68 68 people found this article helpful Updated on October 20, 2021 Make your Friends list visible to some friends or just you
What to Know
It's possible to hide your Friends list on Facebook in case you don't want other users to see everyone else you're friends with. You can hide your Friends list from the general public, from specific friends, or from everyone. This article covers Facebook.com and the Facebook mobile app for iOS and Android.
How to Hide Your Facebook Friends List
To customize your Facebook privacy settings for your Friends list on Facebook.com:
Log in to Facebook.com, select the down arrow in the upper-right corner, and then select Settings & Privacy from the drop-down list.
Select Settings.
Select Privacy in the left menu.
In the How People Find and Contact You section, look for Who can see your friends list and select the Edit link to the right of it.
Select the drop-down menu to choose your new privacy setting.
To see how your profile looks to a public user (someone who's not your friend), navigate to your profile, select the three dots in the lower-right corner of your cover photo, and then select View As.
How to Hide Your Friends List in the Facebook App
The steps for changing your Friends list settings on the mobile app are similar:
Tap Menu (three horizontal lines).
Tap Settings & Privacy.
Tap Settings.
Scroll down to the Audience and Visibility section and tap How People Find and Contact You.
Tap Who can see your friends list.
Tap one of the options to set your privacy preferences.
If you set up custom Friends lists on Facebook, select See All to choose a custom list.
What Happens When You Hide Facebook Friends?
If you decide to set your Friends list visibility to only yourself (Only me), both friends and non-friends can still see mutual friends you may have under the Friends section on your profile. Only mutual friends are shown. The rest are hidden.
Thanks for letting us know!
Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day
Subscribe
- You can hide your friends list on Facebook by going to your profile's Privacy settings.
- By default, your friends list is public, and anyone with a Facebook account can see who is on it.
- You can hide your friends list so that only your friends, or no one at all, can see it.
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.
Here's how to hide your friends list on Facebook.
How to hide your friends on Facebook via web browser
1. Open Facebook in a web browser.
2. Click your profile picture in the top right corner.
3. In the dropdown menu, click Settings & privacy.
4. Click Settings.
Go to your Facebook account’s settings. Stefan Ionescu/Insider5. In the left side menu, click Privacy.
Click “Privacy” in the left side menu. Stefan Ionescu/Insider6. In the section called How people can find and contact you, click Edit next to Who can see your friends list?
Click “Edit.” Stefan Ionescu/Insider7. Click the dropdown to reveal a list of options. You can choose: Public, Friends, Friends except, Specific friends, Only me, or Custom.
Choose the privacy setting for your friends list. Stefan Ionescu/InsiderHow to hide your friends on Facebook via a mobile device
1. Open the Facebook app on your iPhone or Android device.
2. Tap the three horizontal lines (this is the hamburger menu). On an iPhone, this is in the bottom right corner of the screen; on an Android, it's in the top right corner.
Tap the hamburger menu in the Facebook app. Stefan Ionescu/Insider3. Tap Settings & Privacy.
4. Tap Settings in the dropdown menu.
Tap “Settings.” Stefan Ionescu/Insider5. In the Audience and visibility section, tap How people can find and contact you.
6. Tap Who can see your friends list?
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.
Dave Johnson
Freelance Writer
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.
Read more Read less