When you follow someone on Facebook without being their friend, you are able to see some of their posts in your News Feed. However, the amount of information you can access is limited compared to being Facebook friends. Here’s a quick overview of what happens when you follow someone on Facebook without friending them:
- You will be able to see their public posts in your News Feed.
- You won’t be able to see their friends-only posts.
- You won’t be able to message them directly.
- They won’t see your posts in their News Feed.
- It does not send them a friend request notification.
So in summary, following someone allows you to passively view some of their activity without fully connecting as friends. It’s essentially a one-way connection.
What posts can you see?
When you follow someone without friending, you are able to see any posts they share publicly on their profile. This includes:
- Public posts they share to their timeline
- Posts they share publicly to groups
- Public posts they are tagged in by friends
- Profile picture changes
- Cover photo changes
- Public Life Events
Essentially, you will see anything they post that is visible to the general public. You can like and comment on these public posts as well.
However, you won’t be able to see more private content, such as:
- Posts shared only with friends
- Posts in private groups
- Posts friends tag them in that are friends-only
- Personal information and family details
- Photos and albums marked as private
Without becoming Facebook friends, you won’t have access to any of their friends-only content.
Messaging and Notifications
When you follow someone without being friends, there are limitations on messaging and notifications:
- You cannot directly message someone you only follow
- They will not see your posts in their News Feed
- It does not notify them that you started following
- You won’t get birthday reminders or notifications about their activity
Messaging is reserved for confirmed Facebook friends. So if you want to communicate directly, you’ll need to send a friend request.
Also, following does not alert the user or subscribe you to their notifications. It’s meant to be a passive way to see someone’s public updates without directly connecting.
Friending vs. Following
Here’s a comparison of what you can access by friending vs. following someone:
| Action | Friending | Following |
|---|---|---|
| See public posts | Yes | Yes |
| See friends-only posts | Yes | No |
| Message directly | Yes | No |
| Get notifications | Yes | No |
| Appear in their News Feed | Yes | No |
As you can see, friending provides much broader access including private content and direct communication. Following only lets you passively view public information.
How to Follow Someone
If you want to follow someone without friending, here are the steps:
- Go to their public profile page
- Click the “Follow” button near their cover photo
- A confirmation message will appear. Click “Confirm” to start following.
Once you start following them, their public posts may begin appearing in your News Feed. And you can unfollow at any time to stop seeing updates from them.
Who Can See You Follow Someone?
When you follow someone, it’s visible to others in a couple ways:
- It’s displayed on your public profile under the Following section
- Other people who follow that person will see you listed as a follower
So it’s not completely private. But since following someone is fairly common, it’s not considered strange behavior.
Limits to Following
Facebook does place some limits on following to prevent abuse:
- You can only follow a certain number of people per day
- Pages with large audiences require liking before you can follow them
- Facebook will block accounts suspected of aggressively following people
So it’s not possible to mass follow thousands of users in a short period of time. Moderation helps prevent harassment issues.
Conclusion
Following someone on Facebook creates a one-way connection to passively view their public activity. It does not provide access to private content or notifications. Friending is required for broader access and direct communication. Following can be useful for quietly keeping up with acquaintances and public figures without creating a two-way friendship. But the limited information makes it more of a light social media connection.