An Introduction to Facebook’s Closed and Secret Groups

One of the more interesting aspects of Facebook is the ability to create and join groups. There are groups for everything on the social network, including groups for dating, groups to sell stuff, groups for mothers, and more besides.

The thing is, in addition to the open groups, there are closed and secret Facebook groups too. In this article, you’ll learn more about Facebook groups and the differences between each type, and we’ll show you how to find the closed and secret groups.

What Are Open, Closed, and Secret Facebook Groups?

There are three types of Facebook groups: open, closed, and secret. Facebook groups, regardless of the type, all have some things in common. All are designed to allow members to share locations, plan events, and exchange contact information. But there are some differences.

Open Groups

Open groups are, not surprisingly, accessible to anyone with a Facebook account. This means anyone can see the group’s name, location, member list, and posts. Perhaps most importantly, anything that’s posted in the group is available in Facebook searches and on the news feed.

Want to join an open Facebook group? Go right ahead; membership doesn’t require an invite or approval.

Closed Groups

Closed groups, by contrast, add some restrictions. Like open groups, the name, description, and member list of a closed group are readily available. Closed groups are also found in Facebook searches.

Unlike open groups, however, closed groups require that new members get approved by an administrator or get invited to join by a current member. Additionally, only current members can see what’s being discussed in group posts and on its news feed.

Secret Groups

Secret groups, as you would suspect, are the most private of the three types of Facebook groups. No aspect of a secret group is publicly visible, new members must be added or invited by current members to join, and only members can see group posts with or without a comment. However, former members who have voluntarily left the group can still find the group in search and see its name, description, tags, and location.

How to Find Closed Facebook Groups

Unsurprisingly, there’s no simple way to find a listing for all Facebook groups, at least those which are open or closed. Actually, this is a good thing, given that there are hundreds of thousands of Facebook groups.

However, there are some awesome ways to discover new Facebook groups. To find a closed group on Facebook, you’ll want first to become familiar with Facebook Search. This tool will find almost anything you want, but you should take your time and use it correctly. Using filters and keywords can help you narrow your search.

Because Facebook already knows a lot about you, check out Facebook’s Groups page. Here you can see what groups you have joined, and what groups you have been invited to join. And if you click the “Discover” tab you’ll see groups Facebook recommends for you, groups local to you, and groups your friends have joined.

The Facebook Sale Groups is another excellent URL worth exploring. You can find plenty of communities right here which are looking to buy or sell stuff. There’s also an easy-to-use map that shows you the location of sale groups near you.

If you’re looking to find some more bizarre Facebook groups, we recommend you search Reddit for “Facebook groups” and prepare to get a surprise. It seems the world is full of some rather twisted Facebook groups.

Using this method I discovered closed Facebook groups for anime, LuLaRoe sellers, and “extreme triggering,” to name a few of the more benign ones.

How to Find Secret Facebook Groups

Thanks to the internet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to hide anything anymore, including the fact that these secret Facebook groups exist.

Finding a secret Facebook group is all about finding a member list or the administrator of the group. Once you do that, you can try to get an invite by contacting them on Facebook. You should also take advantage of your own friends by asking around to see if they belong to any secret groups that might interest you.

For example, if you’re a parent, the odds are pretty high that some of your Facebook friends are also parents. Some of those almost certainly belong to secret Facebook groups for parents. Remember, just like real life, social networking requires a certain amount of, well, networking.

As with closed groups, you can also search Reddit for “secret Facebook groups”. Here, you’ll find a running list of secret groups discovered by Reddit members. Not everything discussed here is appropriate for everyone, nor are the listings always verified. Still, if you’re willing to go down a slightly murky rabbit hole, this is a great place to start.

Secret Facebook groups are out there waiting to be discovered if you do some digging.

Making Use of Facebook Groups

If you’re looking for a community of like-minded individuals, joining a Facebook group is a great way to go about doing so. Facebook’s open, closed, and secret groups allow you to increase your circle of friends and learn more about the things you already love.

There’s much more to discover about Facebook too. Perhaps you want to learn about some hidden Facebook tricks, or discover the unwritten rules for Facebook friend requests.

Image Credit: zentilia/Depositphotos