How to get rid of reels on facebook

Not finding the addition of the Reels feature to Facebook very exciting? You're not the only one. While some people (creators, especially) seem to enjoy Facebook's new short-form video feature, plenty of others are wishing it would away.

If you're in the latter group, you might be wondering how to stop seeing Reels on Facebook. We'll show you how to in this article...

There's No "Hide Facebook Reels" Button, Yet

Unfortunately, there's no easy way to disable or hide Reels on Facebook. The feature is still fairly new, so Facebook may add a hide Reels button in the future. For now, though, you'll have to use one of the following methods to avoid seeing Reels...

How to Hide Reels On Facebook

To speed up adoption, Facebook is pushing the Reels feature pretty hard. You can find them in your News Feed, Watch, and in the Story panel. However, if you're not interested in watching Reels, there are a few things you can do to avoid them.

1. Use Facebook Web

If you're not interested in watching Reels, your best bet is to use Facebook's web version instead of the app. Reels won't appear in your News Feed or Story on the Facebook website.

Facebook may eventually push Reels to the website, but for now, you're safe. And even if it did, the web interface is usually better for ignoring posts you don't want to see.

2. Use an Older Version of Facebook

If you're using the Facebook app on Android, you can try installing an older version of the app. This won't work on iOS, though, as Apple doesn't allow you to downgrade apps.

You can visit any of the trusted APK sites, like APKMirror, to find an older version of the Facebook app. Once you've found one, you can uninstall the current Facebook app and install the older one.

Reels should no longer appear in your News Feed or Stories after you've installed the older version of the app.

3. Hide Reels You're Shown

This is a play on the algorithm Facebook uses to show you content. The more you watch and engage with Reels, the more Facebook will show them to you. So, if you never watch or engage with Reels, Facebook will stop showing them to you.

When you're shown the Reel panel, tap on the three dots right above it, and then tap Hide. Doing this will tell Facebook that you're not interested in seeing Reels, and it should stop showing them to you.

This isn't a perfect solution, as you'll have to do this every time you're shown the Reel panel. But it's a good way to train Facebook's algorithm to stop showing you Reels.

These Are Your Only Good Options

Unfortunately, these are the only three good options you have for hiding Reels on Facebook for now. Another alternative you could try is using third-party Facebook apps like SlimSocial and Frost.

However, we don't recommend these, as they're usually not as good as the official app and can't be trusted privacy-wise.

How to Disable Auto-Playing Reels

Another way you can reduce the bother of Reels is by disabling auto-playing videos. This way, you won't have to worry about videos automatically playing and taking up your data.

To do this, open the Facebook app and tap on the menu option. Then, scroll down and tap on Settings & Privacy > Settings. From there, select Profile Settings > Media and Contacts > Autoplay.

You can then choose to never autoplay videos or have them only autoplay when you're on Wi-Fi.

Working Around Facebook Reels

Facebook Reels are here to stay, whether or not we like it. However, we do have some control over how they auto-play and when they show up in our News Feeds. If you’re not a fan of the new feature, hopefully, one of these workarounds will help make things more bearable for you until Facebook decides to give us a “hide reel” button.