Facebook’s privacy settings allow users to control who can see their friends list and who can see posts from specific friends. There are a few different ways to limit which friends see updates from other friends on Facebook.
Hide Your Friends List
The most basic way to stop friends from seeing other friends is to hide your friends list completely. This prevents anyone from browsing your full friends list. To do this:
- Go to your Facebook profile
- Click on the Friends button under your cover photo
- Click on the gear icon in the top right and select Edit Privacy
- Under “Who can see your friends list?” select “Only Me”
This will remove your friends list from your profile so no one can scroll through and see the full list. However, friends will still see mutual friends in posts, comments, photos, and other areas of Facebook. So this only prevents browsing the full list, not seeing connections between friends.
Adjust Privacy Settings for Individual Posts
You can control who sees posts from each friend by adjusting post privacy settings:
- When writing a new post, click the audience selector underneath where you enter text
- Adjust the privacy for that post to be more restrictive, such as Friends Except with a custom list excluding some friends
- Be sure to do this for each new post where you want to limit the audience
This will allow you to exclude specific friends from seeing that post. But it requires updating the privacy for each post individually. This can be time consuming if you share frequently.
Create Friend Lists
For more control, you can organize friends into Lists. For example, you could have a “Close Friends” list and an “Acquaintances” list. Then when sharing a post, you can select to show it just to your Close Friends.
To use this feature:
- Go to your Friends page and click “Create List” at the top
- Give the list a name like “Close Friends” and add the friends you want
- When writing a post, choose “Custom” for the audience and select your list
- The post will now only be visible to the friends added to that list
The advantage here is you can create lists just once and reuse them. This lets you consistently control which friends see your content.
Adjust Privacy Settings for Past Posts
The above options only affect new posts going forward. To limit visibility of past posts:
- Go to your Facebook profile and click “View As”
- Select a friend’s name whose ability to see posts you want to change
- This will show your profile from their perspective. Scroll and click the three dots icon on any posts you want to adjust.
- Select “Edit audience” and change it to exclude that friend or certain groups of friends
- Repeat this for each post you want to update.
This can be tedious with a lot of past content. But it allows you to customize visibility post-by-post.
Unfollow Friends
Another option is to unfollow friends without unfriending them. This stops their posts from appearing in your News Feed.
- Go to the profile page of the friend you want to unfollow
- Hover over Following below their cover photo
- Click Following and change it to Unfollow
This removes their posts from your feed but keeps them as friends. You can still visit their profile to see updates if you choose.
Unfriend Connections
Of course, you can always unfriend a connection. This completely removes the friendship on Facebook:
- Go to the profile page of the friend you want to remove
- Hover over Friends below their cover photo
- Click Friends and select Unfriend
This will delete the friendship and they will no longer see your profile or posts at all. Use this option carefully for people you no longer wish to connect with.
Conclusion
Facebook provides robust privacy settings to control who sees your friends list and posts from specific friends. The best options include:
- Hide your full friends list from view
- Use friend lists to selectively share posts
- Limit visibility of new and past posts
- Unfollow friends to remove their updates
Balancing privacy while still connecting with friends can be tricky. But with the right settings, you can customize who interacts with your profile content on Facebook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I stop specific friends from seeing my posts?
Yes, you can stop individual friends from seeing certain posts in a few ways:
- When writing a post, use the audience selector to exclude them
- Put them in a list such as “Restricted” and exclude that list
- Go back and edit past posts to remove them from the audience
Do friends still see mutual friends if I hide my friends list?
Yes, hiding your full friends list only prevents browsing the full list. Mutual friends will still be visible throughout Facebook.
What’s the difference between unfollowing and unfriending someone?
Unfollowing stops their posts from appearing in your News Feed but keeps the friendship intact. Unfriending removes the connection completely.
Can I limit who sees when I become friends with someone new?
Yes, you can adjust this in your privacy settings. Go to Settings > Privacy > How people find and contact you. Then limit who can see your new friends.
Is it possible to do this on Facebook mobile app too?
Yes, all of these privacy settings are available on the Facebook mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. The options may be in slightly different locations but can be accessed.
Summary Tables
| Option | Result | Effort Level |
|---|---|---|
| Hide Friends List | Prevents browsing full list | Low |
| Adjust Post Privacy | Limits per post | Medium |
| Create Friend Lists | Ongoing control | Medium |
| Limit Past Posts | Adjusts old content | High |
| Unfollow Friends | Stops news feed posts | Low |
| Unfriend | Removes connection | High |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Stop specific friends seeing posts? | Yes, adjust audience selector |
| Still see mutual friends if hide friends list? | Yes, only hides full browseable list |
| Unfollow vs Unfriend? | Unfollow just removes posts, unfriend removes connection |
| Limit who sees new friends? | Yes, in privacy settings |
| Use these options on mobile app? | Yes, all available on iOS and Android apps |
Final Thoughts
Balancing privacy and open sharing on Facebook can be a challenge. But creatively using tools like friend lists, post audience selectors, and privacy settings can help you maintain connections while still limiting visibility. Approach each situation thoughtfully and try different methods to find what works best for your comfort level.
The key is being proactive and taking time to customize your settings. Facebook’s default is typically set to open sharing. So you need to actively go in and configure things like your friends list visibility, post privacy, and reviewing past posts. It takes effort, but gives you control over your profile.
Managing friendships and privacy is never easy, especially online. But hope this overview gave some options to consider. Let me know if you have any other questions!