Facebook Revamps News Feed Controls to Help Hide Unwanted Posts

If you have unwillingly accepted friend requests from annoying acquaintances who occupy unnecessary space in your Facebook News Feed, you could now 'unfollow' them without 'unfriending' them.

Facebook has launched a News Feed settings tool to let you control posts that you do not want to see, the company said in a statement.

After login, just click on the grey arrows, which appear on the top right corners of posts and give you the option of 'unfollowing' a person.

Facebook says users now have a new way to give feedback, using the grey arrows to hide stories they are not interested in reading and also indicating they'd like to see less from that person or page. This can help block out puppy and kitten pictures or selfies from that obsessive sharer.

The feature is available on the mobile and desktop versions of the site, and will come to the Facebook app within the coming weeks. Facebook explained the changes on a company blog post.

What you do in News Feed helps determine what you see in News Feed. You decide who you want to connect to, and what Pages and public figures you want to follow... Starting today, there will be more ways for you to control and give feedback on your News Feed... News Feed settings will now show a list of the top people, Pages and Groups that you've seen in your News Feed over the past week. You can choose to sort by people, Pages or Groups posts, or see an overall summary. Unfollow any friend, Page or Group if you don't want to see their stories in your News Feed. You can also see who you've unfollowed in the past and can choose to re-follow them at anytime.
Written with inputs from IANS