How To Hide Friends From Other Friends on Facebook: The Definitive Guide

Want to control who sees your meticulously curated collection of Facebook friends? You’ve come to the right place. Facebook, despite its evolving features, offers ways to manage your privacy and limit the visibility of your friend list to select individuals or even everyone but specific people. Here’s exactly how to pull it off, and why you might want to.

Essentially, there are two primary methods: adjusting your overall friend list privacy settings and creating custom lists to selectively share information. Let’s dive into each.

Method 1: Adjusting Your Friend List Privacy Settings

This method controls who can see your entire friend list. This is the easiest and most straightforward way to prevent most of your friends from seeing who you are connected with.

Steps to Hide Your Entire Friend List

1. Access Your Profile: Log in to your Facebook account and navigate to your profile page by clicking on your name in the top left corner.

2. Go to Your Friends Tab: On your profile, click on the “Friends” tab, typically located below your cover photo.

3. Manage Privacy Settings: In the top right corner of your “Friends” section, you’ll see a pencil icon that indicates “Manage.” Click on this icon, and a dropdown menu will appear. Select “Edit Privacy.”

4. Edit “Who can see your friend list?”: This is the crucial step. In the “Edit Privacy” window, you’ll find the option “Who can see your friend list?” Click on the dropdown menu next to this option.

5. Choose Your Desired Privacy Setting: From the dropdown, you’ll have several options:

   • Public: Anyone on or off Facebook can see your friend list.
   • Friends: Only your Facebook friends can see your friend list.
   • Only Me: Only you can see your friend list. This is the most restrictive option.
   • Friends except…: You can select specific friends who cannot see your friend list.
   • Specific friends: You can select specific friends who can see your friend list.
   • Custom: This allows for more advanced customization, letting you share your friend list with particular lists or groups of people.

6. Select “Only Me” or a Custom Option: For maximum privacy, choose “Only Me.” If you want to allow certain friends to see your list, select “Specific Friends” or use the “Custom” option to create a tailored list.

7. Save Changes: The changes are usually saved automatically. Just ensure your selection is correctly reflected before closing the window.

Method 2: Creating Custom Lists

This method allows for more granular control. You can create specific lists of friends and then tailor who sees different types of posts or even sections of your profile, including your friend list.

Steps to Use Custom Lists

1. Create a New List: Navigate to the left-hand menu on your Facebook homepage and find the “Friends Lists” section. If you don’t see it, click “See More” to expand the menu. Click on “Create List.”

2. Name Your List: Give your list a descriptive name, such as “Close Friends,” “Family,” or “Work Colleagues.”

3. Add Members to Your List: Start typing the names of your friends and select them to add them to the list. Click “Create.”

4. Adjust Friend List Visibility for Specific Posts: When creating a post, before you hit “Post,” look for the audience selector (usually a globe or friends icon). Click on it, and you can choose to share the post with “Friends,” “Friends except…,” “Specific friends,” or “Custom.” Select “Custom.”

5. Specify Your List: In the “Custom Privacy” window, under “Share with,” you can type the name of the list you created. You can also use the “Don’t share with” option to exclude a list from seeing the post. This, in effect, also limits which friends will see who is tagged or mentioned in the post and potentially your friend connections to those people.

6. Adjust Profile Section Visibility: While you can’t directly hide your friend list from a custom list through profile settings, you can limit who sees individual posts, thereby indirectly limiting exposure to your friend connections. To do this for past posts, you will have to adjust the privacy settings individually.

Why Hide Your Friend List?

There are numerous valid reasons to control who sees your Facebook friend list. These include:

• Privacy Concerns: You might not want everyone knowing who you are connected to.
• Professionalism: Separating personal and professional contacts can be crucial for maintaining a professional image.
• Relationship Dynamics: Avoiding awkward situations or potential conflicts between friends who might not get along.
• Security: Limiting the information available to potential scammers or stalkers.

Navigating Facebook’s Ever-Changing Landscape

Keep in mind that Facebook’s interface and privacy settings are subject to change. Regularly reviewing your privacy settings is a good practice to ensure they align with your preferences. And remember, while these methods can effectively limit visibility, determined individuals may still find ways to infer your connections through mutual friends or other shared activities.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some common questions about hiding friends on Facebook, designed to clarify potential confusion:

1. If I hide my friend list, can mutual friends still see our connection?

Yes, mutual friends will still see that you are friends with each other. Hiding your friend list only prevents people from seeing your complete list of friends. It does not sever existing, visible connections.

2. Does hiding my friend list also hide my followers?

No. Your followers and friend list are separate. You need to adjust your follower settings independently to control who can follow you. To adjust your follower settings, go to Settings & Privacy -> Settings -> Privacy -> Public Posts -> Who Can Follow Me.

3. Can I hide my friends from only one specific person?

Yes, you can use the “Friends except…” option in your friend list privacy settings to exclude a specific person from seeing your friend list. This is a direct and targeted approach.

4. If I unfriend someone, will they still be able to see my friend list if it’s public?

No. Once you unfriend someone, they are no longer considered a friend and will be subject to your general friend list privacy settings (Public, Friends, Only Me, etc.).

5. Can I hide specific friends from appearing in my friend list for certain people?

No, you can’t hide individual friends from your overall friend list if someone can see your friend list. The “Friends except…” or custom lists affect the entire list’s visibility, not individual entries within it.

6. Will hiding my friend list affect who sees my posts?

Not directly. Your friend list privacy settings are separate from your post privacy settings. However, by limiting who can see your friend list, you indirectly limit the exposure of your connections to those individuals.

7. How often should I review my Facebook privacy settings?

It’s a good practice to review your privacy settings at least once every few months, especially after Facebook updates its platform or introduces new features.

8. If I set my friend list to “Only Me,” will it affect my ability to tag friends in photos?

No, setting your friend list to “Only Me” will not affect your ability to tag friends in photos. Tagging functionality remains independent of friend list visibility.

9. Is there a way to hide my entire profile from someone without blocking them?

No, there isn’t a direct way to hide your entire profile from someone without blocking them. You can, however, limit what they see by adjusting individual privacy settings for posts, photos, and other profile sections.

10. If a friend tags me in a photo, will people who can’t see my friend list still see the tag?

Yes, if the tagged photo’s privacy setting allows them to see it. The visibility of the tag depends on the photo’s privacy settings, not your friend list settings. If the photo is set to “Public,” anyone can see it, regardless of whether they can see your friend list.

11. Can I see how my profile looks to someone who isn’t my friend?

Yes. Go to your profile page, click the three dots next to “Add to Story”, then select “View As”. You can then choose to view it as a specific friend, or as the Public.

12. How do I manage privacy settings on the Facebook mobile app?

The process is similar to the desktop version. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), scroll down to “Settings & Privacy,” then tap “Settings.” From there, you can navigate to “Privacy” and adjust settings for your friend list and other profile elements. The specific menu names and locations may vary slightly depending on the app version.

By understanding these methods and frequently asked questions, you can confidently navigate Facebook’s privacy settings and maintain control over who sees your friend list and other aspects of your online presence. Remember, proactive privacy management is key to a positive and secure Facebook experience.