7 Facebook Hacks You Didn't Know You Needed

It’s pretty hard to exist in today’s world without having a Facebook profile. While it can be nice to share pictures and updates with long distance friends and family, or follow the news or your favorite brands, there are definitely some things about Facebook that are just plain annoying. Fortunately there are solutions, or Facebook hacks, for most of those common problems.

1. Unfollow But Stay Friends

Heather Shue / Via simplysavemn.com

We all have them. Those people who constantly post annoying updates that make us cringe when we see them. Deleting someone from your friends list can cause some uncomfortable questions and awkward confrontations, especially if they’re family!

But did you know you can unfollow them, yet stay friends? Go to their profile and where it says “Friends” on their cover photo, choose “Unfollow” from the drop down. Now you’ll still be friends but their updates won’t show up in your news feed! To reverse this, just select “Follow!”

Or if they post one last cringe-worthy status that is the last straw, just hover over the top right corner of the status and a little "v" will appear. Click "unfollow."

As far as I know, your friends won’t receive any notification telling them you unfollowed, although there are some special apps for that.

2. Hide Posts

Heather Shue / Via simplysavemn.com

Does it frustrate you when your favorite news sources repeatedly post the same articles? Or a friend posts some passive aggressive status update? You can hide these posts!

Hover over the top right corner of the post and a “v” will appear. Then select “Hide.” You won’t see the post in your newsfeed anymore!

This is also a good way to hide whatever the latest quiz is that everyone is taking and sharing. It even works on sponsored ads that show up over and over. You won't be able to end the ads entirely, but you can at least stop seeing the same darn one.

3. Show Less

Heather Shue / Via simplysavemn.com

Ok, so maybe you don’t want to unfollow someone completely but you’re kind of tired of them clogging up your newsfeed with a bunch of memes and jokes. But some of the jokes are actually a little funny, so you still want to see some of their updates. Hover over the top right corner of any of their updates and a little “v” will appear. Use that to hide the post. After you hide the post, you’ll get an option to “show less from this person.” Click that and you won’t see as many of their updates in your newsfeed, but you can still go to their profile to see them all if you want.

It also works on pages you follow!

4. Outsmart the Algorithms

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Did you know that you don't see every update from every one of your friends in your news feed? Facebook has fancy algorithms to determine which updates you receive in your newsfeed. Rumor has it no one really knows what the magic formula is and it's always changing, but Facebook supposedly uses your behavior to decide which updates to show. If you tend to "like" or comment on a lot of updates from a particular person, you're more likely to see their updates.

The same thing applies to pages you follow, like your favorite stores, restaurants etc. You'll see more of their updates in your feed if you interact with them regularly by "liking," commenting on, or sharing their updates.

5. View Edit History

Heather Shue / Via simplysavemn.com

Did you notice someone’s post or comment was edited and you’re curious what changed? Maybe it was a super opinionated, political, or controversial post that has you curious. Just click on where it says “Edited” and you’ll see the entire edit history. Awkward. (Really, what’s the point of the editing feature then?)

6. Turn Off Notifications

Heather Shue / Via simplysavemn.com

Say your bff posts a Facebook status announcing her pregnancy so you comment, “Congratulations!” Now every 5 seconds you get a notification when someone else comments. Just hover over the top right corner of the status and when you see the little “v” click “Turn off notifications for this post.” Problem solved. Follow the same steps to turn them back on.

7. Edit "On This Day" Settings

Heather Shue / Via simplysavemn.com

Have you lost a loved one and dread the “on this day” posts that will inevitably show up in your newsfeed and bring back bad memories? You can go to your notification settings and turned off the daily “On This Day” notification, but they still show up in the newsfeed. You can hover over the top right corner of the post and click “Do not show in my newsfeed” but they'll still show up.

Here's the fix:

* Search for "on this day" to reach your page.

* Click "Preferences" in the top right corner.

* Here you can hide posts from specific people or date ranges.