Question from Dennis J.: Hi Rick. I have a quick question about Facebook and I’m hoping you can answer it for me.
Is there any way to keep my Facebook friends from being notified when I add a new friend? Some of them get jealous when I add certain people.
If you can tell me how to prevent the new friend notifications from being sent out I’ll appreciate it more than you know.
Rick’s answer: You can indeed mute those notifications Dennis, and it’s very easy to do. Follow these steps to prevent your Facebook friends from being notified whenever you add a new friend:
Note: The steps below must be completed while using Facebook in a web browser on a laptop or desktop computer.
For whatever reason there doesn’t seem to be a way to change this setting in the mobile app. However, once you change it on a computer it will carry over to the mobile app as well.
1 – Log into your Facebook account and click on your name to display your Timeline page.
2 – Click the Activity Log button.
3 – In the left-hand column, click the More link that’s located directly underneath the Comments link.
4 – Click the Friends link (up near the top of the left-hand column) and then click Added Friends.
5 – At the top of the page you’ll find a line labeled “Who can see your friend list?” There are three icons on that line. Click the middle icon (the one located between the lock and the magnifying glass).
6 – Uncheck the box beside New Friend Reports, then click OK.
That’s all there is to it Dennis. Your Facebook friends will no longer be notified when you add someone new to your friend list.
Note: Even though your friends will no longer receive “New Friend” notifications, they’ll still be able to look at your friends list to see who you are friends with. If you want, you can hide your friends list altogether by following the steps listed in this post.
Bonus tip #1: This post explains how to lock down your Facebook account to prevent hackers from breaking into it.
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