Quick Summary
When you say you’re in a relationship with someone on Facebook, a few things happen:
– Your relationship status will change to “In a Relationship” and be visible to your friends and the public (unless you adjust your privacy settings).
– The person you are in a relationship with will have their relationship status changed as well, linking you two together.
– It will show up in your friends’ News Feeds that you’re now in a relationship.
– You will have the option to tag your partner in posts, share relationship milestones, add anniversary dates, etc.
– You and your partner may get notifications, messages or timeline posts congratulating you.
– You may start seeingcouple-themed content, ads, recommendations, etc.
So in summary, saying you’re in a relationship on Facebook makes it “Facebook official”, links your profiles together, broadcasts it to your networks, and opens up relationship features for sharing, tagging and celebrating your coupledom.
Does Your Partner Get Notified?
When you indicate you’re in a relationship with someone on Facebook, that person will receive a notification about it. They’ll get an alert saying that you changed your relationship status and are now linked to them as being “in a relationship”.
Your new partner has the ability to either confirm the relationship request, which will then update both of your profiles, or ignore it, which means only your own relationship status will change until they confirm it.
So yes, your partner definitely gets notified when you say you’re in a relationship on Facebook. It has to be a mutual confirmation before your profiles are officially linked visibly as a couple.
Is It Public or Private Information?
When you enter a relationship with someone on Facebook, that information is visible to the public by default. Anyone who can see your Facebook profile can see your relationship status and the person you’re linked to.
You can, however, customize the privacy settings for your relationship status. This gives you options like:
– Public: Anyone can see your info
– Friends: Only your friends can see relationship info
– Specific friends: Choose certain people to share with
– Only me: Keep the information private
The same goes for your partner – they can also adjust their privacy settings for who can see relationship information. But unless you change the defaults, your coupledom will be public knowledge on Facebook once it’s official.
What Shows Up in Your News Feed?
When you enter a relationship on Facebook, it becomes a published life event just like any other status update. This means it will likely show up in the News Feeds of your friends and followers.
People will see a post saying you went from “Single” to “In a Relationship” with the name of your partner linked and clickable. There may also be a box showing your new coupled profile pic and relationship start date.
Similarly, your partner’s connections will see an announcement about the new relationship in their own News Feeds.
In addition to the initial announcement, you and your partner may also see more frequent updates, photos, check-ins and shared content from each other after linking your profiles. It gives you both a public way to exchange moments and messages.
Can You Hide It from Some Friends?
What if you just started dating someone and don’t want all your friends knowing right away? Or maybe there are certain people like coworkers, old flames or judgmental relatives you want to keep your new relationship status hidden from?
You can customize who gets to see your relationship info on Facebook by adjusting your privacy settings:
– Under the audience selector, choose “Specific Friends” instead of Public.
– Type in the names of people to hide it from.
– Facebook will now show your relationship only to the friends you haven’t excluded.
Keep in mind this only works one way – you can hide it from people, but they can’t hide it from you if they can already see the person you’re dating. You’ll have to talk to your partner if you both want to limit visibility.
Can You Add Custom Couple Emotes?
Facebook has its own set of emoji-like emotes for reactions and statuses. When you’re in a relationship, you can access custom emotes to use just between you and your significant other.
To find them, look for the reaction face icon when posting on your partner’s Timeline – hearts and kissy faces will appear that represent the two of you together. You can also find them in the comments section.
The customized couple emotes will only show up when interacting between each other’s profiles. They’re a cute way to flirt, chat or react specifically as a duo on Facebook posts and pictures.
Do Ads and Suggestions Change?
Facebook’s advertising algorithm is heavily based on your interests, activities, information and connections on the platform. So when you enter a relationship, Facebook will start catering some ads and suggestions towards couples.
You may see promotions for:
– Romantic date ideas
– Relationship books and advice
– Couples counseling or therapy
– Engagement rings
– Wedding planning services
– Anniversary gifts
– Vacations and travel for two
The social media giant wants to serve up relevant recommendations to match your new situation. So if you’re not ready to be bombarded with honeymoon getaway ads, you can always tweak your ad preferences in Settings.
Can You Add Special Occasion Reminders?
Facebook has a feature for remembering important calendar events called On This Day. When you enter a relationship, you can use it to set special occasion reminders.
Anniversaries: Add your relationship start date so you can be alerted each year.
Birthdays: Input your partner’s birthday to get notices when it’s time to post on their Timeline or buy a gift.
Custom Dates: Manually add custom occasions like when you moved in together, got engaged, etc.
You’ll get notifications when these relationship milestones are approaching so you don’t forget to acknowledge or celebrate them. It’s a handy way to stay on top of your couple memories.
How Do You Indicate It’s Over?
When a relationship ends, you’ll obviously want to update your Facebook status accordingly. Rather than simply deleting your connection, here are the steps for officially marking a relationship as over:
1. Go to your About section
2. Click Relationship Status
3. Choose the option for “divorced” or “separated” if applicable
4. Or select “single” again if you just dated
5. Remove your ex’s name from the box
6. Click Confirm
This will change your profile and notify your ex just like when you first entered the relationship. The breakup announcement may also show up in your friends’ News Feeds.
And that’s it – you’ve officially notified the Facebook world that you’re no longer in a relationship. Now it’s time for some self-care and revamping your profile as a newly single person!
Can Your Ex Still Tag You?
Even once you’ve ended the relationship on Facebook, your ex can actually still interact with you in some ways. Unless you block them completely, they can:
– View your profile and posts
– Share old photos you’re both tagged in
– Tag you in new photos or posts
– Invite you to events
– Send you messages
Your ex can’t tag you in a relationship status or suggest intimacy. But they can interact just like any other friend.
If you’re uncomfortable with them having any access or want a clean break, consider blocking instead of just removing the relationship status. This will prevent them from viewing your profile or tagging you at all.
What If You Want to Delete the History?
Maybe your relationship ended badly. Or perhaps you just want a fresh start without the reminders and old tags from a past romance. You have options to delete or limit previous relationship visibility:
– Untag yourself from any photos and posts together
– Delete any relationship milestone posts or announcements
– Review memories and remove any you don’t want resurfacing
– Adjust On This Day notifications to exclude the ex
– Block your ex if needed to prevent further tags
Keep in mind your ex would also have to untag themselves from joint content to fully remove it. But you can control what appears going forward and in your own feed. A social media reset can help you move forward.
Can You Stay Facebook Friends?
Is it a good idea to stay Facebook friends with an ex? There are a few factors to consider:
– How serious was the relationship? Longer or more meaningful relationships may warrant staying connected. Short flings probably don’t.
– What are your ages? High school and college relationships tend to stay social media friends more often.
– How did you break up? Amicable splits are more likely to remain friendly than dramatic breakups.
– How long has it been? More time passing means more chance to heal and less desire to spy.
– Are you in a new relationship? Your current partner may not appreciate your ex in your feed.
– Do they overshare? An ex who posts a lot about their dating life may be annoying.
Ultimately it’s a personal choice – there are benefits like staying in touch with mutual friends, but also downsides like constant reminders and comparing yourself. Trust your gut on what feels healthiest post-breakup.
Conclusion
Entering and leaving relationships on Facebook comes with many built-in features, notifications, visibility changes and options to consider. While social media provides a platform to share your coupledom, be thoughtful about privacy, angles and the digital baggage left behind. Focus on your real-world connections and self-care during transitions. Your true friends will support you on and offline.