Can People See Who You Follow on Facebook?

Facebook gives you more control here than most people realise, and less than most people hope. You can hide your following list from others, but you can't hide a follow from the person you followed. Here's how it works, using Facebook's own Help Center.

Who can see your following list

Facebook has a dedicated setting for this. Whatever audience you choose is who can see the people and Pages you follow on your profile. Choose a narrow audience such as Only me and your list is hidden from everyone else when they look at your profile.

How to change who sees who you follow

1. Click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook.
2. Click Settings and privacy, then Settings.
3. In the left panel, scroll to Audience and visibility, then click Followers and public content.
4. Next to Who can see the people and Pages you follow?, choose the audience.

Menu names can look slightly different on the app, but the setting sits in the same section.

What the setting can't hide

This is the part people miss. Facebook's Help Center is clear that the people you follow can see that you're following them. On top of that:

• When you follow someone, a story about it may appear in your friends' Feed.
• People and Pages you follow may get a notification that you're following them, depending on their notification settings.
• Your name appears on their list of followers, and they may choose to make that list visible on their profile.

Who	Can they see that you follow someone?
The person or Page you followed	Yes, always
Their profile visitors	Possibly, if they've made their followers list visible
Your friends	A story about the follow may appear in their Feed
People viewing your profile	Only if your setting includes them

Does Facebook tell someone when you unfollow them?

No. Facebook says that if you choose to unfollow a friend, they won't get a notification. You stay friends; you just stop seeing their posts in your Feed. That makes unfollowing the quietest way to step back from someone without unfriending them.

Following versus friends on Facebook

Following and friending aren't the same thing. You can follow people who aren't your friends, such as public figures and Pages, and they don't have to follow you back. I've explained the difference in more depth in what follow means on Facebook.

How to see who follows you

Your followers list is the other side of the same coin, and the people you follow see you there. Here's how to see who follows you on Facebook, and if you've been adding people, you can also check the friend requests you've sent.

Does following someone change your suggestions?

Facebook's People You May Know suggestions draw on things like friends in common, your networks, being in the same group and being tagged in the same photo or post. Following a public figure isn't on that list, but being in the same groups is, so joining groups can affect who Facebook suggests you to and who it suggests to you.

Hiding your list versus hiding the follow

It helps to think of two separate things. Your following list is a page on your profile, and you control who opens it. Each follow is a connection, and the other person controls their side of it, including whether their followers list is visible. Facebook's Help Center puts it plainly: they'll see your name on their list of followers and may choose to make that list visible on their profile. So the person you follow decides how public that connection is from their end.

Following Pages for business

If you follow suppliers, competitors or clients from your personal profile, it's worth a moment's thought. Pages see their followers, and some show follower lists publicly. If you'd rather keep an eye on a competitor without appearing as a follower, visiting their Page from time to time is the quiet option.

Why someone might know you followed them weeks later

Because your name sits on their followers list, someone can spot you there whenever they scroll it, not just when the follow happens. Turning their notifications off doesn't change that. If you followed someone months ago and would rather they didn't notice, unfollowing is the only way to take your name off their list, and Facebook says a friend you unfollow won't be notified.

A privacy routine for your follows

1. Set Who can see the people and Pages you follow? to the narrowest audience you're comfortable with.
2. Before following anyone sensitive, assume they and their visitors may see your name.
3. Use unfollow rather than unfriend when you want distance without a notification.

My take

Lock down the following setting if your list is nobody's business, which for most people it isn't. Just don't mistake it for an invisibility cloak: following is a two-sided connection, and the other side always knows. If that matters, the honest answer is not to follow.

Frequently asked questions

Can I hide who I follow on Facebook?

You can choose who sees the people and Pages you follow in Settings, under Audience and visibility, then Followers and public content.

Does someone know if I follow them on Facebook?

Yes. Facebook says the people you follow can see that you're following them, and they may get a notification depending on their settings.

Does Facebook notify someone when I unfollow them?

No. Facebook says that if you unfollow a friend, they won't get a notification.

Can my friends see who I follow on Facebook?

Only if your setting includes them. A story about a new follow may also appear in your friends' Feed.

Can people see the Pages I follow on Facebook?

Only the audience you choose in the Who can see the people and Pages you follow setting can see them on your profile. The Pages themselves can see you follow them.

Is following the same as being friends on Facebook?

No. You can follow people and Pages without being friends, and they don't have to follow you back.