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How do I filter out status updates on Facebook?Now that I have a fair number of friends on Facebook, I'm wondering what I need to do so that I don't see the status updates in my newsfeed from the more, uhm, lame of my friends. I don't want to unfriend them, I just don't want their marketing drivel or personal junk in my news feed. Is there a way to do that in the new Facebook UI? Hmmm.... sounds just a little bit likely that you have a bit of an issue with your friends or at least your choice of friends on Facebook? Then again, I'll be candid, I have friends with whom I'm linked on Facebook who do seem to spend too much time echoing their Twitter updates or posting Facebook updates that are links to their latest blog entries or other crass and annoying usages of the Facebook system. They're not wrong to do so, I mean it's an open system, but I think it's not unreasonable for me to screen or filter their updates so I can focus on the interesting stuff from my closer friends. That's a whole philosophical debate, actually, and I invite you to add your two cents at the end of this blog post if you want to share your views about friending people whose updates you might not be interested in seeing... Back to the task at hand, however! Without picking on someone other than that she's a convenient guinea pig for this entry, here's a status update from my Facebook friend JoLynn Braley: ![]() As you can see, a fairly straightforward update entry and all the visible options are along the bottom: Comment, Like and Share. None of them are quite what we want, but here's the secret: move your cursor to the top right of the region and a hidden option appears: ![]() Like some sort of adventure game, a new button appears when the cursor is in the right spot, "Hide". Click on it and: ![]() That's how you hide updates from a specific user. Choose it and: ![]() Bye, Bye JoLynn! :-) There are certain types of updates, like Digg updates, that can be blocked separate from an individual user too: when that's the case, the "Hide" button brings up a menu with more options than just the user. Finally, if you scroll to the bottom of your Facebook home page, you'll now see: ![]() You can click on the "hidden post" link to temporarily view the filtered or screened news status updates, or, if you click on "Edit Options" to see who you've blocked: ![]() As you can see, it's easy to make changes. I hope that helps you fine-tune your Facebook friend update news feed. I'd also like to let you know that I have quite a bit of Facebook help here on the site and that I also have an Ask Dave Taylor Facebook Fan Page that I invite you to join.
Categorized:
Facebook Help
(Article 8820,
Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: facebook, facebook news, new facebook Previous: How do I sponsor searches on Google or Yahoo? Next: How can I bulk rename Apple iPhone screen captures? Subscribe!
Hiding is simple now that you have explained it. I've stared at my wall trying to figure it out and never noticed the "hide" button. Thanks! Posted by: hit_escape at April 14, 2009 1:27 PMThank you, thank you, thank you! I've been searching for this info. It might have taken me about 90 minutes of searching via Google and Facebook, but still...it was worth it. Yes, there are some people who I don't want to ditch, but who post way too much about things that don't really concern me. So that's for laying this out! Peace. Posted by: Velanche at August 15, 2009 11:37 PMI have a lot of Facebook friends who I consider wonderful people apart from their politics. It sure would be nice if there was a filter that would let me skip updates that have the words "Obama" "Health Care Reform" etc. while letting through the updates on their lives and families, etc. Posted by: Ryan at August 20, 2009 8:37 PMI am so happy. Thank you for this information. Posted by: Susan at August 25, 2009 7:46 PMYou are a God, Dave. You are a God! Posted by: Stewart at October 2, 2009 10:35 PMDave, thanks for the info. Found your page thru Google. My comment: it's not so much the users that I want to hide but the posts that they just got level 1,000,000 on the cow schnoz game. Any ideas on how do you filter out that sort of material? Posted by: Jason at November 30, 2009 7:14 PMI'm pretty sure this is what you're asking for, Jason: http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_hide_facebook_app_updates_in_live_feed.html Posted by: Dave Taylor at December 4, 2009 9:53 PMI want to block my business facebook friends from seeing my status update. With the new privacy settings they are now completely blocked from my wall page and upset. How do I change it so they can't see my status updates but they can see my wall? Posted by: Ginny at January 5, 2010 9:26 PMThank you, Great information! exactly what I was looking for! I have a question. I hid two "friends" on facebook months ago, and now they are no longer my friends. Could they have seen if their status updates had been hidden? Not a huge loss, but I would feel bad if I offended them. Posted by: Katerkins at March 22, 2010 8:05 PMKaterkins, it's my understanding that you cannot see if someone hides you. It would defeat the purpose of giving you the freedom to fine tune your own newsfeed, don't you think? Posted by: Dave Taylor at March 22, 2010 9:49 PMI've read the following and have a request. I have a question. I hid two "friends" on facebook months ago, and now they are no longer my friends. Could they have seen if their status updates had been hidden? Not a huge loss, but I would feel bad if I offended them. Katerkins, it's my understanding that you cannot see if someone hides you. It would defeat the purpose of giving you the freedom to fine tune your own newsfeed, don't you think?
I hid someone and 10 minutes later he defriended me. This doesn't seem like a coincidence. I'm using the script Unfriend Finder. Perhaps a glitch in that script automatically unfriended us? It was just too weird to happen 10 minutes later. Posted by: Mindy at April 2, 2010 8:02 PMMindy, I think it's just a coincidence. I have hidden probably 50% of my Facebook friends (shh, don't tell them!) and as far as I am aware, I haven't been unfriended by a single one. How did you know that he'd unfriended you, btw? Posted by: Dave Taylor at April 2, 2010 9:37 PMI hid my status updates on facebook from a friend, but im unsure about how to change that if I want them to see them? Posted by: Donita M at April 15, 2010 4:43 PMthanks dude this really help me out with echoing unnecessary friend's updates Posted by: ahing at April 23, 2010 10:17 AMHow can I unfriend people who have hidden my posts? If they have hidden me, what's the point of being friends. Better to stick with those who are interested. Posted by: Peter at April 30, 2010 11:03 PMI have a friend that is notified on her cell phone everytime one of her friends on FB posts something on their wall. Is there a way for me to stop her from seeing my wall posts without unfriending her? Thanks. Posted by: Goofy at May 11, 2010 8:25 AMHi, Well i have a user or 2 that i like seeing posts from, However theres a few post they make that id rather not see. How can i remove Certain posts from a user without removing all the post from this user? Thanks. Posted by: Michael at June 8, 2010 5:58 AMI chose to hide my ex gf from appearing on my status updates to help me get over her. Can she still see mine and do they still pop up for her? Posted by: Jared at June 9, 2010 5:04 PMI have something different. I don't want to hide any of my friends, or their posts. What I'd like to hide are all the lines that read: Friend1 is now friends with Stranger1 I understand why this is blasted out to everyone (after all, I just *might* want to friend one of their friends). But some of my friends become friends with a *lot* of people, and it clutters up my wall. Bottom line is that I would like to see true wall posts, but not the clutter. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give me. Posted by: Bill Dixon at June 17, 2010 12:34 PMBill, I couldn't agree more, but I don't know of any way to filter that stuff out. Posted by: Dave Taylor at June 17, 2010 8:47 PMThanks dude.. These tips are really useful for me... Posted by: faraz at June 29, 2010 7:31 AMI think folks can see if they have been hidden. Your post will show up on their page, BUT they will no longer have the options of "Comment - Like - Share". Am I right? I have some friends whose posts don't give me that option, which seems like a sure-fire sign that they've hidden me (which is fine if they do). Posted by: JS Bach at June 29, 2010 7:59 PMWhen I hide someone from my news feed, are my posts and activity (e.g., Likes, new friends, wallposts by friends to my wall)then hidden from their news feed? I'd like to hide their posts from showing up on my wall, but don't want to block mine from showing up on theirs. THANKS! Posted by: Adam at August 17, 2010 10:00 AMI know I've hidden people before, but now the option in the upper right is called "remove" so I was worried I might inadvertently unfriend unsuspecting boring people, but you were right! (Well of course you were!) Now I have a wall full of posts that interest me and no-one has hurt feelings. Yay! Thanks so much! Posted by: Rachel at August 17, 2010 8:12 PMAn off topic question. But for some reason I can't see status updates from iPhone's. It's just on my account too as I've signed on my mums account and can see iPhone status updates on hers. I've searched all over facebook but can't seem to find a resolution. Posted by: Mel at September 15, 2010 7:24 AMIf I hide someone on facebook does this mean I will not be able to see their comments on my posts or that they will not have the option to comment on or 'like' my posts? I don't want that to happen...only to hide their status updates which I may find upsetting >.< Posted by: Brian at September 15, 2010 4:28 PMBrian, as far as I know, hiding someone means you're just hiding them from your newsfeed. You can still get email from them, will still see their comments on your Wall updates, etc. Posted by: Dave Taylor at September 16, 2010 11:52 AMHi there, Hello. I was wondering if there is anyway for it not to show my friends when I am on FB. I dont like to chat and it seems as though I always get stuck with chattin. Dont wanna be rude to my friends, but is there anyway to be "hidden" while online with facebook? Thanks Posted by: Carly at November 16, 2010 8:45 AMHi Dave, thanks for this but it doesn't seem to work with the new FB profile. Could you explain how to do it since FB changed the profile? Many thanks, Suzie. Posted by: Suzie Diamond at December 22, 2010 3:01 PMHi Your site is very helpful. I am wondering how to hide my own status updates from my friend's news feeds. I don't want my friends to know everytime I change my profile information. It is not interesting info for people! Thanks! Posted by: franny at December 24, 2010 4:24 AMactually I can take care of others post well enough. Its my own game posts that I want to rein in. I like playing games but realize that most of my friends do not. Is there a way that my game posts be visible only to certain friends but not to others? Hi Dave, Thanks for the information....very useful. I have a slightly different problem though. As a teacher, I have added hundreds of students as friends, but I really don't want to see their updates on my wall....it clutters up my wall. I don't want to un-friend them, I just want to filter out their posts. I have created a Friends list called 'Students' of these students. Is there any way to filter out this list from my wall at one go, instead of having to hide posts from each student individually (because that would take ages). Thanks for your help! Posted by: Gavin at January 10, 2011 12:28 AM@Suzie, on the new FB profile click on the X at the top right of the news item and you get a choice of hiding this post or all posts by that author. Posted by: Tony at January 21, 2011 3:36 AMI didn't get why I didn't see a friend's updates on facebook on the "latest news" so I googled... and found this. Maybe I should unfriend her. Personally, I think that if you're not interested in someone else's status or life you shouldn't be friends with them. Posted by: Sofia at February 5, 2011 6:34 AMThis is useful. Peter (at April 30) asked: "How can I unfriend people who have hidden my posts? If they have hidden me, what's the point of being friends." I cant seem to find the option button at my facebook, i search and now know a way to take of the chat conversation from being saved at my mailbox. But i need the option button.please is annoying me since im not the one using this face account. Posted by: cristina at April 3, 2011 10:27 AMThis is a bad technique and heavy handed solution for "filtering" friends. Use Friend Lists instead. Posted by: timo at April 5, 2011 5:39 PManother, finer grained, solution to filtering stuff you dont want to see in your news feed is the "fb purity", browser extension, it lets you filter out specific types of messages and also allows word or phrase filtering, you can read more about it here http://facebook.com/fluffbustingpurity Posted by: Yolanza Merhaba at April 13, 2011 4:54 PMI have a question regarding filtering friend's contents. The problem is that my friend posts lots of youtube videos on facebook. I do not want to block youtube nor hide his posts. How can I hide his posts which only include youtube videos and not his other posts? Posted by: Ahmer at April 21, 2011 11:09 PMHey i don't think so that there is some way to only block the youtube videos on facebook.the only way is you can hide the updates from friend i believe. Posted by: Ali Azeem at April 29, 2011 12:45 PMPlease, please, please help me! My wall is full of posts claiming that "Joe Schmo is now friends with Rabble Rouser", or with 6 other people, etc. I really don't care! Short of having to block every single post from each of my friends, is there a way to turn off these notification that are spamming my wall about who they are now friends with? Posted by: Laura Tort at June 20, 2011 10:20 AMI have a question. hi sir, i shall be much obliged if u inform me about how to hide my photos and friend lists in my facebook profile from stranger users.... Posted by: syed samiullah at August 26, 2011 1:18 PMVery useful post Posted by: Debashish at September 6, 2011 7:38 AMWhen you block someone status update as you described above, does it stop you from seeing their comments. For example I removed person X's status updates. Does this mean I will not see if they comment on my own status??? Or is it just purely their status's I do not see? Thanks for the help! Posted by: Brendan at September 12, 2011 8:47 PMGood question, Brendan. I have to admit, I don't know the answer. Perhaps we can experiment? :-) Posted by: Dave Taylor at September 12, 2011 10:02 PMok I have tested if people can still comment or sent you a message if they are hidden from your news feed and they can, no problem. I'm also in a group with some of the people I have hidden and I can see their post that they make in the group news feed and their comments. So when you hide someone from your news feed that is ALL that happens, they can comment, see your posts, message you and don't know you have hidden them, plus you will still see their posts in a groups feed. I have so many friends on facebook. sometimes, well most of the times, I dont want them when I login for them to know that I am now online. Soemtimes you just dont feel like chatting to anyone. My question is How do I hide my status when I am on facebook Posted by: Peter at October 14, 2011 11:35 AMYes, there are those people who post a few too many (irrelevant) status updates. However, my concern is with the status updates of pages that I am a "fan" of (all the bands, public speakers, authors, etc. that I indicated as my "favorites"). How can I filter those out, isn't there a button with which you can undo those all at once (without un-"liking" them)? Thanks, Roze (Rozemarijn) Posted by: Roze at October 22, 2011 6:38 PMIs there any other way to reinstate previously hidden posts? I can't see Cult of Mac messages any more but can't see them on any hidden lists (although they do show up on the Friended app on my iPad!) I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!
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