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A Facebook Wall was the older name for the posting area on a personal profile. Today, Facebook generally calls that area a person’s profile or timeline, so “post on someone’s Wall” usually means “post on their profile.”

What did the Facebook Wall mean?

The Wall was a profile’s shared posting space. The profile owner—and, where settings allowed, friends—could publish status updates, messages, photos, videos, links and other updates associated with that person.

It was part of the profile, not a separate private inbox or a literal webpage. A Wall post could be visible to a selected audience and could also appear in places such as News Feed or Search.

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Is Facebook still using the word “Wall”?

Usually not. Facebook introduced Timeline as a redesigned profile in 2011, announcing the worldwide rollout on December 15, 2011 (Facebook announcement; worldwide rollout). Current Help Center instructions generally use profile, timeline, or posts on your profile.

The interface can differ by web browser, Android, iPhone or iPad, mobile browser, Facebook Lite, language and account configuration. If an older guide says “Wall,” open the person’s profile and look for its post or timeline area; do not expect a button literally labeled Wall.

What can appear on a profile or timeline?

  • Posts written by the profile owner.
  • Posts another person publishes directly on the profile, when permitted.
  • Photos, videos, links, check-ins, feelings, activities, GIFs and other attachments.
  • Posts or photos in which the person has been tagged.
  • Profile-photo and cover-photo activity.
  • Older profile information and life-event-style entries, depending on the account and interface.

Facebook’s overview of profile and timeline controls covers posts, photos, tagged content, profile information and audience settings (Facebook Help).

What does “post on someone’s Wall” mean now?

It means publishing a post on that person’s profile. The post is not automatically private: its audience depends on Facebook’s audience controls, tagging and the profile owner’s settings. For an ordinary personal profile, Facebook says the owner and the owner’s friends can post, subject to restrictions; the owner can control who sees posts made by others (Facebook Help).

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How to post on a friend’s Facebook profile

These desktop-style steps were checked August 18, 2026. Labels may differ slightly on mobile.

  1. Open your friend’s Facebook profile.
  2. Select “Write something to [Name]”, or the profile’s post-composer option.
  3. Write the message. Add a photo or video, feeling or activity, check-in, tag, GIF or other available attachment.
  4. Review any audience control Facebook presents, then select Post.

Facebook’s documented instructions are at How to post on a friend’s timeline. On the app, open the friend’s profile and look for the composer rather than relying on one exact label.

Who can see a Wall or profile post?

The post’s audience determines who may see it. Facebook documents these common choices:

Audience Meaning
Public Anyone, including people outside Facebook, may be able to see it.
Friends The poster’s Facebook friends may see it; tagging can expand the audience in some circumstances.
Only Me Only the poster can see it.
Custom The poster selects or excludes particular people or lists.

For a post made on somebody else’s profile, the profile owner may control the audience according to Facebook’s rules (who can see posts on a friend’s timeline). A post’s location and its audience are different questions: a profile post may also surface in Feed, Search or other Meta products for members of that audience (audience choices; search and sharing visibility).

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Is a Wall post private?

No—not automatically. Seeing a post on a person’s profile does not tell you that only that person can see it. Check the audience indicator on the post before sharing anything sensitive. Use Messenger when the message should be private.

How to control posts made by other people

On the web, use this path (checked August 18, 2026):

  1. Select your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
  2. Choose Settings & privacy, then Settings.
  3. Open Profile and tagging.
  4. Select Who can see what others post on your profile?
  5. Choose an audience and select Done.

This controls visibility on your profile; it does not necessarily control every place the original post can appear (Facebook Help).

Tagged posts: review, hide or remove

Turn on tag review

  1. Open the profile-picture menu.
  2. Select Settings & privacy, then Settings.
  3. Open Profile and tagging.
  4. Turn on Review posts you’re tagged in before the post appears on your profile?

Tag review controls whether tagged content appears on your profile. It does not necessarily stop the original post from appearing in Feed, Search or elsewhere for its chosen audience (Facebook Help).

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Hide versus delete

  • Delete your own post: Open its three-dot options menu and choose the available delete or move-to-trash command.
  • Hide from profile: Removes the item from your profile layout but may leave it visible in Feed or Search.
  • Remove a tag: Removes the association with your profile; it does not necessarily delete the original post, which is controlled by its author.

Facebook specifically warns that hidden tagged content may remain visible elsewhere to the selected audience (Facebook Help). Deleting or hiding also cannot undo notifications, screenshots, copies or downloads that people may already have made.

Wall vs. profile, Feed, Messenger, Pages and Groups

Term What it is
Wall Older term for a personal profile’s posting area.
Timeline The redesigned profile format Facebook introduced in 2011.
Profile The overall personal page containing information, photos, posts and other sections.
News Feed The stream Facebook shows you from friends, Pages, Groups and recommendations; it is not another name for a Wall.
Messenger Private or group messaging; messages do not appear as ordinary profile posts.
Page A presence for a business, organization, creator or public figure, with different posting rules.
Group A community space governed by its membership and privacy settings.
Story Short-lived content with separate display and audience controls.

Facebook notes that profile posts, Page posts, Group posts, Stories and Reels have different audience or sharing controls (Facebook Help).

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Common problems and what to do

“I cannot find the Wall.”

Open the person’s profile and look for the posts or timeline section. Facebook may no longer use the Wall label.

“I cannot post on my friend’s profile.”

The friend may have restricted posts from others, the friendship or blocking status may have changed, an account may be memorialized or restricted, or Facebook may have temporarily limited an account. Try the current app or desktop site, ask the owner to check Profile and tagging, or use Messenger instead.

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“I hid a tagged post, but people still see it.”

Hiding affects profile display, not necessarily Feed or Search. Remove the tag, ask the original poster to delete the content, or report it when it violates Facebook rules (Facebook Help).

“My post reached more people than expected.”

Check its audience icon, tags, reshares, whether it came from a public Group or Page, and whether it was posted on somebody else’s profile. Facebook says tagging can expand an audience and that posts may appear in Feed and Search (Facebook Help).

Can you see who viewed your Wall or profile?

No. Facebook says it does not provide a normal feature showing everyone who viewed a personal profile, and third-party apps cannot provide that list (Facebook Help). Likes, comments and reactions show interactions, not a complete viewer list.

Choosing the right place to post

  • Messenger: private or sensitive communication.
  • Profile post: a social update intended for an audience selected by Facebook’s controls.
  • Group: a defined community, subject to that Group’s privacy rules.
  • Page: communication from or with an organization, business, creator or public figure.
  • Story: a temporary update with separate audience settings.
  • Comment: a response to an existing post rather than a new profile post.

Before posting on someone’s profile, consider the likely audience, whether the information is sensitive, how discoverable it may be, who controls the audience, and whether the recipient would prefer a private message. Public-group content can be public, locked profiles have more restricted choices where the feature is available, memorialized profiles can behave differently, and audience choices do not automatically carry across Facebook’s additional profiles.

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The Bottom Line

If an older guide says “Facebook Wall,” look for the person’s profile or timeline. Check the audience before posting, and use Messenger when the message should remain private.

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