Facebook’s at the top of the social media heap – but is it working for you? Do you want to know how to see more posts from your friends on Facebook? Or how to turn off Facebook’s auto-play videos?
We’ve picked or seven top Facebook hacks that make the experience more enjoyable for you – or just help you scratch an irritating social media itch.
How to see more from your friends on Facebook
Fed-up seeing posts from that guy you added after meeting him once at a party? Tired of inspirational quotes and your cousin’s wife touting her range of scented candles that you know for a fact smell like toilet cleaner?
You need to freshen up your feed.
So on a desktop, tap on the Friends tab. Your pals will appear as a list. To the right of their name is a button market “friends” with a star or a tick. Float the cursor over it.
Now it’s decisions time – the folk you want to see more from, you can label as “close friends”. And those you’d nod to on the bus – tag them as “acquaintances”.
Facebook’s algorithm will throw up more from your select bunch, and less of the “Those who doubt your ability probably have a valid reason” inspirational rubbish.
How to turn off Facebook birthday reminders
Facebook may be a social network, but there are plenty of antisocial people on there who can’t even be bothered using predictive text to wish someone a happy birthday.
If you’re one of them – and don’t like being reminded that you’re one of them – you can turn off Facebook’s birthday reminders.
Just go to Settings, click on Notifications, then click on Mobile. The option to turn it off is in there.
How to turn off auto-play videos on Facebook
Mobile data packages are getting bigger. They’ll get bigger still when 5G arrives.
But some of us still have to hoard our data. So those videos that auto-play are the enemy.
Facebook, however, lets you turn off the auto-play function. In the Settings menu, click on Videos. You’ll find the Auto-Play option in there. Hurrah! More data for Words With Friends!
How to find all the photos liked by someone on Facebook
Feeling nosy? Just how nosy? Nosy enough to want to check out every photo a Facebook friend has ever liked? That’s not stalkery at all ... just interested.
The search bar is your friend. Type “photos liked by” and autocomplete gives you a range of options, from girlfriend and husband to “all my friends”.
Or, you could complete it with a name.
Adding in a date – “from 2018” or “this month” – narrows the search. Add on an “of” and you can slip in the name of a person in those photos. So you could search: “Photos liked by Engelbert Pumpherston from this month of Marjory Pumpherston.” Though why you’d be stalking the Pumpherstons, I don’t know. Lovely couple.
How to curate your Facebook news feed
Still not seeing enough of your close pals’ posts. You need a bigger clean-up.
You need to go into the Settings menu and scroll until you find News Feed Preferences.
Click through and you’ll find options to Prioritize Who To See First – that lets you chose the people pages and brands you see more often.
There is also the option to Unfollow People To Hide Their Posts. That means the annoying bloke from your high school chemistry class can be silenced without him knowing you’ve done it. You can refollow him once you forget how annoying those cat memes and Megadeth videos were.
How to find out who hates you on Facebook
Want to know who secretly hates you? Check out your Friend Requests that have not been accepted.
On a desktop, click the Friend Requests icon. The People You May Know list comes up. At the top, just below New Friend Requests, you can View Sent Requests.
That’s where you’ll find all those folk who’ve not accepted your request. You can draw your own conclusions …
How to send a self-destructing message in Messenger
Want to feel like you’re in Mission: Impossible? Sending a self-destructing message in Messenger is probably as close as you’ll come.
In Messenger, click on the Write New Message icon. In the top right of the screen tap Secret (iPhone) or the Padlock (Android).
Choose who you’re sending your message to, type it up and tap the Stopwatch icon – then set how long you want it to last. This message will self-destruct in …
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