Free tech support / small logo


Can I unfriend someone from Facebook on my iPhone?

I only use Facebook from my Apple iPhone and have no complaints. Except one. I can't unfriend people who I realize I don't want to be connected to on the site. Am I right, or is there a way to unfriend a Facebook friend within the iPhone app?


Dave's Answer:

Ah, the fun of managing your social network connections. As you say, sometimes you friend someone on Facebook (or any other social network) just to realize that they don't use it the same way you do. If you use the Web interface you can just "hide" their updates so they generally fade into the background, but if you're using the iPhone app, which could do with a bit of a facelift, then you're kinda stuck. No way to hide or mute people or discussions, unfortunately.

Except you can unfriend them from within the Facebook iPhone app. Of course, it can be a bit like using a Howitzer to kill a fly if it's just an annoying update or two, but I'm going to leave the question of when it's appropriate to you, dear reader, and not worry about whether it's justified or not. That's your thing. :-)

Within the Facebook app, it's just two taps to go from having a friend to, well, not. I'll show you by unfriending my friend Shawn Collins (don't worry, Shawn, I didn't really unfriend you. You were just a convenient demo guinea pig).

Here I am checking out the News Feed from Facebook on my iPhone:

iphone facebook unfriend 1

See that update in the middle, from Shawn Collins? Yeah, I don't want to follow him any more. I have a pathological hate of anyone who cites cnn.com. Or something like that. :-)

To unfriend him, I simply tap on his name in the News Feed view and wait as it loads his profile:

iphone facebook unfriend 2

See the icon on the top right with the arrow coming out of the square? Tap on it...

iphone facebook unfriend 3

There's what we seek. The red "Unfriend" button. Tap on it and all you have to do is confirm you really want to sever the tie:

iphone facebook unfriend 4

One more tap on "Unfriend" and it's b'bye!


Also check out:








Subscribe!
Never miss another Q&A article! Click to subscribe: Add to Google Reader Add to My Yahoo! Subscribe in NewsGator RDF XML
Comments (4) · Add Comment

How do you do this for Pages? It doesn't have the same menu. By the way, I just think you're great! Love the articles.

Posted by: Victoria at August 11, 2011 12:49 PM

Dave: instead of that cute little box with the arrow I have a box that says "placeholder" on my iPhone Facebook ap and when I click on it nothing happens so I cannot unfriend obnoxious people who keep posting about stuff they are trying to sell me (insurance, travel and real estate agents: this means u) when i thought they wanted to me to be their friend (not their customer). Any suggestions?

Posted by: Ginger at December 11, 2011 7:25 PM

Ginger, two suggestions: 1. make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook software on your phone and 2. if that doesn't work, log in to a web browser on a computer and unfriend the twerps :-)

Posted by: Dave Taylor at December 12, 2011 9:20 AM

If I unfriend a facebook contact, will they still be listed as a friend on my iphone facebook or are they totally unfriended? If they are not completely "unfriended", how do I get them removed from iphone facebook friends?

Posted by: Laura Piercy at March 7, 2012 12:01 PM
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











Remember personal info?


Please note that I will never send you any unsolicited email. Ever.

While I'm at it, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site.









Recent Entries


Search
I Need Help!
Need Help? Ask Dave Taylor!


© 2002 - 2012 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site.

[whiteboard marker tray]
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.