Paste a Facebook profile link and get the username or numeric ID out of it, with ready-made links to open the profile on the desktop site and on mobile. Further down, the same link opens the profile's public photos, friends and posts.
Every Facebook profile has a numeric ID, a number of up to sixteen digits that Facebook assigned when the account was created. Mark Zuckerberg's is 4. Most profiles also have a username, the word after facebook.com/ in the address bar, which the person picked and can change. Links come in two shapes because of that: facebook.com/username, or facebook.com/profile.php?id= followed by the number.
Paste either one above. StalkFace reads the handle out of it in your browser and builds the links back. A bare username or a bare number works too.
When a profile link suddenly stops working, the ID helps you tell a new username from a block. The blocked or deactivated check walks you through it.
How to find or copy a Facebook profile link
The finder above needs a profile link, and getting one is quicker than it looks. Pick the route that matches where you are:
On a computer: open the profile and copy the address from the browser bar. That is the link.
In the Facebook app: open the profile, tap the three dots next to the Message or Add friend button, and choose Copy link.
From a post, a comment or a group: tap the person's name to open their profile, then copy the link as above.
From Messenger: tap the name at the top of the chat, open their Facebook profile, and copy the link from there.
From a name only: search the name on Facebook, or on Google with the word Facebook and a city or school, open the profile that matches, and copy its link.
If the app hands you a link with /share/ in it, open it in a browser once and copy the address it lands on. The share link hides the username; the address it opens does not.
To find the right profile from a name inside Facebook, the Facebook post search page builds a People search link from it.
How to find the numeric ID behind a username
Open the profile on a desktop browser and wait for it to load.
Press Ctrl+U on Windows or Cmd+Option+U on a Mac to view the page source.
Press Ctrl+F and search for userID with a capital ID. The number in quotes right after it is the profile's ID.
Paste that number above to get the profile.php?id= link, which keeps working even if the username changes later.
For a Page, there is an easier route: open the Page, click About, then Page transparency. Facebook prints the Page ID there. For a group, the number in the address bar is the group ID once you open any post in it.
What a Facebook ID is good for
Opening a profile that changed its username. The number never changes.
Reporting or blocking a profile when the name is in another alphabet.
Linking to a profile from a site or a spreadsheet without depending on the vanity name.
Feeding the rest of StalkFace: the numeric ID is what the search links above are built on.
The ID also opens someone's Marketplace profile, where sellers show their listings and ratings: the Marketplace profile page builds that link from it.
What a Facebook ID says about the age of an account
A rough idea, and nothing more. Facebook hands out profile IDs in rising order, so a smaller number usually means an older account. It gives you an era, not a date:
Short IDs, up to about ten digits: the early years, before 2010. Mark Zuckerberg is 4.
Fifteen digits starting with 1000: accounts from about 2009 onward. Within that range, a smaller number is usually older.
Numbers starting with 61: accounts made in the last few years.
Three things to keep in mind. The ID dates the account, not the person behind it, so an old account can carry a new name and new photos. Pages and business accounts use their own number ranges. And Facebook never shows the day a profile was made. The closest it gets is the year the person joined, which appears on their Marketplace profile. Any site that gives you an exact day is guessing.
For a closer answer, open their Photos and scroll to the oldest picture they left public. The account is at least as old as that picture.
Common questions
Is a Facebook ID the same as a username?
No. The username is the word in the link, chosen by the person and changeable. The ID is a number Facebook assigned once, and it stays the same for the life of the account.
Can I find someone's Facebook ID from their name?
Not from the name alone. Search the name on Facebook, open the right profile, and paste that link here. Names repeat; IDs do not.
Does StalkFace send the link anywhere?
The ID finder runs entirely in your browser. It reads the handle out of the text you pasted and builds links. Nothing is uploaded.
Why does the page source method sometimes show several IDs?
Because your own ID appears in the source too. The first userID after the profile's name is the one you want. Cross-check by pasting the number here and opening the profile.php link.
How do I copy a Facebook profile link in the app?
Open the profile, tap the three dots next to the Message or Add friend button, and choose Copy link. If the link contains /share/, open it in a browser once and copy the address it lands on, which carries the username or ID.
How do I find a Facebook profile link by name?
Search the name on Facebook, or on Google with the word Facebook plus a city or school. Open the profile that matches, then copy the address from the browser or use Copy link in the app. Paste it above to get the username or ID.
Can a Facebook ID tell me how old an account is?
Roughly. Facebook hands out IDs in rising order, so a small number points to an older account. Very short IDs come from the early years, fifteen-digit IDs starting with 1000 from about 2009 on, and newer accounts start with 61. It gives an era, not a date.