# De-Friendening friends on FaceBook. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662 "2010-09-30T21:47:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/1 "2010-09-30T21:47:50Z")
I like FaceBook as a way to keep in touch with people. But my “friends” list has gotten a bit bloated. I got people in there that I like just fine, but they are friends of friends that I haven’t talked to in years. I would like to prune my friends list back to people who, if they post about their dogs, I actually am interested. However, I have no desire to be rude, so my question is this: If I de-friend somebody, will that show up on their feed? ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/2 "2010-09-30T21:53:28Z")
If they post about their dogs, the easier thing to do is click on the “X” to the right of the post and it will give you the option to just “hide” their posts. You won’t actually be de-friending anyone but you won’t see their constant stream of canine drivel. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/3 "2010-09-30T21:53:33Z")
Nope. They won’t notice anything has happened unless they look in their friends list and notice you aren’t there or try to go directly to your page and don’t have access anymore. De-friending is no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/4 "2010-09-30T21:55:08Z")
No. They could only realise it if they see their friend numbers go down and try to find which one defriended (plus what Zipper said). For people who have several hundred friends, this seems like a lot of effort, especially considering that sometimes the number goes down and then back up without any defriending having occured. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/5 "2010-09-30T21:55:37Z")
And before anybody makes fun of me for the misspelling in the title; I see it. It was unintentional, but I think it’s funny enough to leave it. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/6 "2010-09-30T22:03:32Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > the easier thing to do is click on the “X” to the right of the post and it will give you the option to just “hide” their posts. That is the absolutely _perfect_ solution. I love it. It solves every problem I was having. I can edit my OWN feed. Why didn’t I think of that? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/7 "2010-09-30T23:09:30Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > > [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > > > the easier thing to do is click on the “X” to the right of the post and it will give you the option to just “hide” their posts. > > That is the absolutely _perfect_ solution. I love it. It solves every problem I was having. > > I can edit my OWN feed. Why didn’t I think of that? Also, if you haven’t seen it, you can hide the feeds of applications this way, like Farmville and all of its spawn. So if you do want to see your sisters baby pics but not updates about her lost cows, do that. Facebook gets much better once you get a hundred apps hidden. ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/8 "2010-10-01T00:11:05Z")
I quite enjoy the “X” function. Those who post Baby photos/ultra scan images usually receive the X. Clears up the news feed very nicely. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/9 "2010-10-01T00:40:00Z")
Is it just me or does this question seem to come up at least once a month? ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/10 "2010-10-01T01:25:09Z")
If I defriend someone will my name all of a sudden pop up in their Friend suggestion box? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/11 "2010-10-01T01:38:37Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > If I defriend someone will my name all of a sudden pop up in their Friend suggestion box? I don’t think so as I had someone defriend me and I didn’t notice until I wanted to write her a note. She never came up in my friends list. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/12 "2010-10-01T02:19:01Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Is it just me or does this question seem to come up at least once a month? You misspelled “week”. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/13 "2010-10-01T04:11:49Z")
Your “friends” will know you defriended them if they have one of the Facebook extensions installed that track these things. I added one to my Facebook account because I got tired of trying to figure out who was defriending me when my friend count would shrink by 1. ---
**Author:** ![wolf-alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9e8a1a/32.png) [@wolf-alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf-alice)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/14 "2010-10-01T10:21:09Z")
Like **ataraxy22** said, they will know if they have [this](http://www.unfriendfinder.fr/help/installation/firefox) Greasemonkey doodad. I have it, and each unfriend is a dagger in my heart!! _rends garments_ … Not really. But yeah, I think it’s more polite to just remove them from your feed. I only unfriend people I have a genuine problem with - joining _another_ hilarious racist group, for example, rather than posting well-meaning drivel about their dogs. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/15 "2010-10-01T11:44:04Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > If I defriend someone will my name all of a sudden pop up in their Friend suggestion box? Nope. It seems to take that into account. And I disagree that defriending is no big deal. It may not be for a lot of people, but there are those for who it is. It really doesn’t hurt to indicate that you are going to be removing people. And if it’s someone you’ve talked to fairly recently, whether in real life or on Facebook, I think a quick PM is appropriate. At one point, from adding friends of friends of friends, I had over 1000 people, and it was quite annoying. I actually created a new account, left a link for people to add me that noticed, and kept it going for about a month or more. And then I even counted down my closing of the account. Got about 100 people who actually wanted to stay friends. The only thing I regret is that there were good photo conversations that look really weird without my input. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/16 "2010-10-01T14:09:57Z")
Since this is our weekly Facebook thread, I will throw out my weekly recommendation for everyone to get the [[del]Facebook[/del] Fluff-Busting Purity](http://www.fbpurity.com/) browser add-on. **JSexton** says FB is much nicer once you get 100 apps hidden. This one hides them all by default. Score! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/17 "2010-10-02T02:20:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > > [@USCDiver](#): > > > > If I defriend someone will my name all of a sudden pop up in their Friend suggestion box? > > Nope. It seems to take that into account. > > And I disagree that defriending is no big deal. It may not be for a lot of people, but there are those for who it is. It really doesn’t hurt to indicate that you are going to be removing people. And if it’s someone you’ve talked to fairly recently, whether in real life or on Facebook, I think a quick PM is appropriate. > > At one point, from adding friends of friends of friends, I had over 1000 people, and it was quite annoying. I actually created a new account, left a link for people to add me that noticed, and kept it going for about a month or more. And then I even counted down my closing of the account. Got about 100 people who actually wanted to stay friends. > > The only thing I regret is that there were good photo conversations that look really weird without my input. IIRC, creating a second account is against FB’s terms of service. You can be banned that way. Just a heads up. (I’ve had this happen to friends of mine. It was a real bitch for them to try and get their original accounts back) ---
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/18 "2010-10-06T18:31:47Z")
> [@](#): > > … you can hide the feeds of applications this way, like Farmville and all of its spawn… I love the feeling of power I get after I get some silly notification like “Julie just got some rocks for her aquarium…” and then I am able to delete all future notifications. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/19 "2010-10-07T04:06:41Z")
Don’t defriend, if they ever click on your profile they won’t be able to see it. Real dick move, if you ask me. Just hide their updates or put them in a separate friend list so they can’t see much of your stuff. I do this with my family - like my 60 year old newly divorced uncle. He can see my smiling mug but he can’t my political views. It works out nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662/20 "2010-10-07T14:16:57Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Don’t defriend, if they ever click on your profile they won’t be able to see it. Real dick move, if you ask me. > . Oh noes! THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO SEE MY PROFILE! HOW WILL THEY RECOVER FROM THE PAIN??? It’s so much better to give people the idea that you care, then pointedly ignore them. :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/de-friendening-friends-on-facebook/555662.md?page=2)