Emily Bennett
How To Prevent Sharing of Your Facebook Stories
In today’s digital age, keeping your online content somewhat private is more important than ever, especially if you don’t want everyone sharing your stories without asking. If you’re tired of folks resharing your Facebook stories and want a little tighter control, here’s a quick rundown based on what actually worked in real-world settings. No fluff, just stuff that might save you some annoyance.
Step 1: Access Your Facebook Account
Fire up the Facebook app on your phone. If you haven’t logged in lately, do that first. Doesn’t matter if you’re on iOS or Android, the steps are pretty similar. Sometimes a quick restart of the app or even the device can clear weird glitches with settings, so give that a shot if something’s acting up.
Step 2: Go to Your Profile
Once you’re in, tap on your profile icon—the little circle or picture at the top right (Android) or top left (iOS). This takes you to your profile page where you can start messing with privacy stuff.
Step 3: Open Settings & Privacy
Scroll down just a little and tap Settings & Privacy—it’s usually right there. This opens a menu with all kinds of options. Sometimes, it’s easy to miss, so keep an eye out.
Step 4: Enter Settings
Tap on Settings (it’s the full menu item, not just the quick toggle). Now you’re in the beast that controls pretty much everything about your account.
Step 5: Find Your Story Settings
Scroll down to Audience & Visibility. Inside that, look for Stories. Yeah, Facebook separates story controls here because they know we’re trying to keep things on our terms. On some setups, this is hidden under a sub-menu or seems glitchy—you might need to tap a few times or reopen the app. Because of course, Facebook has to make it harder than it needs to be.
Step 6: Disable Story Sharing
Now, here’s the real deal: look for an option labeled Allow others to share your public stories. If it’s toggled on, anyone can reshared your stories, sometimes even with your name attached. Toggle this off — usually just tap the switch or the checkbox so it’s grayed out. When that happens, no one can share your stories anymore, which is what most people want if they’re worried about getting reshared without permission.
Heads up: Sometimes this toggle acts temperamental. On some devices, it feels like toggling it off requires a app restart or even a device reboot, because Facebook’s weird like that.
Extra Tips & Common Frustrations
Here are some extra things that helped make the privacy stick:
- Check these settings periodically — Facebook tends to roll out updates that can shuffle things around.
- Adjust your audience for new posts or profile info if you want to stay extra secure. Like, make your profile visible only to friends.
- If stuff isn’t saving or showing up right, try closing the app completely, clearing cache (for Android), or even reinstalling if it’s stubborn.
When it might not work
Sometimes these options are a little flaky, especially if Facebook updates or if your app version is outdated. Keep your app up to date, or toggle around this setting a few times. On some machines, this toggle might need a reboot or a re-login to really register. Not sure why it works like that — but hey, tech is weird.
Conclusion
If you do this right, you’ll stop people from resharing your Facebook stories, giving you a bit more peace of mind. Just gotta keep an eye on those updates and toggle when necessary. Privacy isn’t perfect, but this kinda tips the scale back in your favor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I stop seeing other people’s stories on Facebook?
Yeah, you can mute or hide stories from specific people. Just tap their story, then the three dots, and pick *Mute* or *Hide*.
How do I share a story on Facebook?
Open the app, tap *Create Story*, add your stuff, then hit *Share*. Easy enough, but just make sure your privacy settings are dialed in if you don’t want it public.
Is there a way to turn off Facebook stories completely?
Facebook doesn’t let you turn off stories outright. You can only control who shares or sees your stories through these settings. So, it’s a bit of a workaround, but better than nothing.
Summary
- Check your story sharing toggle in Settings → Audience & Visibility → Stories.
- Toggle off “Allow others to share your public stories”.
- Keep the app updated and revisit these settings occasionally.
Fingers crossed this helps. Hopefully, it shaves off a few hours of annoyance for someone. Named sharing might still happen if you’re not careful, but this will cut down on accidental resharing in most cases.