What Does Hiding a Comment on Facebook Actually Do? And How to Hide or Delete a Comment

how to hide or delete comment on facebook
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The ability to “hide” a comment, as compared to deleting a comment, on Facebook has been around for a while, however Facebook users are still unsure of what it does. Does it hide it just so that you can’t see it? Does it hide it from all users? We explain, as well as explaining the difference between hiding a comment and deleting it.

First, in case you aren’t familiar with the options to hide or delete a comment on Facebook, you access those options by hovering over the three little dots next to the comment:

hide delete comment on facebook

This will cause these options to pop up:

how to hide or delete facebook comment

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how to delete or hide comment on facebook

Moreover, you can also hide comments by others on other people’s timelines (but you can’t delete them, you can only do that on your own timeline).

hide someone elses comment

So, what does hiding a comment actually do?

If you hide a comment on your own timeline, you will no longer see that comment or any replies to it. In general, your friends will no longer be able to see it either.

However, the person who posted the comment will still be able to see it, so they will have no idea that you hid it. Moreover, their friends will still be able to see it and reply to it. That means that any friends that you have in common will still be able to see that hidden comment (not realizing that it is hidden), as well as reply to it.

If you hide a comment on somebody else’s timeline, it will only be hidden from you, as will be any replies to that comment.

Basically, hiding a comment on somebody else’s timeline enables “out of sight, out of mind” for you only.

Hiding a comment on your own timeline enables “out of sight, out of mind” for you, and for any of your Facebook friends who are not also the Facebook friends of the person who posted the hidden comment.

Hiding a comment on your own timeline also stops notifications to you regarding that comment thread.

You can also ‘unhide’ a hidden comment – Facebook puts 3 dots as a placeholder where the comment was hidden, and mousing (trackpadding?) over those dots pops up the option to unhide it.

how to unhide a comment facebook

how to unhide comment on Facebook

It also gives you the option to reply to the hidden comment.

Now, alternatively, you can delete a comment from your Facebook timeline. That completely removes it, and nobody will see it – not you, not your friends, not the person who posted the comment, and not their friends. BUT, the person who posted the comment will know that you deleted it. So will anybody who replied to their comment.

Each option has its merits, and its downsides, so it pays to take a moment or two to think about what you are trying to accomplish by hiding or deleting a comment.

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13 thoughts on “What Does Hiding a Comment on Facebook Actually Do? And How to Hide or Delete a Comment

  1. If you post on a Facebook group asking a question for help and some members inexplicably start commenting, criticizing, bullying, judging, and going completely off topic, littering the thread with unrelated clutter that dilutes its original intent and value. As the creator of the post, although I’m not in the group’s administration, what happens to any frivolous comments and replies to it, when I opt to HIDE their comment so as not to invite more hostility to the post?

    I have hidden the comment and have gone as far as blocking them. Can other members of the group (other than their friends) see their comments after I hid them and block them?

    Any information will be helpful to see if it even is worth keeping the post up.

    Thank you

  2. I am echoing this question from Dallas Prevost 3 years ago but can’t find the answer.

    If you’re in a Facebook group and create a thread/post asking a question or sharing information. Then, in true FBG form, some members repeatedly go completely off topic, bullying and judging littering the thread with unrelated clutter that dilutes its original intent and value. As the creator of a thread/post, although I’m not the group’s admin, what happens to any frivolous comment (and replies to it) when I opt to “Hide” it?

    I have hidden the comment and have gone as far as blocking them. Can the member of the group see their comments after I hide them and block them?

    Any information will be helpful to see if it even is worth keeping the post up.

    Thank you

  3. If I hide a comment on someone else’s FB page (picture) and the comment was put on by a mutual friend, does that mean it’s hidden from everyone? And will they know who hide said comment?

  4. there is this hater named ieshia who went on my cousin’s facebook and hid or deleted some of our comments. why does facebook allow anyone to do this?

    1. Hello, nobody can hide someone else’s comments, only their own. If this person has found a way to hack Facebook and hide *others’* comments, you should report them. (The exception is that they can hide someone else’s comments from *themselves*, so if someone named Joe hides someone named Jane’s comments then *Joe* will no longer see Jane’s comments, but everyone else still will.)

  5. Here’s another common scenario that requires an answer, yet to date no one seems to be able to answer with certainty, even in Facebook Help:

    If you’re in a Facebook group and create a thread/post asking a question or sharing information helpful to that group’s members. Then, in true FBG form, some members repeatedly go completely off topic, littering the thread with unrelated clutter that dilutes its original intent and value. As the creator of a thread/post, although I’m not the group’s admin, what happens to any frivolous comment (and replies to it) when I opt to “Hide” it?

  6. Even more bizzare. I left a comment on a friends post, that they seemed to like, and then my comment was hidden…from me…I thought that was weird. I was also given the option to unhide it. How does that even make sense. I can’t hide my own comment on someone else’s post, and why would facebook let me unhide it, if somehow someone else hid it? Why would they even want me to know????

  7. Hide comment stopped working for me as well. It just greys it out, but you can still see the comment. That’s totally irritating. Windows 10, Firefox.

    1. same for me. you can still see it grayed out. How do I get it to disappear like it used to?

    2. No one but you can see what’s in gray. Invisible to everyone else- except the writer and their friends.

  8. Hide Comment stopped working for me a few weeks ago – I hide a lot of other members animated GIFs posts- used to completely hide – now, just “greys out” the GIF, but its still playing ….
    Windows 10, newer laptop, Chrome or Brave browsers ,
    thanks for any help

  9. When I hit hide post it keeps coming back what is wrong with face book any more.

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