How Does Facebook’s “Snooze” Button Work?

Let’s face it—we all have a friend or two who shares way too much on Facebook. While social media is a great way to keep in touch, it is possible to overdo a good thing. Un-friending them might be rude, though. Thankfully, Facebook understands your pain and have created an easy fix: the “Snooze” option. In a nutshell, the new feature allows users to temporarily “unfollow” a person, page, or group for 30 days without notifying them. You will receive a reminder when the 30-day period is almost up.

“Seeing too many photos of your uncle’s new cat? Is your friend tempting you with endless photos of ramen on her Japan trip?” Product Manager Sruthi Muraleedharan wrote in a Newsroom post. “It turns out, you’re not alone. We’ve heard from people that they want more options to determine what they see in News Feed and when they see it.”

Other Facebook features can also quiet down your overcrowded News Feed, including Unfollow—which removes all of their posts from your home screen—and Hide, which hides a single post. But this is the first that allows you to silence your friends for a brief period of time. Want to keep your friends list private? Here is how to hide your friends on Facebook.

Ready to try it out? Simply select the three dots above any post, and then click on the option that reads “Snooze for 30 days.” Voilà! You’ll never have to see those awkward relationship posts again. Plus, you can always turn their posts back on, should you change your mind before the 30-day period is up.

If you’re worried that you’re the chronic over-sharer, it’s never too late to cut back. We recommend starting with these photos you should never, ever post on social media. For the people that you’re always happy to see, you can select the See First option, so that they’re at the top of your feed when they post. If you want to keep their posts on deck—you can even save that post. This option, Save Post, is located in the same pull-down menu as the Unfollow option.

Next, learn what a Facebook secret conversation is and how to start one.