Having Facebook announce when you make new friends can be annoying and something many users wish to disable. Luckily, Facebook provides the option to control these “friend announcement” notifications and who can see them.
What are Facebook friend announcements?
When enabled, Facebook will post automated notifications on your profile and news feed whenever you add a new friend. These announcements typically say “[Your name] is now friends with [new friend’s name].” They are designed to publicly share your new connections, but many find them unnecessary or intrusive.
By default, Facebook has friend announcements turned on. They are viewable by your friends and anyone else who can normally see your posts. However, you can disable announcements in your settings if you prefer to quietly add friends without broadcasts.
How to stop Facebook announcements when adding friends
Turning off Facebook friend announcements is simple:
- Click on the down arrow in the top right and select “Settings” from the dropdown menu.
- On the left sidebar, click “Privacy.”
- Under the “How people bring your info to apps they use” section, uncheck the box next to “Friends making new friends.”
- Scroll down and click “Review a few important privacy settings.”
- Under the “Who can see your friends list” section, select “Only Me.”
This will prevent Facebook from posting any notifications when you add new friends moving forward. Your new connections will remain private rather than being broadcasted.
Turning off friend announcement emails
In addition to feed and profile notifications, Facebook may send you emails alerting you to new friendships. To disable these:
- Click the down arrow and go to “Settings.”
- Click “Notifications” in the left sidebar.
- Scroll down to the “Email” section.
- Uncheck the box next to “Friends make new friends.”
- Click “Save Changes” at the bottom.
This stops Facebook from emailing you every time you or a friend make a new connection. The change applies instantly.
Limiting who can see your friend list
As an extra privacy measure, you can limit who has access to your full friends list. This means no one can browse all of your connections:
- Go to “Settings” then “Privacy.”
- Next to “Who can see your friends list,” click “Edit” and change the setting to “Only Me.”
- Click “Confirm” to save the change.
Now only you can view your full friend list. Everyone else will see limited or no friend connections on your profile. This prevents anything friend-related from being visible without your consent.
How turning off announcements affects tagging
Disabling Facebook’s friend announcements only prevents automated notifications about new connections. Users can still manually tag you and your friends in posts and photos. These tags will be visible to whoever the post is shared with.
To also limit tagging, adjust your tagging permissions:
- Go to “Settings” then “Privacy.”
- Click “How people can tag and mention you.”
- Change the setting to “Only friends” or stricter.
Now only approved people can tag you. This gives you ultimate control over what appears linked to your profile.
Does turning off announcements affect People You May Know?
Unfortunately no. Disabling announcements does not stop Facebook from recommending new friends under “People You May Know.” These suggestions are based on many factors, including shared connections, networks, locations, contacts, workplace, school, events, Pages liked, and more. Hiding your list and announcements will not prevent friend recommendations.
The only way to avoid “People You May Know” is to fully deactivate your Facebook account. While you can limit some data Facebook accesses, their algorithms are complex enough to suggest friends without announcements enabled.
Can you retroactively hide past announcements?
Any notifications Facebook already posted before you disabled announcements will remain publicly visible. However, you can go back and delete past announcements individually:
- Click on your profile picture and view your timeline.
- Click on the friend announcement post.
- Click on the three dots in the top right corner.
- Select “Delete” to remove the notification.
Repeat this for any other announcements currently on your timeline. Just be aware that anyone who already saw the post will not have their memory wiped. Deleting just prevents future views.
How to handle unwanted friend requests
Disabling Facebook’s friend announcements won’t prevent unwanted friend requests. To manage those:
- Ignore the request – Simply leave it unanswered and it will eventually expire.
- Delete the request – Click the X on the notification to instantly get rid of it.
- Add the person to your restricted list – This automatically rejects their request and prevents future ones.
Restricting someone also gives you the option to preemptively block them. Take advantage of these tools to manage unwanted interactions.
Should you notify existing friends when turning off announcements?
Since your existing friends are used to seeing notifications when you add new connections, it can be courteous to let them know you’ve turned off announcements. Posting a status explaining your reasons for disabling them can avoid confusion when your new friends stop showing up. Something like this works well:
“Hi friends! I’ve decided to keep my friend list private from now on. I’ll still accept requests, but Facebook won’t post notifications when I make new connections. I’m only sharing this to avoid any confusion when you stop seeing new friends pop up. Please feel free to connect with me personally if you’re ever curious who I’ve met! I value all of you.”
This transparency from the start can prevent misunderstandings down the road if your friends expect to see new announcements.
What to do if you change your mind later
If you eventually decide you want to re-enable Facebook’s friend announcements, follow these steps:
- Go back to “Settings” then “Privacy.”
- Under “How people bring your info to apps they use,” check “Friends making new friends.”
- Next to “Who can see your friends list,” change the setting back to “Public” or custom.
- Consider posting a status update to tell connections announcements are back on.
Facebook will immediately begin posting notifications again as soon as you re-enable the setting. The change takes effect right away.
Other important privacy settings
While controlling friend announcements is useful, here are some other key Facebook privacy settings to check:
- Ads – Limit what data is used for ad targeting
- Apps – Restrict what information third-party apps can access
- Blocking – Pre-emptively block specific people from interacting with you
- Location – Disable location-based features like check-ins and geotags
- News feed – Adjust what updates you see from friends, Pages, Groups, etc
- Search – Change who can lookup and view your profile
- Tags – Limit what you are tagged in by other users
Review each section under the “Privacy” tab to maximize control over your information. Facebook’s default settings tend to opt for openness, so customizing based on your comfort level is important.
Conclusion
Disabling Facebook’s automated friend announcements and limiting profile visibility gives you greater control over your connections. While new friends can still interact with and tag you, their addition is not broadcasted without your consent. Take advantage of Facebook’s privacy tools to reduce unwanted exposure.