How to Create a Group on Facebook and Change Privacy Options

In these short tutorials we explain in a simple way how to make the most of your social networks. Basic tips and tricks to manage your profile.

Now that we have spent so much time at home and especially hooked on social networks, it may have occurred to you to open a Facebook group . If this is the case, but you do not know very well how to do it, today we explain the simple steps you must follow to set up one as administrator and manage it. Ahead.

The usefulness of groups on Facebook

One of the most interesting tools that Facebook continues to have is that of creating groups. And it is that in the end we are social beings who like to share thoughts and that, although it is already possible to do it openly, it may be more comfortable or desirable to do in private in certain cases.

And just that is what the groups on the platform offer us. A somewhat more “exclusive” or private place, to which we can even restrict access, in which we communicate with other people with common interests as diverse as the fact that they all belong to a family, a team with which you play sports or a club Reading.

Setting up these kinds of “sections” within the service is extremely simple as well as managing your privacy, which must be other key aspects to keep in mind when setting up this type of training – as well as deciding which people you will invite. If you are interested in knowing how to create and manage them to have a good starting base, this is what you should consider.

Create a Facebook group

The first thing we should obviously do is create a group on Facebook. To do so, the steps to follow are as follows:

Click “Create” at the top right of Facebook – next to the friend requests icon – and select Group.
A creation window will appear in which you will have to write the name of the group and add the members (who will receive an invitation to join and even a common note, if you want to write something to them)
Choose the privacy settings you want for the group (public or private).
Select whether you want the group to be visible or hidden.
Click Create. Done, you already have your group created.

After creating the group, you can upload a cover photo and add a description to customize it according to the purpose or theme of the section.

Group types according to privacy

One thing you should be as clear about as the people you will add is the type of group privacy you are creating. In addition to choosing whether it is a public or private group, you can decide whether you want it to be hidden or public on the social network. We explain the differences and how to manage this important aspect.

Public or private group?

Note that only group administrators can choose whether the group is public or private. Although it is an option that you must decide as soon as you create it, you can modify it whenever you want:

In the left column, click on Groups, choose the one you want and click on it to enter.
Just below the header is a button, “More.” Select it with the mouse and, in the drop-down menu, look for “Edit group settings” (third option).
Once inside, scroll with the mouse until you reach the Privacy section and click on “Change privacy settings”.
Select Public or Private and tap on the Confirm button.
Scroll all the way down again and tap “Save”.

Keep in mind that in a Public group , anyone on Facebook can see who is part of it and read / see what they post. In contrast, in a Private group, only members can see who is part of the group and what is published in it.

Groups, by the way, have a limit of one privacy setting change every 28 days and that once it’s changed, administrators have 24 hours to override the change, should they regret it. Members are always notified of the change in privacy settings.

Another point to know is that private groups with more than 5,000 members cannot change to become public, so if you are an administrator of one with this volume, they will not be able to make such a change.

Visible or hidden group?

It is one thing for a group to be accessible to anyone or not and another for it to be “visible”. This means that although an external person from the social network cannot enter, they may know of the group’s existence if it is “visible” or be unable to track it if it is hidden.

To change this characteristic of your group, the steps to follow are similar to those explained in the previous section:

Enter Facebook and in the left column, click Groups.
Choose the one that interests you and click on it to enter.
Just below the header you will see a button called “More”. Select it with the mouse and, in the drop-down menu, look for “Edit group settings” (it is the third option).
Scroll with the mouse until you reach the “Hide group” section and choose between “Visible” and “Hidden”, selecting it.
Scroll back down and tap on the blue “Save” button.