This is a common question that many Facebook users have when they decide to unfollow someone on the platform. The short answer is no, when you unfollow someone on Facebook, they will not see your posts in their News Feed anymore. However, there are some nuances to how unfollowing works on Facebook that are important to understand.
How Unfollowing Works on Facebook
When you unfollow someone on Facebook, it means you will no longer see their posts in your News Feed. This is different from unfriending or blocking someone. When you unfriend or block someone, they will no longer see your posts either. But with unfollowing, the relationship only goes one way.
So when you unfollow someone, here is what happens:
- You will no longer see that person’s posts in your News Feed.
- Your posts will no longer show up in that person’s News Feed.
- You will both still be friends on Facebook.
- You will both still be able to see each other’s profiles and engage with public content.
- That person will not be notified that you have unfollowed them.
The key distinction is that unfollowing is one-directional. You have stopped seeing someone’s content, but they can still see yours unless they also unfollow you.
Why People Unfollow on Facebook
There are a few common reasons why people choose to unfollow others on Facebook rather than unfriend them:
- To avoid clutter in their News Feed from people who post too frequently or content they don’t care about.
- To keep a connection but reduce their visibility, like for distant acquaintances or some family members.
- Because they don’t want to “unfriend” someone fully if they still want to stay connected in some capacity.
Basically, unfollowing allows you to tidy up your News Feed and customize what you see, without fully disconnecting from someone on Facebook.
What the Person You Unfollowed Will See
When you unfollow someone, here is what their experience will be:
- They will not receive any notification that you have unfollowed them.
- They will stop seeing your posts in their own News Feed.
- They will still remain friends and be able to access your public content and profile.
- The only way they would know is if they proactively looked for your content in their News Feed and noticed it was missing.
Essentially, someone you unfollow will have no idea unless they realize your content has mysteriously disappeared from their feed. And in many cases, they may not notice at all if you do not interact frequently.
Special Case: Restricted List
There is one special case where someone you unfollowed could get a hint that something has changed:
If you add the person to your Restricted list, you will unfollow them and they will get a notification saying that “you can’t see their posts anymore.” This indicates you took an action to hide their content from your feed.
However, Restricted lists are not commonly used and most people simply unfollow others without adding them to this list. So in the majority of cases, the unfollowed person will not know you took any action.
How to Tell If Someone Has Unfollowed You
As the person who has been unfollowed, Facebook does not directly notify you. But there are a few ways you can get a sense of whether someone has unfollowed you:
- Look for their interactions – Do they still like and comment on your posts regularly? If all engagement has stopped, they may have unfollowed.
- Check mutual friends – Look at a recent post and see if the person you think may have unfollowed you has liked or commented along with your other mutual friends.
- Observe their commenting activity – Do they continue commenting and interacting with posts from other friends, while ignoring yours?
Using these clues, you may be able to detect if someone has recently unfollowed you, even without an explicit notification from Facebook.
If You Unfollow Someone, Can You Still See Their Public Posts?
Yes, when you unfollow someone on Facebook, you can still see and access their public posts – you just won’t see them in your News Feed anymore.
For example, if the person you unfollowed makes a public post on their Timeline that is visible to all friends, you could still see that post by:
- Visiting their profile directly
- Looking at a mutual friend’s activity
- Checking pages or groups you both have in common
You just wouldn’t see their public content randomly mixed into your personalized News Feed anymore. But anything they post publicly is still visible to you as a Facebook friend.
Can They Tell I Viewed Their Public Posts?
In most cases, no. When you view someone’s public Facebook content after unfollowing them, they will not receive any notification that you have viewed that content.
The only exception is if you engage with the public post in a visible way, such as by liking, commenting, or sharing it. Any public engagement would notify them that you interacted with their content.
But simply viewing a public post anonymously does not trigger any notification to that person.
What Happens When You Refollow Someone
If you refollow someone that you had previously unfollowed, here is what will happen:
- As soon as you refollow them, their posts will start appearing in your News Feed again.
- They will not receive any notification that you have refollowed them or are now seeing their posts again.
- It will be as if you never unfollowed them in the first place.
From their perspective, they may notice your engagement increasing on their posts again if you had fully stopped interacting for a period. But re-following is seamless and does not generate any alert.
Can They Prevent You From Refollowing?
No, the person you unfollowed cannot prevent you from refollowing them later on. They have no ability to block you from receiving their public posts again down the road.
Refollowing is entirely your decision as the user who initially unfollowed their content.
What Happens if You Unfriend Then Refriend Someone
Unfriending someone on Facebook and later re-sending a friend request has different effects than unfollowing:
- When you unfriend, that person will be notified and removed from your friends list.
- If you later re-send a friend request, they will receive a notification about your request.
- They can then choose whether to accept and re-add you as a friend or ignore the request.
- If they accept, you will both start seeing each other’s posts again.
So unlike unfollowing, unfriending and refriending requires the other person to approve reconnecting on Facebook.
Can You See Their Posts After Unfriending?
No, if you fully unfriend someone on Facebook, you will no longer be able to access any of their posts – even public ones – until you re-send a friend request and they accept it again.
Unfriending removes all access to their profile and blocks you from seeing any of their content.
Conclusion
To recap the key points:
- When you unfollow someone on Facebook, their posts will disappear from your News Feed but they won’t be notified.
- Unfollowing is a one-way action – you won’t see their posts but they can still see yours.
- The only way someone will know you unfollowed them is if they notice your engagement missing from their feed.
- You can still access public posts of someone you unfollowed, but not posts from unfriended users.
- You can seamlessly refollow someone without approval, unlike unfriending which requires re-sending a friend request.
So in summary, unfollowing on Facebook is a simple way to curate your News Feed without fully disconnecting from someone. Use it to tidy up your feed without causing social disruption or offense in most cases.