US Embassy requires social media profile screening for visa: How to make your Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts public

US Visa

If you’re applying for a U.S. visa, the embassy now requires you to provide social media handles used over the past five years. To help U.S. authorities verify your identity and assess eligibility, it’s recommended that applicants—especially for F, M, or J visa categories—set their social media accounts to public. Making your Instagram, Facebook, or X profile public ensures transparency during screening and can help prevent processing delays. If you’re unsure how to do this, here’s a quick step-by-step guide for each platform to help you switch your profiles from private to public.

If you previously set your Instagram account to private and want to make it public again, follow these steps:

- Open the Instagram app and tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner.

- Tap the three-line menu (☰) in the top right corner.

- Go to Settings and Privacy.

- Scroll down and tap Account privacy under the “Who can see your content” section.

- Toggle Private account off.

- Confirm when prompted.

- Open Facebook on your mobile app or browser and log in to your account.

- Tap your profile picture in the top-right corner to access the menu.

- Select Settings & privacy, then tap Settings.

- From the left-hand menu (or scroll down on mobile), tap Audience and visibility.

- Tap each section you want to make public — such as Posts, Stories, Profile Info, and more.

- In each section, use the Audience Selector and choose Public.

- To manage who sees tagged content on your timeline, go to Profile and Tagging, and adjust visibility under “Who can see posts you’re tagged in” to Public.

- Use the “View As” tool to preview how your profile appears to the public and confirm changes.

Disclaimer: Your profile is now visible to everyone, including people who aren’t on your friends list.

- Open the X app and tap your profile picture (top left).

- Tap Settings and support > Settings and privacy.

- Select Privacy and safety > Audience and tagging.

- Toggle off Protect your posts to make your account public.

- Go to X.com and log in.

- Click More > Settings and support > Settings and privacy.

- Navigate to Privacy and safety > Audience, media, and tagging.

- Turn off Protect your posts.

Disclaimer: After following the steps, your account details and profiles and posts will become public.