By default, your Facebook profile information, posts, and even your friends are available for all to see. It's often convenient for your friends list to be public, because it can help people find and connect with you. Show
If you prefer, you can restrict who can see your entire friends list using Facebook's privacy settings. You might not want everyone to see it, especially if you want to mask the identity of some friends from others. Or perhaps you just value your privacy and don't want everyone to know who you're connected to online. Here's how to hide your friends list on Facebook. How to hide your friends on Facebook via web browser1. Open Facebook in a web browser. 2. Click your profile picture in the top right corner. 3. In the dropdown menu, click Settings & privacy. 4. Click Settings. Go to your Facebook account’s settings. Stefan Ionescu/Insider5. In the left side menu, click Privacy. 7. Click the dropdown to reveal a list of options. You can choose: Public, Friends, Friends except, Specific friends, Only me, or Custom. Choose the privacy setting for your friends list. Stefan Ionescu/InsiderHow to hide your friends on Facebook via a mobile device1. Open the Facebook app on your iPhone or Android device. 2. Tap the three horizontal lines (this is the hamburger menu). On an iPhone, this is in the bottom right corner of the screen; on an Android, it's in the top right corner. Tap the hamburger menu in the Facebook app. Stefan Ionescu/Insider3. Tap Settings & Privacy. 4. Tap Settings in the dropdown menu. Tap “Settings.” Stefan Ionescu/Insider5. In the Audience and visibility section, tap How people can find and contact you. 6. Tap Who can see your friends list? 7. Choose who you want to be able to see your friends list. You can choose: Public, Friends, Friends except, Specific friends, or Only me.
Dave Johnson Freelance Writer Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider. Read more Read less
by on March 31, 2022 Techlicious editors independently review products. To help support our mission, we may earn affiliate commissions from links contained on this page. It can be tough to keep your personal information private online, but just a few clicks can keep your Facebook information from prying eyes. If you want to keep strangers (or even friends) from trawling through your Friends list, it's simple — as long as you know where to look. Here's how you can hide your Friends list on Facebook. Configure your Facebook Friends list from your PCThe instructions (and your options) are a little different whether you're viewing Facebook on a web browser. While you can access the basic options from either, the website will let you completely customize who can see your Friends list. Here's how to do it:
Configure your Facebook Friends list from your phone or tabletSetup on mobile is similar but offers different customization options. Instead of creating a completely custom list of people who can view your Friends list, mobile offers a few extra pre-configured options. Here's how to change the visibility of your Friends list from your iPhone or Android device:
While this will hide your Friends list, there are a few ways people can still uncover a few of your Friends. When people visit your profile, they may see Friends you have in common. Plus, if your Friends have public Friends lists, you'll be visible there. Changing your own Facebook privacy settings will help you lock down your privacy, but if your Friends haven't done the same, they may be able to piece together some clues with a simple search. Updated on 3/31/2022 with new screenshots and instructions for the current Facebook interface [Image credit: Screenshots via Techlicious, Smartmockups] Elizabeth Harper is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience covering consumer technology and entertainment. In addition to writing for Techlicious, she's Editorial Director of Blizzard Watch and is published on sites all over the web including Time, CBS, Engadget, The Daily Dot and DealNews. How do I know if someone has hidden my friends list on Facebook?Go to the profile of the person you want to see their hidden friend list. Click on the 'Social Revealer' extension on Chrome. Once it's opened, click on “See Friends”. The Facebook user's friend list will open in a new tab.
What happens when you make your friends list private?For example, if you set your friends list to Only Me, only you'll be able to see your full friends list on your profile. But, if your friend has their friends list set to Public, anyone can see that you're friends.
Why would someone hide their friends list on Facebook?Facebook users often hide their friendlist for security reasons. People often want to keep their friends and activities personal and hence they often prefer on limiting the people who can see their friendlis and activities on a social media platform.
Will my friends know if I hide their posts?It still remains visible to the original poster and all their friends. Because they can still view it, they won't know that you hid their comment.
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