Marlene Baiton
Published on: November 29, 2024
Fact-checked by Kate Davidson
Facebook is designed to keep you engaged, and one way it does this is through algorithm-driven post recommendations. While these used to appear under the label “Suggested for You”, a recent update removed that label, making it harder to identify algorithmically suggested posts.
These recommendations, while sometimes helpful, can also clutter your feed, making it harder to see posts from people and pages you actually follow. And the more time you spend on the platform or interact with posts, pages, or content, the more Facebook will curate similar suggestions, filling your feed with posts it thinks you’ll find interesting.
Unfortunately, Facebook doesn’t offer a way to completely disable these posts — and this is undoubtedly intentional. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, relies on ad revenue, which increases when users spend more time across its platforms.
But if these suggestions are more of a nuisance than a benefit, don’t worry. In this article, I’ll walk you through several methods to reduce or temporarily hide these recommendations, so you can regain more control over your feed. And while you’re improving your Facebook experience, consider protecting your privacy online. A good VPN like ExpressVPN will encrypt your web traffic and mask your IP address, limiting tracking by apps like Facebook. Editors’ Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.
How to Remove “Suggested for You” on Facebook: Step-by-Step Guide
Here’s a step-by-step guide to minimizing “Suggested for You” posts on Facebook across all your devices. While you can’t fully disable these recommendations, these tips can help make your feed more personalized. The steps are identical across all platforms, whether you’re using your browser or mobile applications.
- First, choose a post you don’t want to see. Then click the 3 horizontal dots beside the Follow button.
- From here, you have a few options. You can hide this specific post, though that only removes it after you’ve already seen it. The more posts you hide that you’re not interested in, the fewer similar posts will appear in your feed over time.
- You can also snooze certain pages for up to 30 days or simply hide all future posts from that specific page.
- Alternatively, you can block any pages you no longer want to see posts from. Keep in mind that this only blocks content from the specific page you selected. It doesn’t prevent similar posts from other pages from appearing in your feed.
- After all of this, you might want to check and adjust your Facebook account’s privacy settings. Adjusting these settings can help you fine-tune various options and keep your profile more private.
How Facebook Decides What to Show You
Facebook’s algorithm is designed to keep you engaged by showing you posts it thinks you’ll find interesting. To do this, the platform analyzes various factors related to your activity on Facebook — such as the posts you like, share, or comment on, as well as the time you spend viewing certain types of content.
Facebook also takes into account your connections, including the friends, groups, and pages you follow, to create a feed that feels more relevant and personalized. The algorithm’s decision-making process considers multiple elements to make these suggestions.
Here are some key factors Facebook uses to determine suggested content:
- User interactions: Facebook tracks how you engage with posts, including reactions, comments, shares, and viewing time. The more you interact with a certain type of post, the more similar content the algorithm is likely to show you. This also means that leaving any type of comment — whether positive or negative — will simply indicate to the algorithm that you engaged with the post, thereby increasing the number of relevant posts you’ll see.
- Content type and format: Whether it’s videos, images, or articles, the type of content you engage with most often influences what you’ll see in the future. For example, if you frequently watch video posts, Facebook may prioritize more video-based content in your feed. And if you like certain pages, be prepared to see more pages Facebook deem relevant to you.
- Friends’ activity: Facebook often suggests posts that your friends have engaged with, liked, or commented on. The company uses this data to decide what posts might be relevant to you as well. If you don’t want to see more suggested posts than necessary, consider trimming down your friends list to only those you’re close friends with.
- Topics and hashtags: If you follow certain topics or frequently engage with specific hashtags, Facebook takes this as a signal that you’re interested in related content and may suggest posts that include similar themes. Consider engaging less frequently with any type of post or hashtags on Facebook to see fewer suggested posts.
- Location and device data: Facebook may factor in your location and the device you’re using to tailor content — especially if location-based or trending content is relevant.
Tips to See Fewer “Suggested for You” Posts
Here are some effective ways to tailor your experience if you’re looking to make your Facebook feed more relevant and reduce unwanted suggestions:
- Unfollow pages or people: If you’re frequently seeing posts from connections that don’t interest you, use the Unfollow feature to stop their content from showing up in your feed without unfriending them. This feature is available by clicking the 3 dots on a post and selecting Unfollow.
- Use the hide post option: For posts you don’t want to see, click the 3 dots and choose Hide post. Doing this signals to Facebook that you’re not interested in similar content, and over time, you should see fewer posts like these in your feed.
- Snooze accounts temporarily: If you’re seeing too many posts from certain accounts but don’t want to unfollow them, consider using the Snooze feature. Snoozing will pause posts from a specific friend or page for 30 days, giving you a break from their content without making permanent changes.
- Engage selectively with posts: Every like, comment, or share signals to Facebook that you enjoy similar content. Try to engage only with posts that genuinely interest you and avoid interacting with content you don’t want to see more of. This helps guide Facebook’s algorithm to show more relevant posts.
- Adjust group notifications: Many users see unwanted posts from groups they’re part of, especially if group activity is high. Go to each group’s settings and change notifications to only highlight selected posts, which can reduce the volume of group content in your feed.
- Use a VPN: While a VPN can’t completely block suggested posts, it can prevent Facebook from tailoring recommendations based on your location. Facebook uses your location to suggest posts, but a good VPN like ExpressVPN can hide your real location by connecting you to a server elsewhere. It can also encrypt your internet traffic, which is particularly important if you’re browsing social media while connected to public Wi-Fi.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn off “Suggested for You” on Facebook?
Unfortunately, you can’t completely turn off or remove “Suggested for You” posts on Facebook. These recommendations are built into Facebook’s algorithm, which analyzes your interactions — likes, comments, and time spent on content — to suggest similar posts and keep you on the platform longer, boosting ad revenue.
While you can reduce these suggestions by hiding or snoozing posts, or unfollowing pages, they will still appear due to the platform’s engagement model. For more on managing these posts, check out our guide on customizing your feed.
Why is everything on Facebook suggested for you?
Everything on Facebook is suggested because the platform’s algorithm aims to keep you engaged by showing content it predicts will interest you. It uses data from your likes, comments, and shares to recommend similar posts, refining suggestions based on your behavior. This approach keeps you on the platform longer, increasing ad revenue for Meta, Facebook’s parent company.
To reduce these suggestions, you can adjust your preferences or unfollow certain pages, but Facebook’s algorithm will ultimately still recommend content. The only way to avoid this entirely is to delete your Facebook account and stop using any Meta products, which include Instagram, Facebook, and Facebook Messenger.
Why is my Facebook all ads and no friends’ posts?
If your Facebook feed is full of ads, it’s because the algorithm prioritizes engagement, often favoring sponsored content. The more you interact with certain types of posts, the more similar content — including ads — will appear.
To see more posts from friends and family, adjust your feed preferences and unfollow pages that post excessively. While this won’t completely remove ads, it can help prioritize content from people you care about. For help with these settings, check our steps on customizing your feed.
