What is Friends of Friends on Facebook? (Explained)

Last Updated on November 10, 2023 by

Friends of friends on Facebook literally means friends of your friends on Facebook. If you enable this option when sharing your post, it will be visible to tagged people and their friends on Facebook. You can always untick the friends of friends option if you want to restrict your post to your friends only.

What is Friends of Friends on Facebook?

‘Friends of friends’ on Facebook is an option used under privacy settings and profile and tagging in your timeline. It is an option that expands your audience to friends of people you tag in your post, profile, and comments. The alternative is available for a post you are tagged in and those who can see what others post on your timeline.

When you enable friends of friends on Facebook in any field under settings, friends to any person you tag are included. It is normally the default setting for viewing actions on Facebook. But, you can always change it under the profile and tagging page to suit your preferences.

The friends of friends option include persons under your friends’ list and those they have added to their list. Posting or allowing comments from friends of friends expands your network as it gives you a chance to connect with new people. However, you cannot control your friend friends’ list.

What is the difference between public and friends of friends on Facebook?

Public means anyone, on and off Facebook, can see your post. The Friends of Friends option limits your post to tagged persons and their friends on Facebook. The choices allow you to customize your audience on posts, comments, profiles, and tagging on your timeline.

How do I disable friends of friends on Facebook?

You can disable the friends of friends option by unticking it under various fields in settings and privacy. The audience selector will appear under different areas, for instance, profile and tagging. In this case, you go to profile and tagging under settings and untick friends of friends in fields where you do not want to expand your audience in that direction. You can then tick other options such as everyone, friends, or only me or use specific friends or friends except…options to customize your audience.

Does the friends of friends option still exist when posting on Facebook?

When creating a post, Facebook doesn’t promote the ‘Friends of Friends’ option. The option is hidden under privacy settings. It allows you to customize who can view your profile details, like, comment, or re-share your post, and see what others post on your timeline and shares you are tagged in, among others. Therefore, you can always go to privacy and settings and tick or untick the ‘friends of friends’ audience under the profile, tagging, and public posts option based on your preferences. 

Can you block friends of friends on Facebook?

Facebook allows you to block individual accounts at a time. There is no option to block all friends of friends at once. Follow the steps below to block a person’s profile:

Step 1: Navigate to settings and privacy on your Facebook account and click settings

Step 2: Several options will appear; scroll down and click blocking

Step 3: A ‘manage blocking’ page will open on the browser. Click edit under block users. Facebook app will take you directly to ‘blocked people’

Step 4: Click ‘Add to Blocked List’

Step 5: A block user section where you can type the profile name you want to block will appear. As you begin to type, a list of names will appear. Check the one you want to block and click ‘Block.’

Note

1. When your block a profile, they won’t be notified.
2. People you block on Facebook are automatically removed from your friend’s list. When you unblock, you will have to send them a new friend request to add them back to your list.
3. If blocked contact creates another profile, blocking won’t carry over to the new account. They may still interact with you with their other accounts.
4. A Facebook block won’t apply to games and apps. You might see a profile you blocked when playing a game.
5. You might still see some content about a blocked profile on a mutual friend’s timeline

Who can see my friend list on Facebook?

You have control of your friend list, and you can customize who can see it. You have six options: public, friends, friends except for…, specific friends, only me, and custom. If you choose ‘public,’ anyone on and off Facebook can view your friend list. If you choose ‘friends,’ only your friends can see the list, ‘friends except…’ gives you an option to exclude some of your friends, and ‘specific friends’ makes it easy to specify view options further. ‘Only me’ makes it visible to you, while ‘custom’ allows you to customize it to your liking.

The steps below guide you through customizing who can see your friend list when using Facebook App;

Step 1: Open the Facebook app and log in

Step 2: Tap on the three horizontal lines at the top right corner of the app

Step 3: A menu page will appear. Scroll down and tap on Settings & Privacy

Step 4: Under the settings & privacy, tap on settings

Step 5: Settings & Privacy page will open. Scroll down to the section ‘Audience and Visibility. Tap on ‘How people find and contact you.’

Step 6: Several options will appear. Tap on ‘Who can see your friends.’

Step 7: On the friend list page, you will have various options to customize your friends’ list. Select according to your preference, and Facebook will save the changes. If you want to hide the list from everyone, select ‘only me,’ and you will be the only one who can view your friends’ list.

What audience option do I have when sharing on Facebook?

Facebook allows you to select an audience for anything you share on Facebook. The options are:

• Public- When you select the public as your audience, anyone on and off Facebook can see your post.
• Friends- This option means people on your friends’ list will see your post.
• Friends except…- When you choose this option, you can exclude some friends from seeing your posts.
• Specific friends- When you want to share with a few select friends, you can choose this option to specify.
• Only me- This option allows complete privacy as the post will only be visible to you. Even tagged persons won’t view your post.
• Custom- This option allows you to select persons to share with and those to hide from. You can also choose to share with networks and groups you are in.

Key Insights & Takeaway

Facebook has done its part in ensuring you have the option to control viewership on your timeline. You can control who views or comment on your profile and posts under settings. When doing it, you will come across the friends of friends option, which allows you to include your friends and those in their friends list. However, you can always restrict the choice if you want to share only with specific or all your friends.

References:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-of-friends-of-friends-on-Facebook
https://www.softwaretesttips.com/what-does-friends-of-friends-mean-on-facebook/