How to control who can follow you on Facebook
What's the story
Facebook lets users manage their privacy settings, including controlling who can send them friend requests or follow their posts. By default, when someone becomes friends with a user on Facebook, they automatically start following that user. However, the platform also gives an option for people who aren't friends to follow a user's posts. This is particularly useful for public figures or businesses wanting to reach a wider audience without adding them as friends. Let's see how to use this facility.
Privacy settings
Managing friend requests on Facebook
To control who can send you friend requests, head over to "Settings & privacy" section under your profile picture. Next, tap on "Settings" and scroll down to "Audience and visibility." Click on "How people find and contact you," then edit the option for "Who can send you friend requests?" Select 'Everyone' or 'Friends of friends.' To restrict who can follow your posts, select 'Friends' or 'Public' next to the option that reads, "Who can follow me?" under the same tab.
User control
Additional privacy settings for public posts and notifications
Facebook also provides more settings to control public posts and notifications. These include "Public post comments," which lets users choose who can comment on their public posts, and "Public Post Notifications," which lets users decide if they want to be notified when people who aren't their friends start following them or engage with their public posts. Users can also control who can like/comment on changes to their 'Intro' section under "Public Profile Info."
Follower visibility
Viewing and managing followers
If a user's profile privacy settings are 'Public,' they can view a list of followers who aren't their friends. This can be accessed by visiting the user's profile and clicking 'Friends' under their cover photo, followed by 'More > Followers.' However, note that if users allow people to follow them, those who send ignored/deleted friend requests will automatically follow them. You can block someone anytime if you don't want them to follow your posts.