How to Take a Break From Being Facebook Friends With Someone
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Feeling overwhelmed by a friend’s constant updates? Facebook’s “Take a Break” feature lets you temporarily mute their updates without cutting them off entirely. Here’s what you need to know about the feature and how to use it.
What Is the “Take a Break” Feature on Facebook?
The “Take a Break” feature on Facebook is a way to create some distance between you and another user. Unlike unfollowing someone, which only removes their posts from your News Feed but still allows them to see your activity, “Take a Break” works both ways—you’ll see less of their content, and they’ll see less of yours.
When you initiate a break, Facebook will not only limit how often their posts appear in your News Feed, but it will also remove their past posts from your feed. However, you’ll still be friends and you’re able to view their profile or past posts by visiting their timeline directly.
There are several scenarios where you might want to take a break from someone on Facebook:
There are two key things worth noting about the Take a Break feature on Facebook:
By using the “Take a Break” feature, you could maintain friendships on Facebook while giving yourself a breather from their constant presence in your feed. This can be a useful alternative to unfriending orblocking someone on Facebook.
How to Take a Break From Someone on Facebook
Once you’ve made up your mind that you’ve had enough of someone’s posts, here’s how to go about taking a break from them:
From here on, we’ll represent the friend whom you want to take a break from with the letterX. On the Take a Break page, you’ll find some options that go with the feature.
The individual’s post (and post they’re tagged in) will no longer appear in your news feed. Also, Facebook will stop prompting you to message or tag them in your photo.
The next option is to limit what this friend can see on your profile. The idea here is to update your privacy settings to stop the individual from viewing your posts. To do this:
From there on, the user will be on the Restricted List. This means they cannot view or engage with posts you share with friends unless you tag them. However, all public posts will still be visible to the individual.
Next, return to theTake a breakpage and tap on the last option labeledEdit who can see past posts.
Here, you’ll find three options.
If you’re using Facebook on the web, you’re able to bypass navigating through menus by visiting theTake a Break Facebook pagedirectly to access the feature promptly. If you’d love to take a more comprehensive approach to restricting interaction with friends, we’ve previously written a guide onhow to limit people from contacting you on Facebook.
You don’t have to maintain close interactions with all your Facebook friends. you could keep them at a safe distance without completely cutting them out of your digital life.
How to Stop Taking a Break on Facebook
If you decide it’s time to reconnect normally with your friend, you can reverse the “Take a Break” action. Here’s how to stop taking a break from someone on Facebook.
With that done, you’ve successfully stopped taking a break from the friend. You should now see their updates normally.
The Take a Break feature on Facebook provides a useful middle ground between staying friends and completely cutting someone off. It allows you to create some healthy distance and boundaries without burning bridges. By taking advantage of the feature, you can curate a more positive social media experience while still maintaining connections that matter.
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