The Follow button on Facebook allows you to receive updates from people and Pages without friending or liking them. When someone follows you, they’ll see your public posts in their News Feed. If you want people to be able to follow you, you need to turn on the Follow button for your profile.
Quick answer
To turn on the Follow button on Facebook:
- Go to your profile
- Click the three dots in the top right corner
- Select Settings & Privacy > Settings
- Click Followers on the left side
- Toggle the Follow button to On
Step-by-step instructions
Here are step-by-step instructions for turning on the Follow button on your Facebook profile:
1. Go to your profile
First, go to your profile by clicking on your name or profile picture at the top of Facebook. This will take you to your timeline.
2. Click the three dots in the top right corner
At the top right of your profile, you’ll see three small dots. Click on these dots to open the menu.
3. Select Settings & Privacy > Settings
In the menu, choose “Settings & Privacy”, then select “Settings” on the next page. This will open your main settings page.
4. Click Followers on the left side
On the left column of the Settings page, click on “Followers”. This will open the Followers settings.
5. Toggle the Follow button to On
Under the “Who can follow me” section, toggle the Follow button to the On position. This makes the Follow button visible on your profile so people can follow you.
Allowing friends and pages to follow you
By default, when you turn on the Follow button, only friends will be able to follow you. To allow anyone on Facebook to follow you, including Pages:
- On the Followers settings page, click on the “Edit” button next to “Who can follow me”.
- Change the setting to “Public”.
- Click “Confirm”.
Now anyone will be able to follow you without sending a friend request. Keep in mind this makes your public posts visible to more people.
Following someone else
Once the Follow button is enabled for a profile, you can follow that person to see their public posts in your News Feed. To follow someone:
- Go to their profile page.
- Click the Follow button near their cover photo.
You’ll now see their public posts in your News Feed. You can unfollow them at any time to stop seeing their posts.
Seeing your followers and who you are following
To see a list of your followers and who you are following:
- Go to your profile.
- Click Followers below your cover photo.
This will show you both your followers and the people you are following. You can click “Followers” or “Following” at the top to filter the list.
Limiting who can see your followers
You can control who can see your list of followers in your privacy settings:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
- Click Followers in the left column.
- Under “Who can see your followers”, choose who you want to be able to see your followers.
The options include Public, Friends, Only Me, and Custom for more specific control. Choose the option that makes you the most comfortable.
Unfollowing someone
If you no longer wish to follow someone, you can unfollow them to stop seeing their posts:
- Go to your Followers or Following list.
- Hover over the person’s name and click “Following”.
- Click Unfollow to confirm.
Their posts will no longer appear in your News Feed. They won’t be notified when you unfollow them.
Blocking a follower
If someone you don’t want is following you, you can block them:
- Go to your Followers list.
- Hover over the person’s name and click the Options icon (three dots).
- Select Block.
This will remove them from your followers, prevent them from following you again, and block them from viewing your profile or contacting you.
Troubleshooting Follow button issues
Follow button is missing
If the Follow button is missing from your profile, make sure you have turned it on in your settings. Go to your profile, click the three dots, choose Settings & Privacy > Settings, then go to Followers and toggle the Follow button to On.
Follow button is greyed out
If the Follow button is greyed out on someone else’s profile, it’s likely because you have already sent them a friend request that is still pending. You won’t be able to follow them until they accept or decline your friend request.
Can’t find Followers list
Your Followers list may be hidden if you have your account set to private. Go to your profile, click Followers below your cover photo, and make sure the Follow button is turned on in Settings.
Posts not showing up from followers
If posts from people you follow aren’t appearing, try adjusting your News Feed preferences in Settings & Privacy > News Feed Preferences. Make sure you have prioritized the posts you want to see.
Follower etiquette
Here are some tips for following etiquette on Facebook:
- Only follow people you actually want to hear from – don’t blindly follow everyone back.
- Unlike Twitter, it’s not considered rude if you don’t follow someone back.
- Respect other people’s privacy – don’t follow private accounts without permission.
- Credit people properly if you reshare their content.
- Don’t automatically assume close friends want to follow you.
- Feel free to unfollow or block anyone at any time.
- Don’t bombard followers with too frequent or irrelevant posts.
Benefits of following
Here are some of the benefits of using Facebook’s Follow feature:
- Stay updated on your favorite people and Pages without cluttering up your main News Feed.
- Discover new content you might be interested in through people you follow.
- Keep tabs on acquaintances without having to friend them.
- Get updates from public figures, celebs, artists, or community leaders.
- No mutual following required – follow anyone you want.
- Easy to maintain – prune your follows anytime.
- More transparent than liking Pages since your followers can see what you follow.
Conclusion
The Follow button is a useful Facebook feature that allows you to stay up to date with people and Pages without friending or liking them. To enable it on your profile, go to your profile settings, open the Followers page, and toggle the Follow button on.
Remember you can customize who is allowed to follow you and see your followers list. Following someone simply requires finding their profile and clicking the Follow button.
Use Facebook’s Follow feature to build an interest-based feed that brings more value than your crowded News Feed. But be sure to follow etiquette – don’t follow people without permission or bombard followers with irrelevant posts.