How to Edit Your Gender Identity on Facebook

Your Facebook profile probably knows more about you than your favorite barista. It remembers your birthday, your hometown, and the year you went through that very unfortunate haircut phase. One thing it should also reflect accurately? Your gender identity.

Whether you’re correcting an old setting, updating your pronouns, or finally getting rid of a label that never felt right, editing your gender identity on Facebook is absolutely possibleand more flexible than many people realize. The platform now supports custom gender options, multiple identities, and pronoun choices, along with privacy controls so you decide who sees what.

In this guide, you’ll learn step by step how to change or customize your gender on Facebook using both desktop and mobile, how pronouns work, what privacy settings to watch for, and some real-world tips from people who’ve gone through the process. Think of this as your calm, slightly nerdy friend walking you through the menus so you don’t have to click every button just to see what it does.

Why Your Facebook Gender Settings Matter

On the surface, updating your gender might look like a tiny profile tweak, but it can carry a lot of emotional weight. That simple change can:

• Align your online presence with your real identity instead of a default option you picked years ago.
• Help friends use the right pronouns by displaying a gender identity and pronoun choice that matches who you are.
• Reduce misgendering and deadnaming in social spaces where you interact a lot.
• Give you more control over your visibilityyou can choose who sees your gender information and who doesn’t.

Facebook’s gender settings aren’t perfect and don’t replace real-world respect, but they’re one useful tool for claiming your space online.

Before You Start: Names, Gender, and Pronouns on Facebook

Facebook separates a few different pieces of your identity in your profile settings. It helps to understand what each one is doing before you start editing:

• Name: This is the name that appears on your profile and in posts. It follows Facebook’s name policies and is separate from gender settings.
• Gender: This is the field you’ll be editing. You can choose Male, Female, or a Custom gender identity.
• Custom gender and pronouns: When you choose Custom, you can type a specific identity (like “nonbinary,” “genderqueer,” “trans man,” etc.) and select pronouns (such as “she/her,” “he/him,” or “they/them”) where available.
• Privacy controls: You can choose who sees your gender on your profile (for example, Only me, Friends, or a custom list). Pronouns used in system messages may still be visible more broadly, so it’s worth double-checking what you’re comfortable with.

Once you know which parts you want to change, the actual process is mostly clicking the right little pencil icons.

How to Edit Your Gender Identity on Facebook (Desktop)

If you’re using Facebook on a computerlaptop, desktop, or that old PC that sounds like a small airplanehere’s how to edit your gender:

Step 1: Go to your profile

1. Open a browser and go to facebook.com.
2. Log in if you’re not already.
3. Click your name or profile picture at the top of the homepage to open your profile.

Step 2: Open the “About” section

1. On your profile page, look for the About tab under your cover photo.
2. Click About. This is where Facebook hides most of your personal details.

Step 3: Go to “Contact and Basic Info”

1. In the left-hand sidebar, select Contact and Basic Info.
2. Scroll down until you find the Basic Info section, which usually includes your birthday, gender, and similar details.

Step 4: Edit your gender

1. Look for the row labeled Gender.
2. Move your cursor over it and click the little Edit icon (often a pencil or “Edit” link).
3. You’ll see a menu with options such as Male, Female, and Custom.

Step 5: Choose or customize your gender

You have two main paths:

• Male or Female: Click either option to set a binary gender. This is straightforward but less flexible if that label doesn’t fit you.
• Custom: Selecting Custom unlocks a text field where you can type your gender identity.

When you choose Custom:

• Start typing a word like “nonbinary,” “genderfluid,” “agender,” “trans woman,” or another identity that fits you.
• Facebook will suggest recognized options; click the one that best matches your identity.
• You may also have the option to select pronouns, such as “she/her,” “he/him,” or “they/them,” depending on your language and region.

Step 6: Control who can see your gender

On the same screen, you’ll see an audience selector icon (usually a globe, friends icon, or lock symbol). Click it to choose:

• Public: Anyone who can view your profile can see your gender.
• Friends: Only your Facebook friends see it.
• Only me: Your gender is for your eyes only; Facebook still uses it internally, but it’s hidden on your profile.
• Custom: You can include or exclude specific people or lists.

Pick whatever feels safest and most comfortable for you right now. You can update this later if your comfort level changes.

Step 7: Save your changes

When you’re done, click Save. Your profile gender settings will update immediately.

Good news: Facebook doesn’t broadcast a dramatic announcement like “BREAKING: Alex just changed their gender.” The change happens quietly unless you choose to post about it.

How to Edit Your Gender Identity on Facebook (Mobile App)

If you live on your phone (same) and mostly use the Facebook app, you can update your gender directly from there.

Step 1: Open your profile

1. Open the Facebook app on your Android or iOS device.
2. Tap your profile picture or your name to go to your profile.

Step 2: Edit your profile details

1. On your profile, tap Edit profile.
2. Scroll down and tap Edit your About info or a similar option for profile details.

Step 3: Find the Basic Info section

1. Look for Basic Info (it may be grouped with contact info, birthday, and other personal details).
2. Tap the Edit icon next to Basic Info.

Step 4: Edit your gender identity

1. In Basic Info, tap Gender.
2. Select Male, Female, or Custom.
3. If you tap Custom, type your gender identity and select the option that fits you best from the list.
4. Choose your pronouns if the app shows that option.

Step 5: Adjust visibility and save

1. Use the audience selector to choose who can see your gender on your profile.
2. Tap Save or Done to confirm your changes.

If something doesn’t look quite rightmaybe your pronouns aren’t showing how you expectedgo back into the same menu and double-check each selection and privacy setting.

Choosing a Custom Gender and Pronouns

The most powerful part of Facebook’s gender settings is the Custom option. Instead of forcing you into a choice between “male” and “female,” you can describe your gender identity in a way that actually fits you.

Depending on your language and region, you may see a long list of identities to choose from. These can include terms like:

• Nonbinary
• Genderqueer
• Genderfluid
• Agender
• Trans man / trans woman
• Bigender
• And many others

When you pick a custom gender, you’ll often see a dropdown for pronouns. Typical options include:

• She: “Wish her a happy birthday”
• He: “Wish him a happy birthday”
• They: “Wish them a happy birthday”

These pronouns are used in system-generated phrases (like birthday reminders). They’re not a replacement for people asking and respecting your pronouns in conversation, but they’re a helpful signal and reduce misgendering in automated messages.

Controlling Who Sees Your Gender and Pronouns

Editing your gender identity on Facebook doesn’t have to be an “all or nothing” move. You might be out to some people but not others, or you might simply not want your gender to be a public detail. Facebook’s audience controls give you options.

When you edit your gender:

• Click or tap the audience selector (globe, friends icon, or lock).
• Choose from Public, Friends, Only me, or Custom.
• With Custom, you can include or exclude specific people or listsuseful if you’re out to friends but not to family or colleagues.

One important note: even if you hide your gender field on your profile, system pronouns may still show up in certain notifications or messages. If your safety or privacy could be affected, it’s worth reviewing your overall audience settings and deciding how visible you want your activity to be in general.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

“There was an error saving changes”

Sometimes Facebook throws an error when you try to update your gender. Try these steps:

• Log out and back in, then try the edit again.
• Switch devices: If you’re on the app, try a browser on a computer, or vice versa.
• Update your app to the latest version if you’re on mobile.
• Clear your browser cache or try a different browser.

If none of this works, you can report the problem through Facebook’s Help & Support options. Be as specific as possible without sharing sensitive details publicly.

I don’t see the Custom option

In some regions or languages, the full list of gender identities may not appear exactly the same. If you don’t see a Custom field:

• Check that your Facebook language is set to a version that supports custom genders (for many people, U.S. English works best).
• Try editing from a browser on a computer, where settings menus may be more complete.

Will my friends be notified that I changed my gender?

Generally, Facebook does not blast a news alert just because you update your gender field. People will see the updated information if they look at your profile, or if your pronouns appear in system messages like “Wish them a happy birthday.” If you want to share the change more openly, you can choose to make a post about itbut that’s entirely up to you.

Safety, Privacy, and Emotional Considerations

Editing your gender identity on Facebook is not just a technical step; it can be a big emotional moment. A few things to keep in mind:

• Go at your own pace. You don’t have to update everything at once. You can start with “Only me” visibility and expand later if it feels right.
• Check how your profile looks from another account (or ask a trusted friend to look) so you know exactly what others see.
• Consider your safety. If you’re in an environment where being out could put you at risk, be conservative with your visibility settings.
• Give yourself space to feel things. Even clicking a dropdown can bring up a lot of emotionsrelief, fear, joy, anxiety. All of that is valid.

If updating your gender online feels overwhelming, it can help to talk things through with supportive friends, peers, or community groups who understand digital identity issues.

Extra Tips for an Affirming Facebook Experience

• Review old posts and tags: You can limit who sees old posts or adjust your timeline review settings if you’re worried about being misgendered in older content.
• Update other fields gradually: Along with gender, you might eventually want to update your profile picture, cover photo, or “About” section to better reflect who you are now.
• Use block and privacy tools if needed: If someone reacts poorly or repeatedly disrespects your identity, you can adjust what they see or block them entirely.

Real-World Experiences and Tips: Editing Gender on Facebook

Behind every toggle and dropdown menu is a real person trying to make their profile feel like home. While everyone’s experience is different, certain patterns show up again and again when people talk about editing their gender identity on Facebook.

Alex’s quiet update
Alex had been using Facebook since high school, and his profile still listed him as female years after he began identifying as a trans man. For a long time, that mismatch felt like a low-level background noiseeasy to ignore, until it wasn’t. One day, after seeing yet another “Wish her a happy birthday” notification, he decided he was done with the mismatch.

He opened Facebook on his laptop, went to Contact and Basic Info, chose Custom, and updated his gender to “trans man” with he/him pronouns. For visibility, he picked Friends instead of Public, knowing that by this point most of his friends already knew. The moment he hit Save, nothing exploded. No dramatic alerts, no big announcement. But the next time his birthday rolled around, Facebook finally got it rightand that small change felt surprisingly huge.

Jordan’s “Only me” phase
Jordan identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, but isn’t out to everyone. Their solution was to use Facebook’s settings as a kind of stepping-stone. First, they switched their gender to a custom nonbinary identity and set the visibility to Only me. That gave them time to see how pronouns appeared in system messages and to adjust their comfort level.

After a few weeks, they changed the visibility to Friends except and excluded a small group of relatives they weren’t ready to talk to yet. Over time, as their situation changed, they tweaked the audience settings again. For Jordan, the best part of the process was realizing that the change didn’t have to be all-or-nothing; Facebook’s audience controls let them move at a pace that felt safe.

Sam’s technical headache (and how they fixed it)
Not every story is smooth. Sam tried to update their gender on the app and ran into the dreaded “There was an error saving changes” message. After several attempts, they switched to a computer, opened a browser, and tried again. This time, it worked immediately.

Sam’s takeaway was simple but useful: if something doesn’t work in the app, try another device or browser before assuming something is permanently broken. Sometimes the problem is just a glitch in a specific version of the app or a temporary server issue. They also discovered that updating to the latest app version helped avoid similar issues later on.

Learning to double-check visibility
Many people who’ve changed their gender on Facebook mention one important habit: reviewing what your profile looks like to others. It’s easy to assume that your settings are correct, but the audience selector can behave differently on different fields or after interface updates.

A practical tip that comes up often is to use the “View As” feature (when available) or ask a trusted friend to take a screenshot of your profile from their account. That way, you get a clear picture of how your gender identity and pronouns show up publicly, to friends, or to specific lists. If something feels off, you can go right back into your settings and adjust it.

The emotional side of a simple click
A recurring theme in people’s stories is how unexpectedly emotional this process can be. On paper, it’s just a few clicks. In reality, it can feel like a small ceremony. For some, seeing their identity and pronouns correctly displayed for the first time is affirming, grounding, and even a little surreal. For others, it brings up nerves, especially if they’re not sure how certain people will react.

One strategy that many find helpful is to give yourself time around the change. Don’t try to rush it between meetings or in the middle of a stressful day. If you can, plan to do it at a moment when you can breathe, reflect, and maybe talk to someone supportive afterward if you need to. You’re not just changing a setting; you’re updating how a very public part of your online life reflects who you are.

Letting your settings evolve with you
Gender identity and comfort with visibility can change over time, and people’s experiences show that your Facebook settings can evolve with you. Someone might start out with a custom gender that’s visible only to themselves, later open it up to friends, and eventually make it public. Or they may adjust pronouns as they find language that fits better.

The main lesson from these experiences is this: you’re allowed to change your mind. Editing your gender identity on Facebook isn’t a one-time test you have to “get right” forever. It’s a tool you can keep refining as your understanding of yourself and your circumstances change.

Final Thoughts

Editing your gender identity on Facebook is more than a quick settings tweakit’s a way to bring your online presence into closer alignment with who you really are. Whether you’re updating pronouns, choosing a custom gender, or carefully managing who can see what, the platform gives you enough tools to shape your profile in a way that feels honest and safe.

Take your time, experiment with visibility settings, and remember that you’re allowed to adjust things as your life and comfort level change. It’s your profile, your identity, and your decision. Facebook is just the interface you’re using to show a little more of your real self to the people you choose.