Whether you accidentally liked a post or want to unlike something for privacy, removing your like from a Facebook post is easy. Here’s a quick rundown of how to unlike on both desktop and mobile.
What happens when you unlike something on Facebook?
When you unlike a post on Facebook, it removes your name from the list of people who have liked that post. The number of likes on the post will decrease by one. However, unliking a post does not delete or undo your like – it simply removes it from public view. The original like action is still logged and saved by Facebook.
Unliking does not notify the person who originally made the post or anyone else. It’s a private action that only you can see. So you don’t have to worry about the other person being notified or offended if you unlike their content.
How to unlike on Facebook’s desktop site
Unliking a post on the Facebook desktop site is very easy:
- Navigate to the post you want to unlike and click the Like button.
- This will open a pop-up window – click the Unlike link at the bottom.
- The pop-up window will close and your like will be removed from the post.
You’ll know the process worked because the blue Like button will turn back to gray. And the like counter on the post will decrement by one.
How to unlike on the Facebook mobile app
The process is very similar on mobile:
- Find the post you want to unlike in the Facebook app.
- Tap the blue Like button below the post.
- This will open a pop-up – tap Unlike to remove your like.
Once again, you’ll see the like counter reduce by one and the button will turn back to gray. It’s that simple!
Can you unlike posts from your News Feed?
Yes, you can unlike posts directly from your Facebook News Feed without navigating to the post itself:
- In your News Feed, tap and hold your finger on the post you want to unlike.
- This will open a pop-up menu – select Unlike.
- Your like will be immediately removed from the post.
Can you unlike posts you’ve already commented on?
Interacting with a post in multiple ways does not prevent you from unliking it. If you’ve liked and commented on a post, you can still unlike it – this simply removes your name from the list of people who liked it.
Your comment will remain on the post and be unaffected by unliking.
Can you unlike photos or videos?
Yes, you can use the exact same process to unlike photos, videos, or any other type of content on Facebook.
The steps are the same whether you want to unlike a status update, a shared link, a photo album, a lifestyle event post, or any other content.
Can you unlike pages you’ve liked?
Unfortunately, there is no way to unlike or unfollow a Facebook Page you’ve previously liked. Liking a Facebook Page simply means you want to follow that Page’s updates.
The only way to stop seeing a Page’s posts is to unlike the Page itself. But this permanently deletes the like instead of hiding it.
So there is no private way to “unlike” a Facebook Page and stop following it. You’ll have to either keep seeing its posts or unlike it completely.
Can you unlike a post without the author knowing?
Yes, unliking a post is completely private and invisible to anyone except you. Neither the original author nor other people who have liked the post will be notified in any way.
Your name is simply removed from the list of people who have liked it. Only the total like counter visibly decreases.
So you can safely unlike posts without anyone else knowing in order to curate your News Feed and manage interactions.
Can you unlike old posts you’ve liked in the past?
You can go back and unlike Facebook posts no matter how old they are. Time does not limit your ability to unlike something.
If you browse back through your News Feed or navigate to a post from years ago that you liked, the Unlike option will still be available.
Facebook keeps your past likes recorded forever, so you can manage them anytime.
Can someone see if you’ve unliked their post?
When you unlike a post, it does not get reported or notified to anyone else – including the original author. The only indication is the public like counter going down.
So if someone notices the like count on their post decrement, they may be able to guess that someone unliked it. But there is no way for them to tell who unliked.
Your action of unliking is completely anonymous and untraceable to others.
Can you see posts you’ve unliked in the past?
Unfortunately there is no native Facebook feature to see your unlikes history. Once you unlike a post, there is no record visible to you.
Facebook does keep track of every like and unlike behind the scenes. But there is no public-facing way to browse or retrieve your past unlikes.
If you want to track the posts you’ve unliked, you’ll need to use a third-party Facebook analytics tool. Some browser extensions like Social Book Post Manager provide unlike tracking.
Can you get in trouble for unliking posts?
No, there are no consequences or penalties for unliking Facebook posts. It is considered normal user behavior.
You are free to like and unlike any public posts for any reason without getting in trouble. Facebook does not limit how often you can like or unlike something.
The only exception is rapidly liking and unliking the same post many times, which may get flagged as spam behavior.
Should you unlike posts for privacy?
Some users unlike old posts periodically as a privacy technique to dissociate themselves from content over time. This also curates your profile to reflect your current interests and personality.
But unliking itself does not offer much incremental privacy – all your past likes remain visible to Facebook and can still be used to profile you. Still, periodically unliking old likes can be beneficial.
Can you get back a like you’ve unliked?
Once you unlike something, there is no built-in way to re-like it unless you go through the like process again.
However, your past likes on a post are still tracked internally by Facebook. So if you immediately re-like something there may be a small chance the original like timestamp is restored.
But in general, unliking and re-liking will register as a new like at the current time.
Conclusion
Unliking posts on Facebook is a simple action that many users find helpful for managing privacy or curating their feeds. It only takes a few taps, and the process is identical on desktop and mobile.
Best of all, unliking is completely private – neither the original poster nor your friends will know you’ve unliked something. The like count will decrease, but your action remains anonymous.
So don’t hesitate to unlike posts as you see fit to craft your digital presence and control what you see in your News Feed.