Finally! Facebook now lets you choose what you want to see

Alex Thomas Sadler | March 22nd, 2017

Team Clark is adamant that we will never write content influenced by or paid for by an advertiser. To support our work, we do make money from some links to companies and deals on our site. Learn more about our guarantee here.

Facebook just made it a whole lot easier to keep up with your friends — and to avoid the people whose posts drive you crazy.

The updated News Feed Preferences are aimed at showing users what matters to them most, and the platform now allows you to control that. Full disclosure: The updated settings are only available on the iOS mobile app, but are reportedly coming to Android and desktop soon.

Say goodbye to FOMO

‘We found from surveys and talking to people that they had FOMO, the fear of missing out,’ Adam Mosseri, the product manager for News Feed, told CNN Money.

The fear of missing out — it’s why you keep up with your friends on Facebook anyway, right? Well, now you don’t have to worry about missing a thing! The new tools let you prioritize your friends and specific Pages you follow so that their posts always show up at the top of your News Feed. Consider it a favorites list, so can see more posts from those you care about, and less from the people who make you want to jump through your screen. Just tap on a friend’s profile picture in the News Feed Preferences and you’ll be able to see all of the person’s posts since you last logged into Facebook. Those prioritized posts will show up at the top of your feed and then just scroll down to see the rest of your regular News Feed.

You can also now find new Pages you might be interested in more easily. The ‘Discover new Pages’ option lists Pages Facebook thinks you may want to follow, based on other Pages you’ve already liked.

Facebook has also made it very simple to unfollow any friends or Pages. The new tool shows you a list of the top people, Pages and groups that have shown up in your News Feed recently, and you can choose to unfollow any if you no longer want to see their updates. It also reminds you about who you’ve unfollowed in the past, in case any of your enemies have become your frenemies and you’re ready to keep up with them again.

Once you’ve caught up on your best friends’ activity and you just want to see all of the most recent posts in your feed, you can still click the ‘Most Recent’ option in your News Feed.

Here’s how to make Clark Howard a Facebook Favorite so you never miss a post!

This post was last modified on March 22, 2017 3:40 pm