Facebook Search: A Beginner's Guide

Facebook search is more advanced and powerful now than in its early days, but only if you know how to use it. While Facebook search is easy to use, it does have some unique features and functionality.

How to Search Facebook

On Facebook, you can search for people, places, photos, interests, posts, groups, and entities with a fan page (for a community, organization, or public figure) or a business page. 

1. To start searching Facebook in a browser on your computer, open Facebook, and go to the Search bar in the upper left corner of your News Feed or profile page. In the mobile app, tap the Magnifying Glass icon on the top right of the screen. Type in a query or a person's name. 

   

2. As you type, Facebook suggests categories of content in a drop-down menu beneath the search field. Select a search result in the drop-down screen beneath the search field, or choose Search for [your search term] to open the search Filter Results screen.

   

3. Narrow your search by selecting a filter in the left plane, including All, Posts, People, Photos, Videos, Marketplace, Pages, Places, Groups, Apps, Events, and Links.

   

4. Some filters also contain sub-filters. For instance, if you select Posts, you will see options such as Posts You've Seen and Date Posted. Selecting one of these further narrows your search results.

   

5. If you want to search for photos, the sub-filters in the Photos category can help. They are:

   • Posted by
   • Photo type
   • Tagged location
   • Date posted

   These options allow you to look for specifics like photos uploaded by friends, public photos, or pictures posted in a specific year. The Videos sub-filters are similar.

   

6. Another way to use Facebook search is to search for places. There are seven sub-filters in the Places search:

   • Open Now
   • Delivery
   • Takeaway
   • Location
   • Status
   • Visited by friends
   • Price

   A map also appears to improve your search results.

   

7. Select the Marketplace filter if you are browsing for products or services through Facebook Marketplace. Numerous sub-filters are available to narrow your search by location, price, category, and more.

   

How Privacy Concerns Affect Searches

Facebook can search and return information about only people who have given the social network permission to share. For example, if you opt not to post your current employment on your profile, you won't appear in a search for that place of business. If you limit the visibility of many of your photos to a select group of people, no one outside that group can see those photos in a Facebook search.