Facebook Memories are automatically generated posts that appear in your News Feed and showcase photos and updates you’ve shared in previous years on that same day. Many users wonder if they can choose the date that Facebook uses to pull up Memories. Unfortunately, you cannot manually select a date for Facebook Memories.
Why can’t I choose the date for Facebook Memories?
The date for Facebook Memories is determined algorithmically based on your past activity on Facebook. The algorithm looks for photos, posts, and other updates you’ve shared on a particular date in previous years. So the date itself is part of what triggers that Memory to be displayed.
Allowing users to manually choose any date they want would break how Memories work. It would no longer be surfacing relevant moments from your past activity, but rather showing random photos or posts not connected to that date.
How does Facebook determine which Memories to show me?
Facebook does not just look at the date, but also considers other factors when selecting Memories to display, such as:
- How many photos, posts, or other activities you have on a particular date in past years
- The people, places, or other content featured in those old posts
- How you have interacted with or shared certain posts in the past
- Major life events like weddings, graduations, etc. as indicated by your profile info
By analyzing these signals, Facebook tries to select Memories that are most relevant to you and that you will be most likely to enjoy resurfacing. The goal is to spark positive reminiscence, which is why you often see many photos of friends, family, vacations, holidays, etc.
Can I hide or delete Memories I don’t like?
While you cannot manually pick a date for Memories, you do have some control over the ones that get shown:
- Hide a Memory – Click the three dots icon in the top right corner of a Memory post and select “Hide from Timeline.” This prevents that specific Memory from appearing again.
- Turn off Memories completely – Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Memories and toggle off “See Memories” at the top.
- Delete old posts – Go through your Timeline and delete any old posts you don’t want resurfacing as Memories.
Using these options, you can curate what shows up as Memories without being able to pick arbitrary dates.
Why does Facebook show Memories in the first place?
Facebook includes Memories as a feature because many users enjoy nostalgic throwbacks and reminders of meaningful life events. Viewing old photos and posts can evoke positive emotions and strengthen social connections.
Some specific reasons Facebook likely implements Memories include:
- They increase engagement and time spent on the platform as people re-share old posts or interact with them again.
- They fuel social interaction between friends as people tag each other and reminisce on shared experiences.
- They serve as “nudges” to encourage photo taking and sharing in the present day to power future Memories.
In short, Memories leverage users’ fondness for nostalgia, relationships, and retrospection. The feature provides utility while also furthering Facebook’s business interests.
How can I manage the date visibility of my posts?
While you can’t pick dates for Memories, you can control the visibility of dates on your regular posts:
- Globally turn off date visibility – Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Audience and tagging and toggle off “Show post dates.”
- Hide date on individual posts – From the ellipsis menu on a post, select “Hide date.”
- Adjust default post audience – Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Default audience and choose who can see new posts by default.
Using these settings, you can hide dates on some or all of your posts so they have less chance of resurfacing as unwanted Memories in the future.
What are some alternatives to Facebook Memories?
If you want more control over reminiscing social media posts, some alternatives to Facebook Memories include:
- Timehop – Resurfaces posts from various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Lets you selectively hide certain memories.
- TripDownMemoryLane – Focuses specifically on old Facebook posts and lets you rediscover memories based on filters.
- Reminisce – Scrapes your digital photos and builds maps, timelines, and statistics about your photo memories.
- Reveri – Privately rediscovers your memories using AI and lets you re-experience specific events.
These apps give you more granular filters while also removing the public social aspect. They focus on personal rediscovery rather than social sharing.
Conclusion
To summarize, you cannot manually pick a date for your Facebook Memories. The algorithm automatically selects Memories based on your past activity. While you don’t have full control, you do have options like hiding Memories, deleting old posts, and adjusting date visibility settings. If you desire more curation, you can check out dedicated reminiscing apps.
Facebook Memories aim to spark joy and social engagement, even if they sometimes resurface less ideal moments too. The feature is central to Facebook’s ethos and business model. While imperfect, many users still enjoy the nostalgic ride down memory lane.