You can change your birthday on Facebook anytime, but the visibility of that change depends on your privacy settings

Facebook lets you update your birthday through your profile settings. The process takes about two minutes. However, what matters more is understanding who sees that birthday once you change it — Facebook's default is to show it to everyone, and changing it after you've already listed one can trigger notifications to your friends.

The reason to know this upfront: if you listed a fake birthday years ago to bypass age restrictions, or if you want to keep your real birthday private, you need to adjust your privacy settings before or immediately after making the change. Otherwise, your entire friend list gets notified that your birthday changed, which can raise questions.

Key Takeaways

  • Go to your profile, click the three-dot menu, select "Edit profile," find the birthday field, and update it — the change takes effect immediately.
  • By default, Facebook shows your birthday to all your friends; change your privacy setting to "Only me" if you want to keep it hidden.
  • Changing your birthday after you've already set one sends a notification to your friends, so adjust privacy settings first if you want to avoid that.
  • If you change your birthday more than once in a short period, Facebook may temporarily lock the birthday field to prevent abuse.

Step-by-step: updating your birthday

Open Facebook and go to your profile by clicking your name in the top left corner. Once you're on your profile page, look for the three horizontal dots (the menu icon) near the top right of your cover photo. Click it and select "Edit profile."

Scroll down until you see the "Basic information" section. Find the "Birthday" field. Click on it and enter your new date using the dropdown menus for month, day, and year. After you've entered the date, click outside the field or press Enter — Facebook saves the change automatically. You don't need to click a separate "Save" button.

The birthday now appears on your profile and in your "About" section. If this is the first time you've set a birthday on this account, no notification goes out. If you're changing an existing birthday, your friends will see a notification that your birthday changed.

Controlling who can see your birthday

Facebook's default privacy setting for birthdays is "Friends," which means everyone on your friend list can see it. If you want to hide it completely, you need to change this setting before or right after updating the date.

While you're still in "Edit profile," look for the birthday field again. Next to the date you just entered, there's a small icon that looks like a globe or a person — that's the privacy button. Click it and select "Only me" from the dropdown. This hides your birthday from everyone, including your friends. If you want only close friends to see it, select "Close friends" instead. If you want it visible to friends but not to the public, keep it set to "Friends."

Once you've set the privacy level, click outside the field to save it. The privacy setting sticks with that birthday entry, so if you change your birthday again later, you'll need to reset the privacy level again.

What happens if you change your birthday multiple times

Facebook has built-in protections against people repeatedly changing their birthday to manipulate the system or hide from others. If you change your birthday more than once within a short timeframe — typically within a few weeks — Facebook may temporarily lock the birthday field and prevent further changes for a period of time.

If this happens, you'll see a message saying something like "You can change your birthday again in [X] days." This lock is automatic and you can't bypass it by contacting Facebook support. The lock typically lasts 60 days, though the exact duration can vary. Plan your birthday change carefully if you know you'll need to update it again soon.

Why Facebook shows your birthday to others

Facebook uses your birthday for several reasons: it sends you birthday reminders so you remember your friends' birthdays, it helps verify your identity if you get locked out of your account, and it's used for age-gating on certain content or features. The platform also uses it to show you birthday-related ads and to populate your "About" section.

The reason Facebook defaults to showing your birthday to friends is that the platform treats birthdays as social information — something people typically share. But that doesn't mean you have to. If you're uncomfortable with your friends knowing your birthday, or if you want to keep it private for security reasons, setting it to "Only me" is a valid choice. You'll just miss out on birthday notifications from friends.

Removing your birthday entirely

You can't completely delete your birthday from Facebook once you've set one, but you can make it invisible to everyone. Set the privacy level to "Only me" as described above. This hides it from your profile and from your friends' birthday reminders, but Facebook still stores the date in your account for verification and age-gating purposes.

If you want to remove the birthday field from your profile entirely so it doesn't appear in your "About" section at all, you can't do that through the standard privacy settings. The field will always be there if you've ever entered a date. The closest option is to set it to "Only me," which removes it from public view.

What to do if you can't change your birthday

If you're getting an error message when you try to change your birthday, or if the field is locked, check whether you've recently changed it. As mentioned above, multiple changes within a short period trigger a temporary lock. If you haven't changed it recently, try clearing your browser cache and cookies, then log back in and try again.

If the field is still locked and you haven't changed your birthday recently, the issue may be with your account. Facebook sometimes locks certain profile fields if it detects unusual activity. Try accessing Facebook from a different device or browser. If that doesn't work, you can report the problem through Facebook's Help Center by going to Settings > Help > Report a Problem, though response times vary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my friends get notified if I change my birthday?

Yes, if you're changing an existing birthday, your friends will see a notification. If you're setting a birthday for the first time, no notification goes out. To avoid the notification, set your privacy level to "Only me" before you change the date, though this also hides your birthday from everyone.

Can I hide my birthday from specific people?

Facebook's privacy settings for birthdays are all-or-nothing: you can show it to everyone, to friends only, to close friends only, or to no one. You can't hide it from one specific person while showing it to others. If you need that level of control, set it to "Only me."

What if I entered the wrong year when I created my account?

You can change it the same way you'd change any birthday — go to Edit Profile, update the year, and save. If you've changed your birthday recently, you may hit the 60-day lock and have to wait before making another change. Plan ahead if you need to correct the year.

Does Facebook use my birthday for anything besides showing it to friends?

Yes. Facebook uses your birthday to verify your identity if you're locked out, to enforce age restrictions on certain content, and to send you birthday reminders about your friends. It also uses it for targeted advertising. These functions work even if you set your birthday to "Only me."

Can I change my birthday on the Facebook app instead of the website?

Yes. Open the app, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), go to Settings > Personal information > Birthday, and update it the same way. The privacy settings work the same on mobile as they do on the website.