Why does my friends list not show on Facebook?
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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. 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. How to hide your friends on Facebook via web browser1. Open Facebook in a web browser. 2. Click the downward-pointing arrow at the top right of the webpage. 3. In the dropdown menu, click "Settings & privacy," then click "Settings." Click the downward-facing arrow, then "Settings & privacy," then "Settings." Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider 4. In the pane on the left side of the screen, click "Privacy." 5. In the section called "How people can find and contact you," click "Edit" next to "Who can see your friends list?" Beside "Who can see your friends list?" click "Edit." Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider 6. Click the downward-facing arrow to reveal a list of options. You can choose: "Public," "Friends," "Friends except...," "Specific friends," "Only me," or "Custom." Select an option from the dropdown list. Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider If you click "Custom," you can choose to enter specific names. For example, you can share your friends list with all of your friends except for Bob Smith. After adding a specific person, click "Save Changes." Choose who you want to exclude your friends list from and click "Save Changes." Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider How to hide your friends on Facebook via a mobile device1. Open the Facebook app on your device. 2. Tap the three horizontal lines (this is the hamburger menu). On an iPhone, this is in the lower right of the screen; on an Android, it's in the upper right. 3. Tap "Settings & Privacy." Expand the Settings & Privacy section to see the Settings menu. Dave Johnson/Business Insider 4. Tap "Settings." 5. Scroll down to the "Privacy" section and tap "Privacy Settings." 6. Scroll down to the section called "How People Find and Contact You" and tap "Who can see your friends list?" Select "Who can see your friends list?" Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider 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." If you choose "Friends except…," you can block specific people from seeing your friends list. Select an option from the list. Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider Related coverage from Tech Reference:
by Elizabeth Harper on February 20, 2019 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 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 friends list from your smartphone 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. This 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. [Image credit: Facebook friend request via BigStockPhoto] |