Recently, Facebook launched their new “Take a break” feature.
This feature gives you the ability to mute certain friends and limit their visibility on your timeline.
For example, a friend might be sharing too many baby photos. Or perhaps your uncle’s political rants are starting to become a bit “too much” lately.
Thankfully, you can now take a break from these kind of people without having to hit the unfriend button.
What does the “Take a break” feature do?
Facebook’s “Take a break” feature will do the following.
- Their posts won’t show on your News Feed.
- Posts that they are tagged in will also be hidden from your News Feed.
- The app will not prompt you to tag them in photographs.
All in all, it is basically the same thing as “muting” someone.
Will they find out if I use it?
No. They will not find out if you use the “Take a break” feature.
Using this option does not remove them from your friend list. Nor will it send them a notification or anything like that.
To the other person, your profile will look perfectly normal.
This is a completely silent action. Its sole purpose for existing is to give users the ability to silently ignore certain friends.
How do I use the “Take a break” feature?
To take a break from a friend, go to their Facebook profile and then click on the Friends button underneath their name.
Click on the “Friends” button.
After that, the following menu will appear.
Select the “Take a break” option. Currently, this is situated underneath the “Unfollow” button.
Once you have clicked on the option above, Facebook will bring you into a splash screen that basically asks you to confirm your decision.
At the bottom of the page, you will find a “See Less of [Person]” section. This section contains a blue “See Options” button.
Scroll down and then click on the “See Options” link.
Finally, you will be given the option to “limit where you see” your friend.
At this stage, simply select the circle tick box beside the “limit” option and press “Save”.
A message on the app lets users know that this is a silent feature: “Don’t worry, we won’t notify them about changes you make.”
Once you have hit the “Save” button, the app will confirm your decision. It will also tell you how to undo this action and start seeing them again.
“If you want to start seeing him more, go to his profile and choose to follow him on Facebook.”
Don’t worry: If you follow them back at a later stage, they will not get a notification for it.
Why is this useful?
In certain cases, unfriending someone on Facebook can cause unnecessary drama. As a result, it is often easier and more “diplomatic” to take a break from them instead.
By muting them, you can avoid seeing their posts without making it blatantly obvious that you find their online presence to be grating.
It is also worth pointing out that certain people can be likable in real life, yet extremely annoying online. In cases like this, you might not want to jeopardize your relationship with them by removing them altogether.