Every time you log into your Facebook account, you are greeted by a list of posts, updates, videos, and links from pages, people, and groups you follow on the website right in the middle of your home page. Welcome to Facebook’s newsfeed.
But wait a minute! How does it work and is there a way to take charge of your Facebook newsfeed?
For the common man, understanding Facebook’s algorithms is near impossible as the company guards the system jealously. When prodded for answers, Facebook normally says that the content showing on your newsfeed is determined by your activity and connections on Facebook.
However, there is hope. You can make a few changes using the settings feature in their app to customize your Facebook’s newsfeed.
Unfollow or unfriend irritating people
Just like annoying neighbors, some of your friends on Facebook can drive you up the wall. If you do not find their content too offending, you can simply unfollow them. Unfollowing a person means that they will still be your friends on Facebook but you will not get updates or see their content in your newsfeed. However, if you find the person too irritating, simply unfriend them. This does not cut them off as you can still chat with them via Messenger. The person might get offended but there is hope that in future when you resolve your differences, you can let them in again.
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If someone goes from being irritating to downright abusive, you can block them. This means that they will not be able to see you at all on Facebook, or in Messenger, nor will you be able to see them. It’s the most extreme option, but sometimes it’s necessary.
Tell Facebook which content you would not like to see
Unknown to most people, you can let Facebook know the type of posts you would not like to see in the future. To do this, select a post you do not like and click on the three dots beside it to open a drop-down menu. Select ‘Hide post’ or ‘Snooze’. If all goes as planned and you click the same option on several posts done by the person, Facebook’s algorithm will interpret it as a “no thanks” and hopefully work overtime to show you less content from the person. Keep in mind that the snooze feature works to hide the offending content for a specific period of time such as 30 days at a time.
Choose whose content you see first
You can customize the newsfeed by selecting whose posts you see first. This means that when you log in, the algorithm will prioritize the friends you chose and show you their updates or posts at the top of the news feed.
If you want to completely remove posts from your newsfeed based on content, rather than who posted them (for example, based on certain political terms), check out how to do this in our article here.
Using the above tips and tricks, you take charge of your Facebook newsfeed and get to choose the content you want compared to what the social platform would prefer to serve you.
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