Facebook Update Makes it Easier to Stalk Your Friends

Now it's even easier to ensure you never miss a Facebook post from your best friend — or frenemy.

Facebook on Thursday expanded its News Feed Preferences with a few handy features, including one that lets you select which friends and Pages you want to see at the top of your Feed. Until now, the social network has made its best guess about what you'd like to see, based on the people you tend to interact with and the content you typically like and comment on.

Now, you can prioritize certain people, so you'll see any news stories they've shared since your last visit at the top of your Feed. Facebook will also add a little star in the top right of their post so you'll know why they're at the top. If you take advantage of this feature, you'll still be able to scroll down to see the rest of your News Feed normally.

This new feature will be available today on iOS and is expected to roll out on Android and desktops "over the coming weeks," Facebook said. To get to News Feed Preferences, tap More at the bottom right corner of your mobile app and scroll down to find it under Settings.

Here, you'll also be able to tell Facebook who you don't want to see in your News Feed. Just tap the option "Unfollow people to hide their posts," and Facebook will display a list of the top people, Pages, and groups that have shown up in your News Feed over the past week. If you're getting sick of seeing a certain someone's annoying political posts you can easily unfollow them here.

Besides that, the revamped News Feed Preferences section also lets you see a list of the people you have unfollowed in the past and re-follow them at any time. There's also a section called "Discover new Pages," which will show you a list of suggested Pages, based on those you've liked in the past.

The new features come after Facebook late last month announced it will begin taking into account more subtle cues to help determine which videos to show you in News Feed. Now, if you turn up the volume on a video or make it full screen, you might start seeing similar content in your News Feed.

For more on the updated News Feed controls, check out the video below.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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