after the company had rolled out the Profile Guard feature. The feature does not allow non-friends to zoom in or enlarge any profile picture.