eSAFETY GUIDE
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Facebook

13+
Minimum age according to Facebook
13+ Minimum age according to Facebook

What is Facebook?

Facebook is a social media service owned by Meta that lets you create a page about yourself, an organisation or group. You can add friends, write on people’s pages, share photos and videos including live videos.

The 'Stories' feature lets you post short videos to your profile and apply overlay and filter effects. These videos only stay on your page for 24 hours then disappear.

You can also subscribe to the pages of other people or organisations, so that you receive updates about them. You can like and comment on each other’s pages. Facebook has additional settings that allow you to moderate these comments (such as keyword blocking) and control if other people tag you. You can also make your posts public or choose who sees individual posts. These functions are also available if you manage a Facebook page.

Facebook also has a private messaging service called Messenger. You can also access Meta AI, an artificial intelligence chatbot, through Facebook’s search function, which can answer questions and search the internet.

Facebook Lite is a simplified version of Facebook that is ideal for people with slow or unreliable connections, low-end devices or limited data plans.

Website: facebook.com

Apps: Android app, Apple iOS app

How do people use Facebook?

Learn more about the benefits and risks associated with how people use social media like Facebook.

Facebook is used for: content sharing, live streaming, location sharing, messaging/online chat, online relationships and photo/video sharing. 

Messenger, linked to and accessible via Facebook, is used for content sharing, messaging/online chat, online relationships, photo/video sharing, screen capture, voice chat and video calling.

How to report online abuse or ask for content to be removed

These links are provided by Facebook:

How to block someone on Facebook

This link is provided by Facebook:

How to restrict someone on Facebook and choose who you share content with

These links are provided by Facebook:

  • Restrict someone on Facebook
    How to add someone to your restricted list so they will only see your public posts or posts you tag them in. They will not be notified they have been restricted.
  • Choose who can see your post on Facebook
    How to choose the audience for individual posts, such as 'friends', 'only me' or 'custom audiences', which allow you to share or hide posts from specific people.

How to moderate comments and tagging

These links are provided by Facebook:

How to protect your personal information

These links are provided by Facebook:

How do I lock my Facebook profile?

This link is provided by Facebook:

Key safety links

These links are provided by Facebook:

  • Parents 
    Provides a range of safety information for parents and carers about using Facebook, and other Meta services.
  • Help centre 
    Offers a range of general help, safety and security information and popular topics. 
  • Security check-up 
    Provides information on how to protect your information both on and off Facebook.
  • Data policy 
    Outlines Facebook’s policy on the type of information they collect and how they use it.
  • Generative AI at Meta
    Outlines how messages are generated by Meta AI, including warnings that messages may be inaccurate and inappropriate.

Last updated: 11/06/2024

The eSafety Guide helps you find out how to protect your personal information and report harmful content on common social media, games, apps and sites. Entries are for information only and are not reviews or endorsements by eSafety. Before choosing to use any online service or platform it’s best to:

  • do your own research to understand the risks and benefits
  • check the age rating and requirements
  • consider privacy
  • check the permissions and other settings
  • check the in-app reporting options.

If you are a parent or carer who is deciding whether a child should be allowed to use an online service or platform, you can also:

  • consider your child's readiness for the types of content and experiences they might encounter
  • help them understand what to do if they need help
  • provide ongoing support and monitoring, for example through regular check-ins with your child
  • agree to some rules about use of each service or platform.

To find out more, you can read the App checklist for parents, as well as information about parental controls in social media, games and apps and mental wellbeing resources for families.