diff --git src/bp-xprofile/bp-xprofile-functions.php src/bp-xprofile/bp-xprofile-functions.php
index 2ba68eaf8..243a77660 100644
--- src/bp-xprofile/bp-xprofile-functions.php
+++ src/bp-xprofile/bp-xprofile-functions.php
@@ -1284,6 +1284,9 @@ function bp_xprofile_get_fields_by_visibility_levels( $user_id, $levels = array(
 	}
 
 	$user_visibility_levels = bp_get_user_meta( $user_id, 'bp_xprofile_visibility_levels', true );
+	if ( ! is_array( $user_visibility_levels ) ) {
+		$user_visibility_levels = array();
+	}
 
 	// Parse the user-provided visibility levels with the default levels, which may take
 	// precedence.