Facebook keeps a running list of your friends’ birthdays in the Friends section of the app. On an iPhone or iPad you can open it in three taps, see who is celebrating today, catch birthdays you missed, and look ahead to the ones coming up. Facebook has moved this list a few times over the years, which is why older guides send you to Events; in the current app it lives under Friends.
Quick Answer
Open the Facebook app, tap the Menu, tap Friends, then tap Birthdays at the top of the Friends screen. You’ll see today’s birthdays, recent birthdays, and upcoming birthdays.
How to See Birthdays on Facebook on iPhone or iPad
- Open the Facebook app and make sure you’re signed in to the profile whose friends you want to see.
- Tap the Menu. On iPhone it’s the three-line or profile-picture icon in the bottom bar; on iPad it usually sits at the top of the screen.
- Tap Friends. If you don’t see it right away, tap See more to expand the list of shortcuts.
- Tap Birthdays at the top of the Friends screen.
- Browse the sections for today’s birthdays, recent birthdays, and upcoming birthdays.
From the list you can tap a friend’s name to open their profile, write on their timeline if they allow posts, or send a message through Messenger instead. A private message is often the better choice for people who keep their profile locked down.
What the Birthdays Page Shows
| Section | What you’ll find |
|---|---|
| Today’s birthdays | Friends celebrating today, with a quick way to post or message |
| Recent birthdays | Birthdays from the last few days, handy if you missed one |
| Upcoming birthdays | Friends with birthdays coming up, grouped by date |
Why a Friend’s Birthday Doesn’t Appear
The list only includes birthdays your friends have chosen to share with you. Facebook lets each person set separate audiences for the day and month of their birthday and for their birth year. If a friend hides the day and month, they won’t show up in your Birthdays list and you won’t get a reminder for them. That’s a privacy choice on their side, and there’s no setting on your phone that overrides it.
You also won’t see birthdays for people you follow but aren’t friends with, or for anyone who has blocked or unfriended you.
How to Change Your Own Birthday or Who Can See It
The same page in Facebook’s help center explains how to manage your own birthday, and the steps are similar on iPhone and iPad:
- Go to your profile and tap See your About info.
- Below Basic info, tap Edit next to your birthday.
- To change the date, tap Accounts Center, edit your birthday, and tap Save. Facebook limits how often you can change it, so you may need to wait if you changed it recently.
- To change who can see it, tap the audience setting next to your birth date or birth year, choose an audience, and tap Save.
If you have more than one Facebook profile, your birthday from your main profile carries over to the others. You can’t change the date on an additional profile, but you can choose who sees it on each one. For help juggling profiles on one phone, see how to manage multiple Facebook accounts on one iPhone.
Troubleshooting
Birthdays isn’t on the Friends screen
Update the Facebook app from the App Store, then close and reopen it. Facebook tests layout changes with different groups of users, so if Birthdays is still missing, use the search bar at the top of the app and type “Birthdays.”
I’m not getting birthday reminders
Open Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings > Notifications and check that birthday notifications are turned on. Also confirm that notifications for Facebook are allowed in the iPhone’s Settings > Notifications.
The list looks empty
If none of your friends share their birthday with you, or none fall in the current window, the page may show little or nothing. Check again closer to a friend’s birthday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it the same on Android?
Very close. On Android, open the app, tap the Menu, tap Friends, and then tap Birthdays at the top.
Can I see birthdays on a computer?
Yes. On facebook.com, select Friends from the left menu of your Feed, then click Birthdays in the left menu.
Can I add a friend’s birthday to my iPhone calendar?
The Facebook app doesn’t sync birthdays to the iPhone Calendar app, so the easiest way is to add the date as a yearly event in the Calendar app or save it to the friend’s card in Contacts, which the Calendar app can show as a birthday.
Will my friends be notified about my birthday?
Only if you share at least the day and month of your birthday with them.
Summary
- Open the Facebook app and tap the Menu.
- Tap Friends.
- Tap Birthdays at the top.
- Tap a friend to post or send a message.
Related: how to save pictures from Facebook Messenger on iPhone, and how to deactivate Facebook on iPhone if you’re taking a break.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He started on a university help desk, spent years as the IT person for small businesses, and has been writing tech guides full time since 2020. Each guide is checked on a device he owns, and re-checked when a menu moves. More about Kermit.