How to Change Comment Settings on Facebook

Taming a chaotic Facebook comment section can feel like a full-time job, but a few simple adjustments to your settings can restore order. This guide will walk you through exactly how to control who can comment on your posts, what they can say, and how to handle unwanted feedback across your personal profile, Pages, and Groups. You’ll learn how to set universal rules and make custom changes to individual posts for complete control over your online conversations.

Why Should You Bother Changing Your Facebook Comment Settings?

Before jumping into the "how," it's helpful to understand the "why." Actively managing your comment settings isn't about censorship, it's about curating a safe and productive environment for you, your brand, and your audience. A well-managed comment section can transform a user's experience from negative to positive, encouraging more interaction and fostering a stronger community.

Here are a few key benefits:

• Reduce Spam and Scams: Your comment section is prime real estate for bots and scammers posting shady links. By limiting who can comment or blocking common spam phrases, you can protect your audience and maintain the integrity of your page.
• Manage Negativity and Trolls: While constructive criticism has its place, relentless negativity or trolling can derail conversations and discourage genuine fans from participating. Setting boundaries helps keep the discussion on track.
• Create a Safe and Positive Community: Brands and creators are responsible for the spaces they build. Proactively filtering out profanity, hate speech, or harassment makes your page a more welcoming place for everyone, which builds trust and loyalty.
• Save Time and Energy: Instead of manually deleting dozens of inappropriate comments every day, you can let Facebook's automated tools do the heavy lifting. This frees you up to focus on what matters most: creating great content and engaging with your real audience.

How to Change Comment Settings on Your Personal Profile

Your personal profile is your own space, and Facebook gives you a straightforward way to decide how to control who can comment on your posts, what they can say, and how to handle unwanted feedback across your personal profile, Pages, and Groups. This setting acts as a general rule for any content you share publicly.

It's important to know that for posts shared with a specific audience (like "Friends"), only people in that audience can comment. The setting below applies specifically to posts you mark as "Public."

Changing Your Default Comment Setting (Desktop)

Here's how to set your preferred default for who can comment on your public content when using a computer:

1. Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner of Facebook and select Settings &, Privacy, then click Settings.
2. In the left-hand menu, navigate to the Audience and Visibility section and click on Followers and Public Content.
3. Look for the section titled Who can comment on your public posts?.
4. You’ll see a dropdown menu on the right. Click it to choose from your options:
   • Public: Anyone, including people who don’t follow you, can comment.
   • Friends: Only your Facebook friends can comment.
   • Friends of Friends: Your friends and their friends can comment.
5. Select the option you prefer. Your changes are saved automatically.

Changing Your Default Comment Setting (Mobile App)

The process is just as simple on your phone, whether you're using iOS or Android.

1. Open the Facebook app and tap the menu icon (your profile picture and three horizontal lines) in the bottom-right (iOS) or top-right (Android).
2. Scroll down and tap Settings &, Privacy, then tap Settings.
3. Under the Audience and Visibility heading, tap Followers and Public Content.
4. Find the section titled Who can comment on your public posts?.
5. Select your preferred audience: Public, Friends, or Friends of Friends. The app will save your choice automatically.

Remember, this is a global setting for your profile. You can also customize the comment audience for individual posts, which offers even more specific control.

Customizing Comments on an Individual Facebook Post

Sometimes you don't want a "one-size-fits-all" rule. Perhaps you're sharing a sensitive family update and want comments limited to just friends, or you're posting something controversial and want to open it up for wider discussion. You can change the comment settings for each post you create.

Editing a Post to Change Comment Settings

If you've already published a post and decide you want to restrict comments, it's easy to go back and edit it.

1. Go to the post you want to adjust.
2. Click or tap the three dots (...) in the top-right corner of the post.
3. Select Who can comment on your post? from the dropdown menu.
4. A pop-up will appear with a list of audiences. For personal profiles, you can typically choose from Public, Friends, and specific friend lists or profiles you want to restrict. For Pages, you can often select Public, Followers, or Profiles and Pages you mention.
5. Choose your desired setting and click Done.

This simple step can be a lifesaver for posts that unexpectedly attract unwanted attention, allowing you to quickly regain control of the conversation without deleting the post itself.

Advanced Comment Controls for Facebook Pages &, Groups

For community managers, brand builders, and creators, managing comments on a Page or in a Group is a different game. The stakes are higher, and so are the tools available to you. These settings are less about who can comment and more about what is being said.

Content Moderation for Facebook Pages

Facebook Pages have a powerful, built-in moderation assistant that can automatically hide comments for you based on criteria you set. This is your first line of defense against spam and toxicity.

How to Set Up Automated Comment Moderation:

1. Navigate to your Facebook Page and click on Settings in the left-hand menu. If you're using the New Pages Experience, click Manage on your Page, then access Professional Dashboard >, Moderation Assist.
2. In the classic view, click on General, and you'll find an option for Content Moderation. Click Edit.
3. Here, you can build a blocklist of words. Add any comma-separated keywords, phrases, or even emojis that you want to be filtered out. When a comment contains one of these exact words or phrases, it will be automatically hidden from everyone except the person who posted it and their friends.
4. Another option you'll see here is the Profanity Filter. You can set this to Medium or Strong to automatically hide comments that contain various levels of recognized profanity.
5. Click Save Changes once you're done.

Pro Tip: Think beyond just profanity for your keyword list. Add words commonly used in spam attacks, such as "free followers," "crypto wallet," "Big win," or specific competitor names if you face a problem with rivals spamming your comments.

Controlling Comments in Facebook Groups

Group administrators have some of the most powerful moderation tools on the platform, including the ability to completely shut down a discussion on a specific post.

How to Turn Off Comments on a Group Post:

If a post in your group has become heated, unproductive, or is attracting trolls, you can easily disable comments to stop the conversation.

1. Find the post within your group where you want to disable comments.
2. Click the three dots (...) in the top-right corner of that post.
3. From the dropdown menu, select Turn off commenting.

That's it. A notification will appear at the bottom of the post indicating that you've turned off comments. No one will be able to add new comments. If you change your mind, you can follow the same steps to select Turn on commenting.

Dealing with Bad Comments: Hide, Delete, or Ban?

When an inappropriate comment slips past your automated filters, you have three main options: Hide, Delete, or Ban. Knowing which one to use is part of an effective community management strategy.

• Hiding a Comment: This is often your best first move. When you hide a comment, it remains visible to the person who wrote it and their direct friends. To everyone else, including your other fans, it becomes invisible. This prevents the original commenter from knowing they've been moderated, which can stop them from getting angry and posting again. It effectively neutralizes the problem without escalating it.
• Deleting a Comment: Deleting a comment removes it completely for everyone. This is a good option for unambiguous spam, scams, or content that clearly violates your community standards. The person who posted it will be able to see that their comment is gone, which might provoke them, so use this when you're sure the comment adds no value and you don't mind the person knowing you've acted.
• Banning a User: This is your final option for repeat offenders. When you ban someone from your Page or Group, they will no longer be able to post, comment, or interact with any of your content. To ban someone, you can click on their problematic comment and find the option to ban them directly, or you can go to your Page settings under People and Other Pages to find and remove them. Use this for users who consistently ignore the rules despite warnings or lesser moderation actions.

Final Thoughts

Mastering Facebook's comment settings is fundamental for anyone looking to build a healthy and engaged online community. By using these tools, you can shield your audience from spam and negativity, foster more productive conversations, and protect your own mental energy.

Once your settings are dialed in, the real work of engaging with your community across all platforms begins, which can quickly become overwhelming. We built Postbase to solve this exact problem by putting all your comments and DMs from every social account into one unified inbox. Instead of constantly switching between apps, you can manage conversations in a single, streamlined place, ensuring an important message is never missed and every community member feels heard.