How to Turn On Followers on Facebook in Mobile

Ready to let people follow your personal Facebook profile instead of just adding them as friends? Turning on the follow feature is a simple move that transforms your personal account into a platform for building an audience, sharing your thoughts more broadly, and connecting with people beyond your immediate circle. This article will walk you through exactly how to enable followers using the Facebook mobile app, customize your new settings for the best experience, and understand what this change means for your profile.

So, What's the Difference Between Friends and Followers?

Before we jump into the steps, it’s helpful to understand the distinction. A "friend" on Facebook is a mutual connection. You add them, they accept (or vice versa), and you can both see each other's content, depending on your privacy settings. It's a two-way street.

A "follower," on the other hand, is a one-way connection. When someone follows you, they can see your public posts in their News Feed, but you don't see theirs unless you follow them back or are friends. This is perfect for creators, public figures, journalists, or anyone looking to build a personal brand without filling up their friends list with people they don't know personally.

One of the biggest advantages of enabling followers is bypassing the 5,000 friend limit. Once you hit that cap, you can't accept any more friend requests. But you can have an unlimited number of followers, allowing your reach to grow indefinitely.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Turning On Followers on Mobile

Enabling the follow button on your Facebook profile is straightforward and takes less than a minute. The steps are virtually identical for both iPhone and Android users, as the Facebook app maintains a consistent layout across platforms.

Here’s exactly how to do it:

1. Open the Facebook App &, Go to the Menu: Tap the Facebook icon to open the app. Then, tap on your profile picture with the three horizontal lines in the bottom-right corner (iOS) or top-right corner (Android). This will take you to your main menu.
2. Access Your Settings: Scroll down the menu until you see "Settings &, Privacy." Tap it to expand the options, and then tap on "Settings."
3. Find "Audience and Visibility": In the Settings menu, you might have to scroll down a bit. Look for the section labeled "Audience and Visibility." This is where you control who sees your content and profile information.
4. Open "Followers and Public Content": Within the "Audience and Visibility" section, you’ll find an option called "Followers and Public Content." Tap on it.
5. Enable Public Followers: This is the most important step. The very first option you'll see is "Who Can Follow Me." It will likely be set to "Friends" by default. Tap on it and change the selection to "Public."

That's it! As soon as you set "Who Can Follow Me" to Public, a "Follow" button will now appear on your profile for anyone who isn't already your friend. People can now follow you to see your public updates without sending a friend request.

Customizing Your Settings for a Better Experience

Just turning on the feature is the first step. To make sure you’re comfortable with your new public-facing profile, take a moment to review the other settings on the "Followers and Public Content" page. These options give you detailed control over how people interact with your public content.

Who Can See Your Followers on Your Timeline?

This setting controls the visibility of your follower count in the "Intro" section of your profile. You have three options:

• Public: Anyone who visits your profile can see how many followers you have. This is a great form of social proof if you're building a brand or positioning yourself as an expert.
• Friends: Only your accepted friends can see your follower count.
• Only Me: Hides your follower count from everyone but you. Good for privacy if you want the benefits of followers without advertising the numbers.

Public Post Comments

This setting determines who can leave comments on your posts that you’ve shared with a "Public" audience. Your choices are:

• Public: Absolutely anyone, whether they follow you or not, can comment. This maximizes engagement but can also open you up to spam or unwanted comments.
• Friends of Friends: Restricts commenting to people who are friends with your friends. It’s a middle ground that expands your conversation beyond your immediate circle but keeps it somewhat contained.
• Friends: Only your accepted friends can comment on your public posts. This is the most restrictive option.

Our advice: Start with "Public" to encourage conversation. If you find yourself getting a lot of spam, you can always tighten this setting later.

Public Post Notifications

When your public posts get interactions from people you don't know, do you want to be notified? This setting lets you decide.

• Everyone: You’ll get a notification for every like, comment, or share on your public posts, regardless of who it’s from.
• Friends of Friends: You’ll only get notifications from people who are connected to your existing friends. This helps filter out the noise.

Public Profile Info

This covers who can like or comment on the parts of your profile that are always public, like your profile picture, cover photo, and featured photos. The options are the same as for public post comments (Public, Friends of Friends, Friends). Setting this to "Public" allows potential followers to engage with your profile and feel more connected before they even hit the follow button.

What Happens Next? What to Expect After Enabling Followers

Once you’ve turned on the Follow feature, a few things change about how your profile works and how people interact with you.

The Follow Button Appears

The most obvious change is that non-friends will now see a "Follow" button when they visit your profile. It typically appears right next to the "Add Friend" and "Message" buttons.

Friend Requests Automatically Become Follows

By default, when someone sends you a friend request and you have followers enabled, they automatically start following you. This means they will begin seeing your public posts in their feed, even if you never accept (or if you ignore) their friend request. This is a powerful way to grow your audience because it captures the interest of anyone who wants to connect.

You Can See Your Follower Count

To check how many followers you have, just navigate to your own profile. In the "Intro" section on the left-hand side, you should see "Followed by [X] people" displayed publicly (so long as you set the visibility of this to "Public" or "Friends").

Tips for Growing Your Facebook Following Organically

Turning on the button is the easy part. Building an audience that actually cares about what you have to say is the real work. Now that your profile is set up for growth, you can focus on strategies that attract new followers organically.

1. Create Valuable and Authentic Content

Your content is the single most important factor. People follow accounts that entertain, educate, or inspire them. Think about who you want to attract and what they would find valuable. Are you a fitness coach? Share workout tips and nutrition insights. A small business owner? Give a behind-the-scenes look at your process. Whatever your niche, your public posts should consistently provide value.

2. Post Consistently

Posting sporadically makes it hard to gain momentum. You don’t need to post five times a day, but try to establish a regular cadence that your audience can rely on. A consistent presence keeps you top-of-mind and signals to both your followers and Facebook's algorithm that your account is active and relevant.

3. Engage With Your Community

Social media is a two-way conversation. When people leave comments on your public posts, respond to them. Ask questions in your posts to spark discussion. Engaging with your audience makes them feel heard and valued, which turns passive followers into a loyal community.

4. Set Your Important Posts to Public

This might seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget. If you want your followers to see your content, you have to remember to set the post's audience to "Public" when you create it. Any posts set to "Friends" will remain visible only to your accepted friends list, defeating the purpose of having followers.

5. Promote Your Profile Elsewhere

Let people know they can follow you on Facebook! Add a link to your Facebook profile in your email signature, on your LinkedIn profile, in your Instagram bio, or on your website. Cross-promoting is a simple but effective way to funnel an existing audience from other platforms to your Facebook profile.

Final Thoughts

Enabling the follow feature on your personal Facebook profile is a fantastic way to expand your reach, build a personal brand, and connect with a wider audience on your own terms. By following the simple steps above and thoughtfully customizing your public content settings, you can open your profile to new growth opportunities while maintaining control over your privacy and interactions.

Once you start building that following, keeping your content stream consistent becomes the biggest priority. The challenging part for me was always managing multiple platforms and staying on top of my posting schedule. That’s precisely why we built Postbase. It provides a single, visual calendar to plan and schedule all your content - not just for Facebook, but for Reels, TikToks, and all your other channels - so you can focus on creating great stuff without juggling a dozen different apps.