How to Get Started with Facebook: Desktop & Mobile Guide

Are you new to Facebook? Facebook is one of the most popular social media sites in the world, but it can be overwhelming if you've never used it before. This wikiHow teaches you how to use Facebook on both desktop and mobile versions, including how to add a profile picture, write a post, and upload photos. Read on to learn how.

Facebook Basics Overview

To get started, go to Facebook's website or download the mobile app and sign up for a free account. From the Facebook home page, you can write posts, upload photos and videos, and view your feed. To add friends, search for them via the search bar and click the Add Friend. Your friends' posts will show up in your feed.

Section 1 of 7:

Getting Started

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1
Open Facebook. Go to facebook.com in your computer's web browser, or tap the Facebook app icon if you're on mobile. This will bring you to the Facebook login page if you aren't currently logged into a Facebook account.
- If you haven't yet downloaded the Facebook app for your iPhone or Android, you can do so for free.
You can create an account on either the desktop version of Facebook or in the Facebook mobile app.^{[1]
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3
Go to your Facebook page. This will differ slightly depending on whether you're using a computer or a mobile device:
- Desktop: Click the small image of your profile photo in the upper-right side of the window, then click on your name.
- Mobile: Tap the small image of your profile photo in the upper-left corner of the screen.
  - If you don't have a profile photo yet, the default profile photo is a gray image of a person.
4
Add a profile picture. You can add a picture of yourself (or anything else) to your profile so that other users can identify you. To do so, when you're on your profile, click or tap the gray camera icon by your profile photo, then select a new photo.
- You can also add a photo to the top of your Facebook profile by clicking or tapping Add Cover Photo, clicking Upload Photo (desktop) or tapping Change Cover Photo (mobile), and selecting a photo from your computer or mobile platform.
5
Edit your account information. If you didn't add certain information while setting up your Facebook account (or you want to remove some of the stuff that you did add), you can do so from your profile page:
- Desktop: Click About below your cover photo area, click a subject below the "About" heading on the left side of the page (e.g., Places Lived), click the three-dot icon, then click the Edit button.
- Mobile: Tap Edit profile under your name, then scroll down and tap Edit your About info. Tap the pencil icon to edit the info on this screen.
Click or tap Save on the page on which you made your changes to save them and apply them to your profile. Now that you've set up your Facebook account, it's time to add some friends.

Section 2 of 7:

Adding Friends

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If you're on a computer, click the search bar at the top of the home screen.^{[2]
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Research source} If you're on mobile, tap the magnifying glass icon at the top of your home screen to open the search bar. This will place your cursor in the search bar, and your on-screen keyboard will appear if you're on mobile.
2
Enter a friend's name. Type in the name of a person whom you want to add as a friend on Facebook, then click or tap the name that you just typed when it appears below the text box.^{[3]
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- You can also press ↵ Enter or tap Search as soon as you're done typing to search.
3
Select your friend. Once you find a friend's profile, click their profile picture to open their public profile page.
- Skip this step on mobile.
It's near the top of the page (desktop) or to the right of the friend's name (mobile). Doing so will send a friend request to the person; if they accept it, you'll be able to see their Facebook profile and posts.^{[4]
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5
Use Facebook's suggested friends. Facebook will come up with a list of recommended friends for you. This is most relevant when you've added a few friends already, but you can view suggested friends at any time:
- Desktop: On the home page, click Friends in the left-hand sidebar. Then, click Suggestions. Suggested friends will appear in the left-hand sidebar. You can click their name to preview their profile, or click Add friend to send them a friend request.
- Mobile: Tap ☰, tap Friends, tap the Requests tab, and scroll down to the "People you may know" section. Tap Add Friend next to each friend whom you want to add.
Facebook is at its best when you have several friends with whom you can connect, so feel free to search for as many friends as you like. Once you've added enough friends, you can move on to making posts.

Section 3 of 7:

Making Posts on Desktop

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You can return to your profile by clicking your profile picture in the upper-right corner of the page, then clicking your name, or you can return to the home page by clicking the house icon at the top of the screen.
This text box, which usually has "What's on your mind?" written in it, is in the middle of the page. Doing so opens the status text box.
3
Create your post. The basis of any status is text, which you can add by typing into the status box, but you may want to add other elements to your post as well:
- You can add a photo to the post by clicking Photo/Video below the text box and then selecting the proper photo or video file from your computer.
- To tag a friend in the post, type @ followed by the first few letters of their name, then click their name in the menu that appears.
- You can add more to a post by clicking the three-dot icon next to the "Add to your post" section to see all the things you can add.
By default, your posts will only be available for your friends to see, but you can change this by clicking the Friends drop-down box under your name and then clicking a different privacy setting.
It's at the bottom of the status window. Doing so will create your post and add it to your profile page.^{[5]
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6
Comment on other people's posts. If you're friends with someone, you can click Comment below a post that they make and then enter a comment to add below their original post.
- Any friends who see your content will see this post in their News Feed pages as well.

Section 4 of 7:

Making Posts on Mobile

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To get back to your profile, tap ☰ in the lower- or upper-right corner of the screen, then tap your name at the top of the resulting menu. To get to the home screen, tap the house icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.
If you're posting on your profile, you'll need to scroll down, as the status box is below the section of tabs that are under your profile picture. If you're on the home page, scroll down just slightly to expose the status box. Tap on "What's on your mind?". Doing so opens the status text box.
3
Create your post. The basis of any status is text, which you can add by typing into the status box, but you may want to add other elements to your post as well:
- You can add a photo to the post by tapping Photo/Video below the text box and then selecting the proper photo or video file.
- To tag a friend in the post, type @ followed by the first few letters of their name, then tap their name in the menu that appears.
- You can add more to your post by scrolling down and choosing any of the options under the status box.
By default, your posts will only be available for your friends to see, but you can change this by tapping the Friends drop-down box below your name and then tapping a new privacy setting (e.g., Public or Only me) and tapping Done.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Doing so will create your post and add it to your profile page.
6
Comment on other people's posts. If you're friends with someone, you can tap Comment below a post that they make and then enter a comment to add below their original post.
- Any friends who see your content will see this post in their News Feed pages as well.

Section 5 of 7:

Uploading Photos and Videos on Desktop

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You can return to your profile by clicking your profile picture in the upper-right corner of the page and clicking your name.
It's one of the tabs under your name.
It's in the upper-right corner of the "Photos" section on the page.
The photo must already be downloaded on your computer for you to be able to add it to your Facebook page.
If you want to upload more photos, click the Add photos/videos button that's on top of the photo you just chose to add.
If you'd like to write a status to go along with your photo or video, click "What's on your mind?" and write a status.
By default, your posts will only be available for your friends to see, but you can change this by clicking the Friends drop-down box under your name and then clicking a different privacy setting.
It's at the bottom of the status window. The photos will be uploaded to your Facebook page and the status will be posted to your feed.

Section 6 of 7:

Uploading Photos and Videos on Mobile

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To get back to your profile, tap ☰ in the lower- or upper-right corner of the screen, then tap your name at the top of the resulting menu. To get to the home screen, tap the house icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.
If you're posting on your profile, you'll need to scroll down, as the status box is below the section of tabs that are under your profile picture. If you're on the home page, scroll down just slightly to expose the status box. Tap on "What's on your mind?". Doing so opens the status text box.
It's under the status box, with a green icon of a photo.
4
Select a photo or video. Tap the item that you want to upload to Facebook to do so.
- To select more than one photo or video at a time, tap each video/photo that you want to upload.
It's in the bottom-right corner of the screen
While unnecessary, you can add text to your post by tapping the text box above your photos and typing in your text.
By default, your posts will only be available for your friends to see, but you can change this by tapping the Friends drop-down box below your name and then tapping a new privacy setting (e.g., Public or Only me) and tapping Done.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Doing so will create your post and add it to your profile page.

Section 7 of 7:

Doing More with Facebook

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1
Like your friends' posts. "Liking" posts is a way of interacting with your friends' content in order to show your appreciation for it. There are also several reactions that you can use in addition to the standard "thumbs-up" icon one sees on Facebook.
2
Chat with your friends. Facebook has a built-in chat feature that you can use to keep in touch with your other Facebook friends.
- You can also install the Facebook Messenger app for your iPhone or Android if you want to chat with Facebook friends on your mobile item.
3
Treat other people well and stay safe. To stay safe on Facebook, remember not to give out personal information to strangers, and make sure you treat everyone with the courtesy and respect they deserve.
4
Add GIFs to Facebook. GIFs, which are animated images, can be added both to your Facebook posts and to your comments.
- Facebook includes a large database of GIF reactions specifically for comments.
5
Create a Facebook page. Facebook pages are non-personal pages dedicated to a theme, location, or concept. You can use Facebook pages for anything from artist appreciation to business, and you can create as many free pages as you like.^{[6]
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6
Get fans for your Facebook business page. If you have a Facebook page for your business, organization, art, or anything else, you can employ some practices to gain more fans, which in turn leads to more exposure for your work.
7
Advertise on Facebook. Facebook is a powerful tool that you can use to advertise your business to millions of potential customers, and the first step in doing so is creating a set of ads.
- Keep in mind that Facebook advertising isn't as popular as it used to be; if you have another platform on which you can advertise, it might be better to try out your ads there instead.
8
Prevent Facebook tracking. If you're worried about Facebook tracking your activity, you aren't alone. Thankfully, you can cut down on the amount of data that Facebook has about you in order to limit its tracking.

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Question

If I set my Facebook to "public," can everyone see my posts?

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Yes, everyone can see your posts, even if you are not friends.

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How do I send a Facebook reply to just one person?

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If you're in Chat, click on a person's name and a window box will appear prompting you to type a message. If you're in Messenger, go to your Contacts and select a person. You will have a chat head open from which you can message only that person.

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How can I delete a photo I already posted?

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There should be a small, downward-pointing arrow in the upper right corner of the post. Click it, and there should be a dropdown menu. Simply click "delete."

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Follow the same guidelines on Facebook that you would in real life: avoid strangers, don't give out personal information, and don't bully others.

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