Thursday, March 23, 2023

How to Hide Facebook Friends List From Others – 2018 Guide

Easier to do than you may think

Facebook has had a reputation for not being very privacy-friendly. There are still several different privacy-related functions that aren’t very easy to do through their system, like updating your profile picture without notifying anyone. You often find yourself jumping through hoops and having to do all sorts of strange things to keep a very simple thing private. You should be happy to know that hiding your Facebook friends list is very, very simple.

There are a couple of different reasons why someone may not want to have their friends list displayed publicly. Sometimes, your friends may not like that. If you’re someone who is naturally more private, you may not like the idea of someone being able to find your profile by tracking you through a series of friends lists. It can also give you peace of mind, too. Facebook friends lists can be used to store all sorts of people, and not everyone likes the idea of potential romantic prospects being able to find and communicate with your parents.

Facebook also lets you choose exactly who is able to see your friends list. Whether you want only friends to view your friends list, only you to view your friends list, or even a custom privacy setting of your own creation — it’s all supported. They give you all of the tools, you just have to use them. Without further ado, here’s my guide for how to hide your Facebook friends list from others.

Method One: From your desktop web browser

First, log into your Facebook account whose friends list you want to hide. Then, you’re going to want to navigate to your profile. Towards the middle, on the blue bar on the top of the screen, you should be able to get there by clicking on your first name and profile picture. Next, you’re going to need to navigate to your friends list. You can get to your friends list from your profile by simply clicking on the “Friends” option beneath your profile’s header.

edit_friends_list

Your friends list should now be shown directly below your profile header. In the top right corner of the widget, you should see a little pencil icon. Click on this, and a small drop-down menu will appear. From this drop-down menu, select “Edit Privacy”. From here, you can customize the privacy of your friends list to your heart’s content. Facebook allows you to make your friends list only visible to you, only visible to friends, and they also allow a custom privacy option. You can make it to where friends of friends are able to see the list, or specific friends that you have. You’re also able to block specific people from viewing your list.

Once you’ve selected your options, click “Save Changes”, and you’re done! You have successfully configured your Facebook friends list, and are preventing other people from viewing it.

Method Two: From your mobile web browser

If you’re trying to hide your Facebook friends list from your mobile web browser, the steps are pretty much the same. The mobile interface just means that you’re going through a couple of extra steps to get where you need to go. First, log in to your Facebook account from the mobile browser of your choice. Tap the menu button in the top-right corner of the screen. Then, tap your name and picture at the very top of the next menu that opens. This will take you to your profile. facebook-mobile-privacy

Next, you’re going to want to scroll down until you see the “Friends” menu option, which should be right below your profile picture and other information. This should open up your friends list. Now, you’re going to tap the option that is on the top right corner, above your actual list. This option says something based on what your privacy options already are. If your friends list is set to the public, it will say “Public”. If it is set to be visible to friends, it will say “Friends”. Tapping this option will allow you to change your friends list’s privacy setting. Tapping the “more” option at the bottom of the list will allow you to choose “Only Me”.

Facebook’s mobile web browser doesn’t allow you to set custom configurations. If you want to do that, you need to go through these steps in a web browser. Still, you can just as easily get the job done on mobile as you can on your desktop.

And that’s that. Hopefully this guide helped you edit the privacy on your Facebook friends list. If you had any trouble, or if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll see if I can’t help you out.

jakedbriscoe@gmail.com'
Jake Briscoe
Jake is passionate about everything tech, film, and gaming related. If he's not writing you can probably catch him at a local sporting event or coffee shop.
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