Heres an updated method for keeping someones updates off your news feed. Youll still share your updates with these friends if you choose, but you also have an easy way to restrict sharing on a case-by-case basis.
[This is an alternative to the information found here for Distancing yourself from a Facebook friend without Unfriending].
What is a Facebook List?
Facebook lists are an optional way to organize friends so you can control what you see in your News Feed and post updates to specific people. Facebook gives your three ready-made lists.
- Use the Close Friends list for friends who should show up more in News Feed.
- Use the Acquaintances list for friends who should show up less in News Feed.
- Use the Restricted list for friends who can only see posts and profile info you make public. [More about the Restricted list here].
The nice thing about these lists is that your friend will NOT know if you have added them into one of these lists. You can also create custom lists.
Heres how to add a friend to your Acquaintances list [so youll see fewer of their annoying posts.]
On the Desktop version [viewing Facebook in a web browser on your computer]:
1. Go to your friends timeline page by clicking on their name.
2. Hover over theFriendsbutton and choose Acquaintances. Youll now see an icon next to the word Friends, which indicates that this friend is on your Acquaintances list.
Mobile version [using the Facebook app on a mobile device]:
1. In the Facebook app, first go to your friends timeline. Click the Friends button and youll see the following choices appear: Unfriend, Unfollow, or Edit Friends Lists. Click Edit Friend Lists.
2. Select Acquaintances. Then click Done.
Once done, youll no longer see MOST of your friends updates on your News Feed. I say most because Facebook decides what you see and what you dont see. In my experience, using the Acquaintances list greatly reduces the number of posts youll see from a friend. And you can still see their updates if you visit their profile, or click on the Acquaintances list feed. You can find the feed on the left side of the page on desktop. On mobile, click More in the bottom-right of the app, then scroll down to Feeds and choose Acquaintances. If you dont see it, click More or Feeds.
Limit what your Acquaintances see when you share
Optionally, if you prefer not to share with your acquaintances, you can limit the audience of your status updates. You can do this when you are sharing a status, link, photo or whatever.
1. First click on the sharing button [mine says Custom but yours might say Friends and hopefully not Public].
2. Then choose Friends except Acquaintances. If you dont see that option, click More Options.
If you are on the mobile version, you have the same options but it looks a bit different.
1. Click Friends [or whatever audience you use by default] and then youll have some choices. If you dont see them click More.
2. Then select Friends; Except Acquaintances and then click Done.
Hope these instructions help you stay sane amidst the daily litany of over sharing. Try using the Acquaintances list and the other built-in lists in Facebook to see if it makes your social media experience a bit more bearable!