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How to Unfollow Someone on Facebook
You Don't Have to End the Friendship
If you regularly use Facebook, yet you are frustrated with some of the updates that show up on your feed, it may be time to unfollow a few people. Until now, maybe you did not realize this feature even existed. You do not need to unfriend your Aunt Marge just because she posts 20 cat photos each day on Facebook. You can unfollow her instead!
I assumed everyone knew about the unfollow feature on Facebook, but recently, I've shown several people how to take advantage of this wonderful option. You can simply unfollow someone when their status updates frustrate you or clutter your feed. This is the perfect option for anyone that you want to remain friends with on Facebook, but they tend to post too much information.
Let me tell you how you can unfollow anyone on your friend list that you may have been considering unfriending. This is the perfect way to keep friends and family on your list. You can view their page at any time as you normally would, and they can still view all your posts (unless they unfollow you as well). It is as if nothing changed and they will never know you no longer follow them.
How to Unfollow on a Friend's Page
The first way you can unfollow someone on Facebook is simply by going on that person's page. You may want to review that person's page first anyway. Sure, you can click the "Following" button again at any time if you change your mind, but you may want to decide why you want to unfollow him or her in the first place.
- Is this person really a friend?
- Are you never going to contact this person again?
- Do you even know this person?
It is possible you may want to simply click the "Friends" button because you don't want any type of online friendship with this person. If you only unfollow him or her, that person will still be able to follow you. If, however, you simply want to rid your feed of this person's constant updates, click the "Following" button located in the bottom of that person's cover photo. It instantly stops you from following that person. You can now remain friends. You can also change your mind and click the "Follow" button if you do want to get status updates from your friend again.
How to Unfollow in Your Feed
If you would prefer, you can also opt to unfollow someone right in your feed (news stories). Perhaps you "liked" a company or a fan page online, never realizing you would receive constant updates from them. You can opt out of receiving those updates all the time by clicking on the small arrow in the upper right hand corner of the block. You then click on "Unfollow _____" to stop getting updates from this person or company.
I've found the need to "unfollow" most restaurants in my area simply because their ads were making me hungry. It is not that I dislike them now, but my urge to lick my computer screen was starting to become overwhelming. (I am, however, not unfollowing Ocean City as the photo to the right may indicate... I just needed an example.)
Reasons You Should Consider Unfollowing Someone
If you are wondering what are some good examples of when the unfollow option is a better idea than unfriending on Facebook, I am happy to give you a few.
- Your relatives insist on being Facebook friends with you, but they tend to post status updates that frustrate you. Perhaps they have different political or religious beliefs that you. It is fine to still remain friends with them (especially if you want to keep peace in the family), but you probably don't want to view their updates all the time.
- One of your friends is full of drama and it brings you down. You still want to be able to tag your friend in photos, occasionally visit her page, or allow her to visit your page. However, the continuous dramatic updates are more than you can handle on a daily basis.
- Some friends share too many funny viral videos, photos, etc. If you want to visit that person's page and have access to his normal updates, it is best not to unfriend him. However, if you have to look at one more dog jumping on a trampoline video from him, you are going to scream.
- You "liked" a fan page, product page, or something else along those lines. Although you still want to like that product or even feel passionate about it, they post too many ads all day long. Yes, you are happy to "like" a page, especially for contest purposes. No, you don't need to see one post after another about it.
Now, You Can Unfollow Anyone You'd Like
If you've been reading this and unfollowing someone instead of unfriending someone seems appealing to you, I am happy I could help. I find unfriending someone occasionally causes hurt feelings. Unfollowing is often a good solution for a very basic (and silly) problem that is easy to resolve.
Copyright ©2014 Jeannieinabottle
The Unfollow Feature on Facebook
Would you rather unfriend or unfollow someone on Facebook?
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Comments
- Author
sheilamyers - I am happy to help. That unfollow button helps solve a lot of problems.
bravewarrior - I am glad I was able to introduce the feature to you. It is soooo helpful!
FlourishAnyway - Every now and then, I switch someone back to "following" but usually not for very long. It takes a week or so to remember why I did it in the first place. Then I switch to unfollowing again. Thanks for your comment!
The political and religious rants, the relationship drama, way too many pictures of some people's kids or themselves, people trying to sell stuff or get donations, etc. I unfollowed and unfriended a bunch of people last election cycle and just never got interested enough to switch it back. Half of them I'm not even sure I'd recognize in person anyway. You provide good advice here. It's hard writing straight stuff when you're usually a jokeser, huh? People do expect the punch line. Good and very useful hub.
Jeannie, you've just solved a dilemma. Thank you for this post. I often find feeds on my timeline I'd rather not have there. Now I know how to fix it without hurting anyone's feelings.
I knew about this feature, but I've never used it. Even though I chose your first answer in the poll, I'm not really uncomfortable "unfriending" someone and have done so many times when that person gets to be an irritant. Thanks for the reminder on how to "unfollow" someone because I may need to do that for a few people on my FB list.
- Author
mary615 - Facebook has a way of getting out of control. The unfollow feature really does help. Thanks for voting and sharing!
Hackslap - Thanks for the vote up! Unfollowing someone is sometimes the best solution.
Suhail and my dog - Thank you for your comment. I am happy to help.
I liked this article on a special feature on FB. I will be using it at will now :-)
Thanks for sharing.
I have unfollowed a few people in my friends list .. its the most diplomatic thing to do .good hub...voted up
Well, I'm glad to learn this trick! I would like to "unfollow" a bunch of people and companies that I had liked.
The only reason I have a FB account is to keep in touch with my close friends and family, but after a while things have mushroomed!
Voted Up, etc. and shared.
- Author
no body, you are right. It can be a little harsh to unfriend someone. It is hard for people not to take it personally. Unfollowing is a much better option.
lambservant, I feel your pain. I can't handle it when people keep posting selfies, although one here and there is not bad. I am not sure what that says about a person when someone constantly posts selfies... not sure if that person needs a lot of compliments or already feels great about himself.
Glimmer Twin Fan, I have a couple of people on my friend list that do this. I suppose that is why I discovered the unfollow option in the first place. I now try to limit the photos I upload because I don't want to be that friend!
DzyMsLizzy, oh, the Hobby Lobby debates. It was interesting at first, but that has definitely gotten very old on Facebook. Thanks for the votes!
PegCole17, that is usually the reason I unfollow someone. Sometimes it is too many posts, but other times, a family member constantly posts offensive updates. I have to unfollow that person so I don't lose my temper, but it is best to stay "friends" on Facebook.
Thank you, everyone, for checking out my hub and posting comments!
This is a great way to handle the issue. Thanks so much for sharing the unfollow feature. I don't want to hurt feelings of those who've befriended me, but sometimes, like you've said, they post stuff that is offensive.
Thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten about this trick. Very timely, as my page is currently being swamped by posts from CFI and the "Boycott Hobby Lobby" page....and while I am interested in what they have to say, I don't need to see, literally, 16 - 20 posts all in a row!!!!
Voted up, interesting and useful.
I figured this out a little while ago when I had one fb friend who started using it as a photo repository. I like looking at pictures of people and things as much as the next person, but when they decide to upload their entire camera contents onto fb every time they do something (including going to the store) it's time to cut the chord. I really like this option. Very helpful hub!
Me too. I never noticed if you could unfollow an individual. Dang. I unfriended a good friend a few weeks ago because he was obsessed with selfies. Three and four a day and now he's taking his shirt off. I didn't want to support or feed into this kind of unhealthy behavior. Plus, I just got tired of having my news feed littered with his face.
Facebook is such a powerful tool to communicate and to stay in touch. It is incredible to me how easy it is to have people that actually do become friends that live in places half-way around the globe. Unfriending people can become a very harsh statement, especially if the person is from another country or culture. I have unfollowed a few people and I appreciate this feature. This is a very useful article for someone that may not know about this Facebook feature. Thank you.
- Author
Sorry Bill, no punchline on this one. I've found people need more help on Facebook, so I am happy to help. Thanks for the comment!
I kept waiting for the punchline, but there wasn't one. LOL Oh well....you know, honestly, it never dawned on me to unfollow...and instead of hurting feelings, I never unfriended...now I have an option. Thanks Jeannie.
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