Question from Laura: I know we can hide posts that we don’t like on Facebook, but I heard that hidden posts aren’t actually hidden from everyone.
If that’s true, what’s the point in hiding them? And who are they NOT hidden from?
Rick’s answer: That’s a great question, Laura. And what you heard is correct – hidden posts aren’t hidden from everyone. In fact, the odds are great that the number of people who can see a hidden post will far exceed the number of people who can’t.
The reason lies in Facebook’s “Privacy” scheme…
When a post lands in your Newsfeed, you’re not seeing the original post. In reality, the original post resides on the Timeline of the person who posted it. You’re only seeing it because you’re friends with the original poster and/or you follow them.
If a post that you find offensive (or simply don’t like for some reason) lands in your Newsfeed, you can easily “hide” it from your own Newsfeed by clicking the three dots over on the right and selecting Hide post from the menu.
After you’ve hidden a post you will obviously no longer see it. And neither will any of your friends and followers unless they also have a friend / follower connection with the original poster.
For example, if you hide a post and your friend John Doe doesn’t follow the original poster, Mr. Doe won’t see the hidden post. But if Mr. Doe is friends with (and/or follows) the original poster, he will still be able to see the hidden post even though you chose to hide it from your own Newsfeed.
Now let’s discuss who WILL be able to see a post you’ve hidden…
Who can see any post on Facebook is determined solely by the “audience” the original poster decided to share it with (usually either Public or Friends).
Anyone who can visit the original poster’s Timeline and see the post you’ve hidden will always be able to see that post on the original poster’s Timeline. Likewise, people who follow the original poster (usually the original poster’s friends), might see the post in their own Newsfeeds.
In short, only the original poster can control who can see a post on Facebook with the limited exception of your own Timeline.
You can control whether any post is visible via your own Timeline by choosing whether or not to hide it. But you cannot control who sees someone else’s post on the original poster’s Timeline or in their friends / followers Newsfeeds.
And by the way, the same rules apply to comments left on the posts that land in your Newfeed and your own Timeline posts. You can hide comments as well as posts, but there might still be other Facebook users who can see them – and that even applies to comments left on your own posts!
And now, one final note…
Anyone on Facebook can view a post by searching for it via the Facebook Search box unless they are restricted from doing so by the audience setting the original poster selected for the post.
I hope this helps, Laura. Thanks again for asking such a great question.