The old saying ‘knowledge is power’ couldn’t be more accurate in 2023 when it comes to social media use. Being the largest social media platform globally, Facebook is also one of the biggest private information sources. And the social media giant knows it. Something that can be done to safeguard a user’s privacy is to hide one’s friends list from other users by following a few simple steps and tips that help to learn how to hide friends on Facebook.
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Hide Friends on Facebook Using a Desktop
It may not be great news, but as of 2023, everyone’s Facebook account automatically sets a user’s Friend List as public, giving everyone access to this information. However, learning how to hide friends on FB using a desktop is not so challenging, and it can be done right in just a few clicks.
Search no more and follow these eight simple tips:
- Access an account’s profile settings by clicking on the arrow pointing down that is found on the top right-hand corner of the screen on the home page.
- Select Settings & Privacy from the drop-down menu.
- Click on Settings.
- Select the Privacy setting on the menu, which a user can find on the left-hand side.
- There will be a section titled How People Find and Contact You, where there is a setting called Who can see your friends list?
- Click Edit.
- Change the setting from the current state to Only Me or Friends if the list only needs to be private to those who are not a user’s contact on Facebook.
- Finally, click on Save.
Important to note, that hiding friends is not the same as blocking the friends list on Facebook. Doing it will not prevent hidden friends from seeing personal posts in their news feed.
How to Hide the Friends List on Facebook from a Mobile Device
Changing the privacy settings for the friends list on Facebook is not much different from doing it on a desktop in 2023. This can be a quick solution when a user decides to step up their privacy on the go. The following instructions guide of hiding the friends list on Facebook from a mobile device.
- Access the app, click on the Menu while on the Facebook home page, which can be found by clicking on the three parallel lines. The location of the button may change depending on the mobile device.
- Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the Settings & Privacy option.
- Tap the Settings option.
- Find the section titled Privacy.
- Click on Privacy Settings.
- Search for the section titled How People Find and Contact You.
- Click on Who can see your friends list?
- Change the existing setting to Only me.
On the mobile version of the app, there is no option to save the changes made, because it is done automatically once a setting is selected.
The steps above are also a great help for those who want to know how to hide friends on FB from an iPhone.
Hide Friends on Facebook from Another One
Concealing friends from people, in general, is one thing. Doing it on an account to keep just one or a few people from seeing a user’s list of acquaintances is a different ordeal. This is something that a user may want to do to prevent only specific individuals from having access to such personal information. Thankfully there are ways to hide one’s privacy.
To hide the list from the view of specific individuals, one must follow the same steps as shown above for the desktop and mobile versions.
Instead of changing the settings from the current set up to Only me, the users must select the option on the page titled Friends except… or Specific friends. Whichever selection is more convenient for the user will accomplish the goal.
By selecting Friends except…, a user will be able to show the list to everyone except the specific contacts that a user selects. There is no limit on how many people can be chosen.
FAQs
Why Would Someone Hide Their Friends List on Facebook?
Privacy is the main reason why a person may want to hide his dear ones. However, one of the reasons is to avoid conflict amongst contacts who may dislike each other. Remember that people will still be able to see all the posts and photos on a profile page.
Can Someone Hide Mutual Friends on Facebook?
No, mutual friends cannot be hidden on Facebook; only the friends list can be controlled. The Mutual Friends option on Facebook is a feature of the app that cannot be changed.
The Final Catch
A user’s privacy is limited to what they choose to share on their profile; but not on what other users select. In order to maintain one’s privacy well-kept, it’s important to consider that nothing is completely private online. While social media has many different options to keep information private to a certain point, it will still never be risk-free.
If the question “how do I make my friends private on Facebook?” was answered, share your feedback in the comments!
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