Facebook Watch allows you to discover new shows, catch up on videos from Pages you follow, and connect with friends and communities over shared interests. However, over time you may want to reset your Watch settings and preferences. Resetting your Watch settings can help declutter your feed, remove shows you no longer watch, and reset video recommendations. Here are some tips on how to reset your Facebook Watch settings.
Clear Your Watch History
One of the easiest ways to reset your Facebook Watch preferences is to clear your Watch history. Your Watch history contains all the videos and shows you’ve viewed on Watch. Facebook uses this information to recommend new videos and shows it thinks you’ll like. Clearing your history resets these recommendations.
To clear your Watch history:
- Click on the Menu icon in the top right corner of Facebook
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click on “Settings”
- Select “Videos”
- Click on “Clear Watch History”
- Confirm that you want to clear your entire Watch history by clicking “Clear History”
Clearing your Watch history will remove all the shows, videos, and live streams you’ve viewed. This will reset video recommendations and allow new suggestions to be made based on your current interests.
Unlike Pages and Shows
Another way to reset your Facebook Watch preferences is to unlike any Pages or Shows you no longer wish to see videos from. When you like or follow a Page or Show on Watch, you’ll be notified whenever new episodes or videos are posted. Unliking or unfollowing these Pages and Shows will remove them from your Watch feed.
To unlike a Page or Show:
- Go to the Page or Show’s main page
- Click on “Liked” under the cover photo
- Confirm you want to unlike the Page or unfollow the Show
This will immediately remove the Page or Show from your Watch feed. You’ll no longer be notified about new videos or episodes unless you refollow the Page or Show.
Turn Off Video Notifications
You can also reset your Facebook Watch settings by turning off notifications for video updates. By default, you are notified whenever Pages or Shows you follow post new videos. Turning these notifications off can remove clutter from your feed.
To turn off video notifications:
- Click on the Menu icon in the top right
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click on “Settings”
- Select “Notifications”
- Scroll down and turn off “Page Post Video Updates”
This will prevent you receiving notifications about new videos. However, you can still see new videos by checking Pages and Shows directly on Watch.
Disable Auto-Play
One Facebook Watch setting that can impact your preferences is auto-play. When enabled, auto-play automatically starts playing new videos as you scroll through Watch.
Disabling auto-play prevents videos from playing until you actively select them. This can reset your Watch feed from continuously playing new videos.
To disable auto-play:
- Click on the Menu icon in the top right
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click on “Settings”
- Select “Videos”
- Turn off “Autoplay Videos”
Once disabled, you’ll have to manually click on each video to start playing it. This gives you more control over your Watch feed.
Use Facebook Watch Less Frequently
One of the best ways to reset your Facebook Watch preferences is simply to watch less video over time. The more you view and engage with videos, the more signals Facebook has to tailor Watch to your interests.
Cutting back on your Facebook Watch consumption for a while will cause your feed to diversify and broaden video recommendations. After a break, your first few days back on Watch may show a wider variety of content before personalizing again.
Take a Break from Facebook Entirely
If you want a more comprehensive reset of not just Facebook Watch but your entire Facebook experience, you may want to consider taking a break from Facebook entirely for a period of time. This could be a few days, a week, or even a month or longer if you desire.
Completely abstaining from Facebook for a bit will reset all of your feeds, recommendations, ads, and preferences built up over time. When you return after a break, Facebook will have less recent data and signals to personalize your experience, which may show you a wider variety of content and suggestions.
Just keep in mind you’ll have to rebuild your preferences from scratch, so it may take time to get your feeds customized again after returning.
Clear Cookies and Data
Resetting your browser cookies and cached data related to Facebook is another nuclear option to reset your Watch preferences and feeds. Clearing this info from your browser essentially removes Facebook’s ability to personalize your experience based on past usage.
Here are instructions to clear cookies and site data for Facebook on some popular browsers:
Google Chrome
- Open Chrome and click the 3 dots in the top right
- Select “Settings” then “Privacy and security”
- Click “Clear browsing data”
- Select “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files”
- Select the timeframe to “All time”
- Check the box next to “facebook.com”
- Click “Clear data”
Mozilla Firefox
- Click the 3 lines in the top right and select “Options”
- Go to “Privacy & Security” on the left
- Under Cookies and Site Data click “Clear Data…”
- Check the box “Cookies and Site Data”
- Click “Clear”
Safari
- Click Safari in the top left and select “Preferences”
- Go to the “Privacy” tab
- Click “Manage Website Data…”
- Search for and select “facebook.com”
- Click “Remove”
Clearing this Facebook data will reset personalization, feeds, and recommendations until you build them back up with new browsing activity.
Use FB Watch Anonymously
If you want to keep using Facebook but don’t want your Watch preferences tied to your account, you could consider using Facebook anonymously for Watch purposes. This allows using Watch while logged out so your viewing history and preferences are not connected to your profile.
To use Facebook Watch anonymously:
- Fully log out of your Facebook account
- Go to the Facebook Watch web page at facebook.com/watch/
- Browse, view, search, and engage with videos without logging in
- Your activity will not be tied to your account
The downside is you won’t get a personalized Watch experience this way. But it allows freely exploring Watch content without impacting your main account’s preferences.
Create a New User Profile
Similarly, you could create an entirely new and separate Facebook account just for Watch. Use your main profile for normal socializing and connections, and the secondary profile for video viewing.
This allows you to watch Facebook Watch logged in and get recommendations, while still keeping it separate from your primary account’s feeds and preferences. It also lets you easily switch between accounts for different experiences.
The process for creating a new Facebook account is:
- Go to facebook.com and click “Create New Account”
- Enter your name, email or phone number, password, birthday and gender
- Complete the signup process and confirmation steps
- Only use this new account when you want to view Facebook Watch
Maintaining two separate accounts takes more effort but can be worthwhile if you want to compartmentalize your Watch viewing.
Reset From a Desktop Browser
Most of the tips above focus on resetting Watch settings from within the Facebook mobile apps. However, you can also reset your Watch preferences and history from a desktop web browser.
On a computer, you can access your Watch settings by:
- Going to facebook.com and clicking on the down arrow in the top right
- Choosing “Settings & Privacy” then “Settings”
- Selecting “Videos” on the left sidebar
From here you can clear your Watch history, unlike Pages/Shows, disable autoplay, and turn off video notifications. The same options are available, just within the browser interface.
Contact Facebook Support
If you are still having trouble resetting your Facebook Watch settings through the methods above, you can try contacting Facebook directly for support.
To reach Facebook support:
- Go to the Facebook Help Center
- Review relevant articles for your issue
- Click “Contact Us” and select the issue category
- Select the specific issue you need help with
- Choose to either submit a request or start a live chat
Facebook’s support team may be able to directly reset preferences or feeds on your account that are stuck or not responding properly.
Conclusion
Resetting your Facebook Watch settings is a great way to refresh your video recommendations and tailor your Watch experience. By clearing your history, unfollowing Pages/Shows, disabling autoplay, taking a break from Watch, and other steps, you can hit the reset button and restart with a clean slate.
Pay attention to what videos, shows and live streams you actually enjoy, and follow the Pages that share the kind of content you like. Don’t be afraid to periodically reset things if your feed gets cluttered or you want a fresh start. With a little effort, you can customize Facebook Watch to showcase the videos that matter most to you.