Having a Facebook account provides users with the ability to browse through all sections of Facebook, including account profiles, different pages and groups, the marketplace and much, much more.
If you don’t have a Facebook account however, then what you can and can’t search for on the platform is very different.
If you have landed on this page then you are likely wondering what exactly you can still search for if you’re after a cheeky Facebook browse without having an account.
The good news is that this is exactly what we are going to be going through today. Let’s take a look.
How to Facebook search without account – Guide
Before we can even consider what you can and can’t search for on Facebook without an account, you are going to want to know how you can even go about doing it.
There are a couple of ways of doing it, both via the official Facebook website or via third party websites.
If you are going down the route of the official Facebook website then you will soon realise that you are actually limited to viewing the ‘help’ page.
This is basically where all of Facebook’s support articles are housed, allowing users (with or without a Facebook account) to search for just about anything in relation to ‘how to’ do things on the platform.
Aside from this, you are going to need to use a third party website to access anything else on Facebook, including pages, groups and profiles.
One option is for you to simply use a search engine like Google, typing in the name of the profile you or page your are searching for followed by the word ‘Facebook’.
When you enter this into Google search, you’ll be able to click directly through to a webpage. This is one way you can search Facebook without your own account.
However, we would recommend you to use the website, Social Searcher instead. The website functions much in the same way the Facebook search button functions.
This means that you will by searching for the profile or page you are looking for, then the most relevant results will show up.
The downsides of searching Facebook without an account
There are few catches to using this third party website, or any for that matter. First and foremost, any profiles or pages which have elected NOT to make their profile/page visible on search engines will not show up on the results.
Additionally, you won’t have access to popular Facebook subpages such as Messenger, Marketplace and Dating – these are all exclusive to Facebook account holders. You need an account to search Facebook for personal details and specific subpages.
If you are reading this and want to ensure that non-Facebook users can’t gain access to your profile, then you will need to follow the following steps:
On the mobile phone app
- Log on to your Facebook account.
- Select the three lined icon on the bottom right hand side of the screen and select ‘settings and privacy’, followed by ‘settings’.
- Scroll down to ‘audience and visibility’ and select ‘how people can find and contact you’.
- Select ‘Do you want search engines outside Facebook to link to your profile?’
- Toggle the button on the subsequent page to determine whether you do or do want to be visible to external search engines.
On the website
- Log on to your Facebook account.
- Select the downwards arrow on the top right hand side of the screen and select ‘settings and privacy’, followed by ‘privacy checkup’.
- Select ‘how people can find you on Facebook’.
- Select ‘continue’ and then keep selecting ‘next’ until your reach the page titled ‘search engines’.
- Select or de-select the toggle next ‘Do you want search engines outside Facebook to link to your profile?’ depending on whether you want to be visible via search engines or not.
If you’ve had a profile in the past but can’t remember the email, then you can find your Facebook account by name, which makes things a little easier.
How to gain access to the entire Facebook search database
If you don’t currently have a Facebook account but want to gain access to the entire database, then you only really have two options available to you.
Firstly, you could ask a friend who does have a Facebook account if you could borrow their login briefly to conduct the search that you’re after. This will rely on you knowing someone who will trust you with their login details.
Secondly, you could simply just create a Facebook account yourself. If you are conscious about not wanting an online footprint then Facebook allows you to create an incredibly private profile, meaning that you could essentially create an account that is only visible to you.
Failing that, you could create an account with fake details just purely so you can use the full search functionality.
However, you may find your Facebook account restricted if you appear to be a spammer and not a genuine person.
Creating a Facebook page can be done via the website or the app, simply by selecting the ‘sign up’ button on the landing page of each version. All you need is either an email address a phone number that you have access to.
Conclusion
To conclude, while it is possible to still search parts of Facebook without an account, if you want to gain access to absolutely everything on the platform then you are going to need to sign up.
If you’re set on not having a Facebook account then you are going to need a trusting friend who will ‘lend’ you their account if you want access to more than just certain pages/groups and profiles.
