Start with Facebook's Activity Log to find old likes and comments. Open the original posts to check their audience, then remove interactions you no longer want attached to your name. Adjusting your recommendations is a separate task.
You may have forgotten a reply in a neighbourhood group, a heated discussion or a reaction left ten years ago. Those contributions can still carry your name, even when you would phrase things differently today.
On 13 October 2026, Meta announced Your algorithm, new controls for steering Facebook recommendations by describing your interests. Its announcement identifies likes and comments among the signals used. The Meta announcement concerns Feed and Reels recommendations; it does not announce deletion of past interactions or give a country-by-country availability schedule.
Here is a practical way to review that history, using Facebook's controls and, for a larger archive, Social Pro. This is a documentary guide prepared on 25 October 2026. Menu labels can vary by account and device.
Who can see your Facebook likes and comments?
Start with who can see the post you interacted with. A contribution on public content can reach people outside your friends list. Settings for your own posts do not make your contributions elsewhere private. Facebook addresses this in its guidance on reactions and comments on other people's posts.
Check the original post, its audience indicator and, where relevant, the type of group. The Australian eSafety Commissioner's Facebook guide brings together separate controls for profiles, posts and interactions.
A like does not establish someone's beliefs. It might express support for a person, acknowledge a message or simply be a mistake. For your review, consider what a stranger might infer when that interaction appears alongside your identity.
Which interactions should you check first?
Prioritise specific disclosures rather than age alone:
- Contact details: a phone number or home address left in a help request.
- Routines: regular working hours, a workplace or an upcoming absence.
- Other people: a child's name paired with their school, or private information about a relative.
- Missing context: sarcasm, an argument or a workplace exchange that reads differently on its own.
A fictional example: “I collect it every Thursday after 7 pm at 12 Example Street” gives a stranger more useful detail than “Thanks, I'll message you privately”. If the first version is still accessible, you can edit your comment where that option is available, or delete it.
A harmless old film recommendation may need no change. The aim is to choose what you still want associated with your name, not to treat every memory as a liability.
How to find old Facebook comments and reactions
Open Activity Log through your settings or profile menu. Look for comments and likes or reactions, then use the available date filters to narrow a long history.
Facebook explains that only you can see your Activity Log, while the content listed there may appear elsewhere on Facebook. A private management screen does not make the underlying contributions private.
Pick a manageable first period: a year when you used groups heavily, a change of job or a move. Keep a short checklist with dates and original links where available. This is more useful than scrolling through years of activity without deciding what you are looking for.
If an entry no longer opens, do not mark it as public or successfully deleted. You may have lost access to a group, the original post may have been removed, or the link may be incomplete. Keep it as “needs checking” until you can establish what happened.
Unlike, edit or delete: choose the right action
Meta describes Activity Log as a tool for reviewing and deleting likes, comments and posts. The appropriate action depends on the item:
- Your reaction: remove it from the original content or the available Activity Log control. The author's post is a separate item.
- Your comment: use its menu to edit it, where offered, or delete it.
- Your own profile post: check its audience before deciding whether removal is necessary.
After a round of changes, revisit a few items to check the outcome. A changed general setting or a button press alone is not confirmation that a particular contribution has gone.
Deleting something on Facebook cannot retrieve a screenshot someone already saved. A copy published elsewhere requires a separate check of that source. Our guide to removing old social media content covers the broader clean-up process.
Use a Facebook archive to take stock
In Meta Accounts Center, look for your information and permissions, then the export option. Facebook's guidance brings together its information access, export and management tools.
For Social Pro, follow the Data Knight Facebook import guide: request JSON, select the categories the guide specifies and exclude private messages. Choose a date range that matches the period you want to examine. You do not give Data Knight your Facebook password.
An archive contains the information Meta provides for that selection. It is not a live record of everything a visitor can currently see. A reaction may come with a date and description but no full text of the original post. Return to Facebook to assess the context and current visibility.
Keep your export somewhere private. It can contain information you would not want to upload to a public document or a support forum.
How Social Pro helps with a longer history
Social Pro organises supported items from your Facebook archive and helps you identify content worth reviewing. First, check the free inventory. Then select eligible content for AI analysis.
One Knight pays for the AI analysis of one eligible item. Importing an archive does not spend a Knight on every entry. Inventory and advice produced without AI remain free. A reaction without usable text does not become a complete assessment of someone's opinions.
You receive 100 free Knights once per account to try the analysis. For a larger selection, packs start at 2,000 Knights for €9.99, as a one-off purchase. Purchased Knights do not expire. Our Knights guide explains volumes and plans. Continuous Protection includes 1,000 Knights each month to analyse your social media.
Archives and analysis results are kept for a maximum of 30 days, so plan to read the findings and work through your selected changes within that period. Purchased credits and the retention period of an analysis are separate things.
On Facebook, you remain in control of the clean-up. Social Pro supports your review; it does not automatically delete your history, reset Meta's recommendations or certify that content is currently public. Read a flagged item in context before acting.
Want to start with one year of activity? Open the Social Hub and prepare your Facebook audit. Check the inventory before choosing how much to analyse.
See also: Review your social media history · How Knights work · Understand your digital footprint.
