Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Social Media
  3. News

Facebook tests new tools to help you get over your ex

By

facebook tests breakup tools
Image used with permission by copyright holder
When Facebook users change their relationship status to indicate there’s somebody special in their lives, it is a decision never taken lightly. They’re sharing with the world a very personal aspect of their lives, and that’s a big deal. But many relationships aren’t happily ever after, and it’s equally difficult to change the status back to single. For those with amicable breakups who can stay friends, cool. But many of us might not want to be reminded of our exes when we browse the feeds, particularly if you share mutual friends. For those who aren’t willing to un-friend their past loves completely, Facebook is introducing some new features that make it easier to prevent them from popping up in your browsing and searches.

“When a relationship ends, we’ve heard from people that they sometimes have questions about the options available to them on Facebook,” Product Manager Kelly Winters writes in a blog post. Winters highlights some of new tools Facebook is testing that are designed to help those who have been dumped or scorned by their once-significant others, to aid in the recovery process. Starting today, your choices go beyond simply just un-friending.

Instead, once you change your relationship status to indicate the relationship is over, the social network will offer tools allowing you to limit what you see from the other person. You can essentially hide your ex from your Facebook feed and pretend like you both never met. Furthermore, Facebook won’t keep pestering you with their name suggestions when you write a new message or tag friends in photos.

Related

The new tools aren’t all one-sided either. If you choose, you can help your ex get over you by limiting the photos, videos, and status updates that the other person sees, and by editing who sees their past posts. If you want to hide your ex completely, you can untag yourself and the other person from posts and photos as well. (But, to be honest, if you’ve reached this DEFCON 1 breakup level, you should really just pull the plug altogether.)

If you happen to be going through a breakup right now, you can start using the tools on Facebook’s mobile apps in the U.S. Based on feedback Facebook will determine whether or not to roll them out further.

“This work is part of our ongoing effort to develop resources for people who may be going through difficult moments in their lives,” Winters says. “We hope these tools will help people end relationships on Facebook with greater ease, comfort, and sense of control.”

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Christina Majaski
Christina Majaski
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Christina has written for print and online publications since 2003. In her spare time, she wastes an exorbitant amount of…
Malware has a terrible new way to get to your computer
A villager looks at a sunset.

You've heard of malware spreading through spammy emails and mysterious links on strange websites. But now there's a new avenue of attack for bad actors to take -- and it's via Minecraft. Yes, you read it correctly. The open-world building game loved by seven-year-olds around the globe is quickly becoming a favorite method for spreading malware.

As reported by Bleeping Computer, Kaspersky Labs researched the phenomena from July 2021 until July 2022, and it found that in-game malware accounted for a significant amount of the malware that was spread in that time. Although there was a 30% drop in malware attacks in that year when compared to 2020, the amount of gaming-related malware actually increased. Minecraft on PC was the preferred vector.

Read more
You can now use the Add Yours sticker on Reels for Facebook and Instagram
A series of three mobile screenshots on a gray background showing the new Add Yours sticker for Facebook Reels.

As of today, Facebook and IG creators have six new features they can use for their Reels content. But of the six, the most intriguing feature is support for a sticker prompt that was first used and popularized in Instagram Stories.

Meta announced via a Facebook video post that, in addition to all of its other new Reels-focused features, it would now offer support for its Add Yours sticker prompt in Reels for both Instagram and Facebook.

Read more
Facebook Messenger finally starts testing end-to-end encryption for all chats
facebook messenger testing end to encryption all chats default

Meta has announced it will be testing default end-to-end encryption on Facebook Messenger. The social media company said in a press release on Thursday that testing has already begun "between some people" earlier this week, and that it will be working to make the privacy feature default for all messages and calls in 2023.

If you're part of the test group, your frequent chats will be automatically end-to-end encrypted, thereby rendering end-to-end encryption non-optional. This means that any conversation between you and a friend or family member can't be accessed by Meta or anyone else. The only way Meta will see your messages is if you report them to the company if they threaten your safety in any way.

Read more