Facebook allows users to hide comments on their posts. When you hide a comment, it is no longer visible to you or anyone else who can view that post. However, hiding a comment does not delete it. The original commenter can still see their own comment, even if it is hidden. So hiding a Facebook comment does not completely remove it from view for everyone.
Who can view hidden comments?
When you hide a comment on your own post, here is who can still view it:
- The original commenter. They will still see their own comment.
- The post author (you). You can still see comments you’ve hidden.
- Page admins and moderators. If the post is on a Page, admins and mods can view hidden comments.
- Facebook. Facebook’s systems and moderators can access hidden comments.
So in summary, hiding a comment prevents it from being viewed by most people, but does not completely eliminate its visibility to everyone.
How to hide comments on Facebook
You can hide comments you don’t want others to see in a few quick steps:
- Click on the comment you want to hide. This will open up a dropdown menu.
- Select “Hide Comment” from the menu.
- Confirm that you want to hide the comment by clicking “Hide Comment” again.
The comment will instantly disappear from view on your post. As mentioned above, it will still be visible to some people like the original commenter, but hidden from the general public.
How to unhide comments on Facebook
You can also unhide comments that you previously hid:
- Go to your post that contains the hidden comment.
- Click on the ellipses (…) at the top right.
- Select “Comments” from the menu.
- Locate the hidden comment and click the dropdown arrow.
- Choose “Unhide Comment.”
This will restore the comment so anyone who can view the post will be able to see it again.
Reasons people hide Facebook comments
There are a few main reasons why people choose to hide comments on their Facebook posts:
- The comment contains offensive, abusive or inappropriate language.
- The comment is spam or an irrelevant solicitation.
- The comment derails the conversation or distracts from the main topic.
- The comment reveals private or embarrassing information.
- The comment comes from someone the author doesn’t know or doesn’t want engaging.
Hiding comments can clean up a post and keep the discussion focused without having to fully delete the comment.
Does hiding a comment notify the original commenter?
When you hide someone’s comment, Facebook does not directly notify them or indicate to them that their comment has been hidden.
However, the original commenter may still notice their comment is no longer visible to others if they:
- Receive a notification that someone replied to their now-hidden comment.
- Look at the post while logged into their account and see their comment is missing.
- View the post from another account where they can’t see their own comment.
But Facebook does not proactively tell users when their comments are hidden from view. The only way they find out is by realizing the comment has been hidden on their own.
Can you report or delete hidden comments?
Even if you hide a comment, you can still report or delete it:
- Report – You can report hidden comments to Facebook for review if they violate Facebook’s Community Standards.
- Delete – Unlike hiding, deleting a comment will fully remove it so no one can see it. But you can still delete comments you previously hid.
So hiding does not prevent you from taking further action if a comment is offensive, harassing, or otherwise troublesome. You can hide first to quickly remove the comment from public view, then report or delete it after reviewing if necessary.
Pros of hiding Facebook comments
Here are some benefits of the option to hide comments on Facebook:
- Lets you quickly remove inappropriate, irrelevant or distracting comments from view.
- Avoids inflaming or embarrassing the original commenter by fully deleting their comment.
- Allows you to filter a heated or long comment thread without erasing the full conversation.
- Gives you time to review a borderline comment before deleting.
- Removes clutter from posts with lots of engagement and comments.
Overall, hiding can improve the experience for you and others who interact with your posts. It’s a middle ground between ignoring and permanently deleting comments.
Cons of hiding Facebook comments
Some downsides or risks of hiding Facebook comments include:
- Doesn’t completely remove offensive comments from view.
- Lets spammers or trolls continue to read their hidden comments.
- Could be misused to suppress constructive criticism or dissenting opinions.
- Doesn’t notify commenters their comments are hidden.
- Too many hidden comments may signal issues with your post or community.
It takes extra moderation effort to manage and unhide appropriate comments later. Hiding should be used sparingly, not to ignore larger issues.
Best practices for hiding Facebook comments
Follow these tips when deciding whether to hide Facebook comments:
- Reserve hiding for clear violations like spam, harassment, hate speech, threats, etc.
- If a comment makes you uncomfortable or angry, wait before hiding to avoid misusing the feature.
- Consider a constructive response before hiding differing opinions or critiques.
- Periodically review and unhide appropriate comments hidden in error.
- Delete comments if hiding alone seems inadequate.
- Consult any co-admins before hiding comments on a team Page.
Using the hide tool judiciously maintains open conversations while still allowing you to manage your community.
How hiding comments is useful for businesses and creators
For public figures, businesses and content creators managing official Facebook Pages, judiciously hiding comments can help:
- Quickly deal with any inappropriate comments without derailing conversations.
- Reduce clutter in high-engagement posts by hiding extraneous comments.
- Hide irrelevant plugs or solicitations from people trying to piggyback public Pages for exposure.
- Keep Pages focused on useful conversations by hiding off-topic remarks in public posts.
- Temporarily resolve disputes between followers without suppressing either side.
Hiding helps creators maintain constructive communities and productive dialogues on their public Pages.
Should Facebook notify users when their comment is hidden?
Facebook currently does not proactively alert users if their comment is hidden from view. But should the platform change this policy?
Reasons to notify users:
- Allows users to modify inappropriate behavior that led to hiding.
- Increases transparency when moderating content.
- Reduces confusion if users find their comment missing.
- Gives users the right to know their content’s visibility status.
Reasons not to notify:
- Avoids inflaming conflicts between users.
- Stops spammers from easily evading detection.
- Prevents shaming users for minor accidental violations.
- Encourages genuine conversations instead of performative arguments.
There are merits to both stances. Overall, Facebook’s current policy enables lighter content moderation but reduces transparency.
Conclusion
While hiding Facebook comments removes them from public view, the original commenter and post author can still access hidden comments. Hiding allows quick moderation of inappropriate content without deleting valuable discussion. Businesses, public figures and content creators can utilize hiding to maintain constructive conversations on their public pages. Facebook may consider increasing transparency by notifying users of hidden comments, but this could come with risks as well. In summary, the hiding feature falls somewhere between ignoring and deleting comments, with its own set of pros, cons and considerations.