Do you remember 2013? It was the Golden Age of Facebook stalking. You could go to the search bar and type: “Photos liked by [Name] of my ex.” And Facebook, without hesitation, would serve you a perfect grid of every single questionable photo they had double-tapped since 2009. It was terrifying. It was powerful. It ruined relationships and fueled late-night anxiety spirals across the globe.
But then came Cambridge Analytica. Then came the privacy lawsuits. Then came the realization that maybe just maybe giving everyone a “Stalker Tool” wasn’t the best idea for a global platform. Today, in 2026, the landscape is totally different. The “Ticker” (that creeping feed on the right side that showed real-time likes) is dead. “Graph Search” is broken. So, is it still possible? Can you see what someone is liking on Facebook right now?
The short answer is No, not easily. The long answer is Yes, but you have to work for it. Here is the reality of what is left of Facebook’s tracking tools, what is gone forever, and the dangerous scams you need to avoid while trying to find out the truth.
The “About” Page Loophole (The Only Easy Win)
While you can’t easily see every post someone likes (e.g., a random meme or a status update), you can still see the Pages they like. Facebook treats these differently.
Post Like: “I enjoyed this cat video.” (Transient, hard to track).
Page Like: “I am a fan of The Beatles.” (Identity marker, usually public).
If you want to know their political leanings, their music taste, or what movies they are watching, this is where you look.
How to do it:
Go to their Profile.
Click About.
Scroll down to Likes (or look for “Music,” “Movies,” “TV Shows”).
Click See All.
The Catch: This relies entirely on their privacy settings. Smart users have set their “Likes” visibility to “Only Me” or “Friends Only.” If you go to their “Likes” section and it’s empty, they didn’t stop liking things. They just locked the door. There is no way to bypass this setting. If they hid it, it’s hidden.
The “Search Bar” Trick (Does It Still Work?)
For years, the workaround was to use Facebook’s search syntax. You used to be able to type: Posts liked by [Name]. Does it still work? Sort of. But it’s messy.
Facebook has severely nerfed this feature. If you type that phrase today, you will get a search results page, but it won’t show you everything. It will only show you posts that are Public.
Scenario A: Your friend likes a photo posted by CNN (a Public Page). You might see this in the search results because CNN is public.
Scenario B: Your friend likes a photo posted by their cousin (a Private Profile). You will never see this in the search results, even if you are friends with the cousin.
Privacy settings override search tools. You can try typing Photos liked by [Name] in the search bar, and you might get lucky with a few public interactions, but don’t expect the full dossier. The days of seeing everything are over.
The “Friendship” History (The Mutual Detective)
If you are trying to find something specific like, “Did they interact with this specific person?” you have a better tool available. Facebook allows you to see the history between any two people, provided you are friends with one of them.
How to do it:
Go to their Profile.
Click the Three Dots (…) near the “Message” button.
Click See Friendship.
This will generate a customized feed showing every time those two people tagged each other, posted on each other’s walls, or commented on the same public event. It won’t explicitly list “Likes,” but if they have been flirting in the comments of a profile picture from 2018, this page will dig it up for you.
The “News Feed” Algorithm (Why You See Random Likes)
Sometimes, you don’t even have to search. Facebook tells you. You are scrolling your feed, and suddenly you see: “[Name] liked this.” And below it is a photo from a person you don’t know.
This is the algorithm trying to increase engagement. It thinks: “You are friends with Sarah. Sarah liked this post about hiking. Maybe you like hiking too?” There is no way to force this. You can’t say “Show me more of Sarah’s likes.” However, you can make it more likely. If you go to your friend’s profile, click Friends, and hit Favorites, you are telling Facebook: “This person is important to me.” The algorithm will then aggressively show you their activity in your feed, including the random comments and likes they leave on public posts. It’s passive surveillance, but it works.
The Scam Warning (Do Not Install “Viewer” Apps)
If you are desperate, you might turn to the App Store or Chrome Extensions. You will see apps with names like:
“Profile Stalker for Facebook”
“Who Liked My Profile?”
“Secret Facebook Viewer”
Stop. These are all scams. Every single one of them. Facebook’s API (the code that connects apps to the site) does not share private “Like” data with third-party developers. If an app claims it can show you a list of someone’s likes, it is lying. Usually, these apps are designed to:
Steal your Facebook login credentials.
Harvest your data to sell to advertisers.
Infect your phone with malware.
There is no “Magic Button.” If Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t let you see it, “SketchyApp2026” certainly can’t.
The era of the Facebook Stalker is dead. And honestly? That is a good thing. We all thought we wanted transparency until we realized that we were the ones being watched. Facebook realized that if people felt like their every move was being broadcast to their ex-partners and bosses, they would stop using the app. So, they prioritized privacy (or at least, the feeling of privacy).
If you want to see what someone likes, you have to do it the old-fashioned way:
Scroll through their timeline manually.
Look at their “About” section for movies and bands.
Wait for the News Feed to snitch on them.
There is no shortcut anymore. The digital curtains have been drawn. You’ll just have to trust them (or ask them).
