Following someone on Facebook allows you to see their posts in your News Feed without becoming friends. It’s a more casual way to connect with people you’re interested in keeping up with, like your favorite celebrity or public figure, without needing them to confirm your friendship request.
How to Follow Someone on Facebook
Following someone on Facebook is easy and only takes a few steps:
- Go to the profile page of the person you want to follow. You can search for them by name at the top of Facebook or find them through your friend suggestions.
- In the top right area below their cover photo, click the Follow button. It will be blue if you aren’t already following them.
- That’s it! Once you click Follow, their public posts will start showing up in your News Feed. You can unfollow them at any time the same way.
There are a couple things to keep in mind about following people on Facebook:
- You’ll only see posts they share publicly with all of Facebook. Private posts shared with friends only won’t show up.
- They won’t see that you’ve followed them or get notified. It’s completely one-sided.
- Following someone is different from subscribing to their public Facebook page as a fan. Pages are for businesses, brands, celebrities etc. while profiles are for individual people.
Who Can You Follow on Facebook?
You’re able to follow any individual person on Facebook as long as:
- Their account is public and they allow followers. Some people restrict this.
- They aren’t already a friend, family member, or colleague you’re connected to on Facebook. You can’t follow someone you’re already linked to.
Some common people that get followed include:
- Celebrities like actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, influencers, etc.
- Public figures such as activists, journalists, thought leaders, authors, comedians, etc.
- Interesting individuals like talented photographers, chefs, artists, travelers, etc.
Following these types of accounts is a good way to see extra content from them beyond what friends post. Just be sure they regularly share public updates for it to be worthwhile.
Why Follow Someone on Facebook?
Here are some of the benefits of following people you find interesting on Facebook:
- See interesting posts in your News Feed – Stay updated on their public activity without needing a friend connection.
- Discover new content – Find new personalities, pages, groups, and other accounts through what they share.
- No approval needed – You can follow anyone with a public profile without them accepting your request.
- One-click unfollow – Easily stop seeing their posts if you ever lose interest.
Following can be thought of as a “read-only” friends list – you get to see what people post publicly without them seeing anything back from you or needing to confirm your connection.
How to See Who You’re Following
Want to review or manage the list of people you’re following? Here’s how to see and browse your full list of follows on Facebook:
- Click in the left menu under Explore.
- Go to the Followed Accounts section.
- Here you’ll see all the profiles you currently follow on Facebook. You can browse through them and also unfollow people.
You can also visit someone’s profile and see if you’re following them below their name and profile photo, where the Follow button normally appears.
Following Friends on Facebook
What if you want to follow someone that you’re already friends with on Facebook? Unfortunately, you can only follow people who you aren’t already connected to in one of these ways:
- Friends
- Family
- Coworkers
- Classmates
- Other established connections
If you try to follow someone you’re already linked to, the Follow button simply won’t be there. You’ll need to unfriend or unfollow them first to be able to follow their profile.
Following Restrictions on Facebook
In some cases, you may run into issues following someone on Facebook such as:
- The Follow button is missing – They don’t allow public followers or have a private profile.
- It says “Already Following” but their posts don’t appear – They may have blocked you from seeing their content.
- The Follow button is grayed out – Your own account privacy settings may block you from following people.
You can try sorting out any following issues by checking your account settings, reaching out to the person to unblock you, or having them adjust their own privacy controls.
Unfollowing on Facebook
Changed your mind about following someone? Unfollowing works just like following – just tap the Following button on their profile and confirm you want to unfollow them. This stops their public posts from appearing in your News Feed.
You can also unfollow people in bulk from your list of Followed Accounts in the Facebook menu. Tap Following next to each person’s name you want to stop seeing posts from.
Facebook Follower Notifications
Do people get notified when you follow them on Facebook? The short answer is no. Facebook following is designed to be one-sided:
- You can follow anyone with a public profile.
- They won’t be notified or have to approve it.
- Their posts will simply appear in your feed.
This allows you to quietly follow people at your own discretion. They have no idea you’re now following their public updates!
Following Celebrities on Facebook
Following celebrities like actors, athletes, musicians, influencers, and other public figures is a popular use of Facebook’s follow feature. It lets you see their updates in your News Feed without needing to be friends.
Some tips for following celebrities on Facebook:
- Make sure their profile is public and has Follow enabled.
- Interact occasionally by liking and commenting on their posts.
- Share any really exciting updates they post.
- Check that your own privacy settings allow you to follow profiles.
- Consider also following their related Facebook pages.
Following celebrities is an easy way for fans to get fun, entertaining updates from the public figures they admire most!
Conclusion
Following people on Facebook is a handy way to see more interesting posts in News Feed from public figures, celebrities, artists, influencers and more – without needing to be social media friends.
The one-click follow feature makes it easy to quietly keep up with their public updates. Just be aware they won’t be notified or see that you’ve followed them. Facebook following is designed to be one-sided.
So explore Facebook and start following some new profiles that catch your eye! Just tap Follow, and their public posts will automatically start appearing in your News Feed for you to enjoy.