With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. While many enjoy connecting with friends and family on Facebook, others find certain features annoying or irrelevant. One common complaint is the Facebook Marketplace, which some users wish they could hide or remove from their feeds.
What is Facebook Marketplace?
Launched in 2016, Facebook Marketplace allows users to buy and sell items directly through the Facebook app or website. Similar to Craigslist or eBay, Marketplace lets you browse listings posted by people in your local area. Categories include vehicles, housing, jobs, electronics, furniture, and more.
When you open the Marketplace tab on Facebook, you’ll see recommended listings, items posted by your friends, and popular deals. Sellers can create listings for free and buyers can message sellers through Facebook Messenger to ask questions or negotiate.
Why do some people want to hide Marketplace?
There are a few key reasons why some Facebook users want to remove or hide Marketplace from their accounts:
- They have no interest in buying or selling items on Facebook
- Marketplace listings clutter their News Feed
- They find some listings inappropriate or irrelevant
- Too many spam or scam listings
- Don’t want to accidentally click on a Marketplace ad
Essentially, if you have no plans to use Marketplace, you may find it distracting or bothersome to have it taking up space in your feeds. You may want Facebook to focus solely on connecting you with friends and family – not selling used items.
How to temporarily hide Marketplace on Facebook
If you want to take a break from seeing Marketplace posts, there are a couple ways to temporarily hide it on Facebook:
Hide Marketplace from your News Feed
- Go to the Marketplace tab on Facebook
- Click the three dots at the top right
- Select “Hide from News Feed”
This will prevent Marketplace listings from showing up in your News Feed for 30 days. After 30 days, listings will begin appearing in your feed again.
Adjust News Feed preferences
- Go to your News Feed
- Click the three line menu at the top right
- Select “News Feed Preferences”
- Prioritize who and what you want to see posts from
Here you can choose to see more or fewer posts from friends, groups, pages and the Marketplace. You can essentially “turn down” the volume of Marketplace posts.
How to permanently hide and remove Marketplace
If you want to completely remove Marketplace from your Facebook account, the steps get a little more complex. There are a couple methods you can try:
Use a browser extension
A few different browser extensions, like FB Purity for Chrome, allow you to filter out and block the Marketplace tab and listings. This fully removes Marketplace from your desktop Facebook experience.
Adjust News Feed on mobile
If browsing Facebook on your phone, you can take these steps:
- Go to your News Feed
- Tap the three line menu at the top right
- Select “Preferences”
- Tap “Prioritize who to see first”
- Choose “See first”
- Uncheck “Marketplace”
This will remove the Marketplace as a priority, so you should see fewer listings in your mobile News Feed.
Unlike Facebook Marketplace Page
Go to the Facebook Marketplace Page and click the “Unlike” button. This may help reduce the number of Marketplace posts you see.
Report Marketplace Listings
As you see Marketplace posts, choose the option to hide or report them. This may train Facebook’s algorithm to show you less Marketplace content over time.
Create a restricted Facebook account
You can create a new Facebook account solely for connecting with close friends and family. Do not like any pages, join any groups, or select any interests. The feed should focus only on personal connections.
Pros and cons of hiding Marketplace
Before completely removing Marketplace, consider a few pros and cons:
Pros
- Less cluttered News Feed
- No more irrelevant listings
- More focus on connecting with friends/family
- No risk of accidentally clicking an ad
Cons
- May miss out on good deals in Marketplace
- Harder to buy or sell used items locally
- Have to take extra steps to restrict content
- Facebook algorithm may still show some Marketplace posts
Conclusion
If Facebook Marketplace is getting on your nerves, there are ways to help reduce or hide it from your News Feed. The easiest options include temporarily hiding Marketplace or adjusting your News Feed priorities. For a permanent solution, browser extensions or creating a restricted account seem to work best. However, you may miss out on some benefits of Marketplace this way.
Overall, it is possible to hide and remove Marketplace on Facebook if you have no interest in using it. But it takes some work to fully eliminate it from your account given how integrated it is. Evaluate whether you want Marketplace gone temporarily or forever, then use the steps above to customize your Facebook experience.