There are a few common reasons why you may not be seeing posts from your Facebook friends in your News Feed:
Your News Feed preferences are set to see less posts
Facebook allows you to customize what you see in your News Feed through your News Feed Preferences. This includes settings like:
- See First – You can choose to always see posts from certain friends or Pages first.
- Unfollow – You can unfollow friends or Pages so their posts don’t show up in your News Feed.
- Snooze – You can temporarily snooze posts from friends, Pages or groups for 30 days.
To check your News Feed Preferences on desktop:
- Click the arrow in the top right corner and select “News Feed Preferences”
- Review the different sections to see if you have unintentionally muted or unfollowed any friends.
- Be sure to click “Save Changes” at the bottom when you are done.
On mobile:
- Tap the three horizontal lines in the bottom right corner.
- Go to “News Feed Preferences”.
- Review and save any changes.
Your friends have changed their audience settings
Along with your own News Feed preferences, the audience settings your friends select for their posts also impact what you see from them. They may have adjusted their settings so you no longer see all their posts.
For example, your friend could have:
- Set a post to be visible to a custom friend list that doesn’t include you.
- Chosen to exclude you from their posts.
- Switched their default audience from “Friends” to “Friends Except”.
There’s no way for you to know if a friend has excluded you specifically. But if you notice you haven’t seen posts from a certain friend in awhile, it could be because they changed their audience settings.
Your News Feed is prioritizing different types of posts
Facebook uses machine learning algorithms to determine the top posts you’ll find interesting and relevant. So your News Feed is constantly adapting to prioritize certain content.
Things that influence what ranks higher in your News Feed include:
- Posts with lots of comments and reactions
- Live videos
- Posts from friends who you interact with frequently
As a result, you may notice posts from some friends show up more, while others appear less frequently. Try engaging more with posts from the friends you want to see more of in your News Feed by commenting, reacting, and viewing their videos.
You’ve missed posts that disappeared
With the constantly updating nature of News Feed, you likely miss some friend posts just due to timing. If you aren’t on Facebook frequently, by the time you log in, a post may have already fallen down your News Feed or disappeared completely if it’s more than a day old.
To prevent this, consider checking Facebook more regularly or turning on notifications so you’re alerted when close friends post. You can also visit friends’ timelines directly to see all their recent posts in chronological order.
There is a technical issue
In some cases, you may not be seeing your friends’ posts due to a technical glitch:
- A temporary News Feed bug.
- A problem with your account.
- An issue due to an update or new Facebook feature.
Some signs of a technical problem include:
- Very old posts appearing at the top of your News Feed.
- The same posts showing up repeatedly.
- Missing notifications and messages.
- Being unable to load News Feed at all.
If you suspect a technical issue, try these troubleshooting steps:
- Force quit and relaunch the Facebook app.
- Clear your browser history and cache.
- Log out then log back into Facebook.
- Check for any Facebook notifications about known issues.
- Report the problem directly to Facebook.
You’ve been temporarily banned from liking, commenting or posting
If you violated Facebook’s Community Standards, you may receive a temporary ban from engaging on the platform. This could include restrictions like:
- Not being able to comment on posts.
- Being banned from going live.
- Being unable to react to or share posts.
If your ability to engage has been limited due to a previous violation, the notification from Facebook should explain how long the restrictions will last.
Your account is at risk of being disabled
In severe cases where accounts repeatedly violate policies, Facebook may begin to restrict access. This starts with limits like:
- Not being able to post publicly.
- Only seeing posts from friends rather than all News Feed posts.
If violations continue, Facebook may disable your account altogether. You would then no longer be able to access your profile or see any posts from friends.
To avoid your account being restricted or disabled, be sure to carefully read and follow Facebook’s Community Standards.
You’ve been shadowbanned
While not an official term Facebook uses, a “shadowban” refers to when Facebook severely limits the reach of your profile and posts without your knowledge:
- Your posts and comments don’t show up for other users.
- You stop receiving notifications and messages.
- You disappear from friend suggestions.
- Hashtags and searches don’t work for your profile.
Shadowbans typically occur if Facebook’s systems detect suspicious account activity, such as spamming, botting or ban evasion. Unfortunately there is no official appeals process, but you can try improving account security and stopping any policy-violating actions.
Conclusion
Not seeing posts from some or all of your Facebook friends in your News Feed is frustrating. But in many cases, it simply takes a bit of adjusting settings or habits to fix.
Start by double checking your News Feed Preferences and engagement with different friends. Troubleshoot technical issues on your end first before assuming your friends have restricted you. With a mix of settings tweaks, patience and good Facebook etiquette, your News Feed should properly fill up with posts again.
| Reason | Potential Causes | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| News Feed Preferences |
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| Friend’s audience settings |
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| News Feed algorithm |
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| Missed posts |
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| Technical issues |
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| Restrictions due to violations |
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| Shadowban |
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