Facebook is used by billions of people around the world to connect with friends, family, and communities. However, many users encounter unwanted, inappropriate, or offensive content in their News Feeds or elsewhere on Facebook. Fortunately, Facebook provides tools to help you control the types of posts you see and limit unwanted content.
Use News Feed Controls
The primary way to stop seeing unwanted content in your Facebook News Feed is to use the News Feed controls. These controls allow you to prioritize the friends, Pages, and Groups you want to see posts from and unfollow or snooze those you don’t.
Unfollow Pages, Groups, or Friends
If you are seeing too many posts from a specific friend, Page, or Group, you can unfollow them so their posts no longer show up in your News Feed. Here’s how:
- Go to the profile, Page, or Group you want to unfollow
- Click on the “Follow” button. This will give you the option to unfollow.
- Confirm that you want to unfollow. Posts from that profile/Page/Group will no longer appear in your News Feed.
You can still visit the profile, Page, or Group directly if you want to check for updates. But their content will no longer automatically appear in your News Feed.
Snooze Friends, Pages, or Groups
If you want to temporarily stop seeing posts from certain profiles in your News Feed, you can snooze them:
- Click the three dots above a post by that profile in your News Feed
- Select “Snooze for 30 days”
- Confirm that you want to snooze posts from that profile
You can snooze for 30 days, or choose a custom snooze period. After the snooze period ends, their posts will start appearing in your News Feed again.
Update News Feed Preferences
You can also adjust your News Feed preferences to prioritize the friends, Pages, and Groups you interact with most frequently:
- Go to your News Feed
- Click “News Feed Preferences” on the left side
- Prioritize close friends and favorite Pages by moving the sliders
- Limit less important Pages and Groups further down the list
This will heavily favor content from your preferred connections in your News Feed.
Adjust Post Visibility
Another way to reduce unwanted content is to limit the visibility of your own posts. By default, posts are public, but you can restrict visibility to friends, friends except specific people, or custom friend lists.
Friends Except…
If you want to prevent a specific person or group from seeing your posts, use the “Friends Except” option:
- When creating a post, click on the audience selector (usually “Public”)
- Choose “Friends Except…”
- Type in the people or Lists you want to exclude
This will share your post with all your friends except those you excluded.
Custom Friend Lists
You can also create custom Lists of friends to share posts with:
- Go to your Friends list
- Create a new List (like “Close Friends”)
- Add the friends you want to this List
Now when posting, you can choose to share only with your “Close Friends” List or other custom Lists.
Use Post and Profile Controls
In addition to News Feed controls, you can also filter and limit unwanted content through post and profile controls.
Hide or Unfollow Individual Posts
If you see a post in your News Feed that you don’t want to see again, you have options:
- Hide Post – Click the three dots above the post and select “Hide Post.” This prevents that specific post from appearing in your News Feed again.
- Unfollow User – Click the three dots and select “Unfollow User” to unfollow that friend or Page so no future posts appear from them.
Adjust Comment Visibility
To filter inappropriate or unwanted comments on your own profile and posts:
- Go to your profile
- Click “Settings”
- Select “Comment Visibility”
- Choose who can comment on your public posts (friends, friends of friends, public)
You can hide potentially offensive comments from public view entirely by allowing comments only from friends.
Block Users
If someone is repeatedly posting offensive or unwelcome content, you can block them:
- Click the three dots above their post or profile and select “Block”
- Confirm that you want to block that user
This prevents you from seeing any of their future posts, comments, or messages. They will also be unable to view your profile or contact you.
Use Built-In Filtering Tools
Facebook has several built-in tools to help filter out unwanted, graphic, or offensive content.
Enable Restricted Mode
Turning on Restricted Mode hides potentially offensive posts and comments:
- Click the arrow on the top right
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Settings”
- Under “Media and Contacts,” turn on “Restricted Mode”
This applies across Facebook and significantly limits mature content in videos, images, comments, and posts.
Avoid Clickbait Posts
To see fewer low-quality clickbait articles in your News Feed:
- Click the three dots above a post
- Select “Why am I seeing this post?”
- Choose “I don’t want to see this”
- Confirm it’s clickbait
Facebook will show fewer posts like that in the future.
Follow Community Standards
Review Facebook’s Community Standards to understand what types of posts are and aren’t allowed. If you see any content violating these standards, report it:
- Click the three dots above the post
- Select “Find support or report post”
- Choose the appropriate option (nudity, hate speech, etc.)
This helps Facebook identify and remove policy-breaking content network-wide.
Conclusion
Unwanted content on Facebook can range from annoying to offensive. Fortunately, you’re not powerless against it. Use a combination of News Feed controls, post/profile adjustments, built-in filters, and reporting to minimize unwanted content. Focus your Facebook experience on the connections and communities you care about.