Facebook Restricted List

I love Google Analtyics. It tells me so much stuff. Mainly, it tells me a lot of people are finding my blog because they are worried that they’re on their Facebook friend’s restricted list. How do you know if a friend has added you to their restricted list? Well, you go to their profile page and you either see no wall posts at all or only wall posts that have the little globe icon. If it’s got the globe icon that means anyone in all of the internet who comes to that person’s profile page will be able to see it too.

Why would your “friend” do this to you? Well, are they REALLY your friend? Are you SURE? Do they only “sorta” like you? Is it a family member? Yeah, there are any number of reasons why someone would put you on the restricted list.  I’m sure you’re wondering now why they left you as a friend. Well, chances are they figured you’re less likely to notice being put on the restricted list than being unfriended completely. Or maybe they want to snoop on you. If it really bothers you, ask the person directly. If they are really your friend it wont be such a big deal and being honest and direct is always a good plan when it comes to talking to your friends.

Want to add someone to your restricted list? Well, from the menu on the left sidebar go down to the bottom where it says Lists. There may be list options, click on the word Lists. (in the image to the right I’ve put a red box around where it can be found).  From there you’ll go to the lists menu, click on the Restricted list and from that page you can add people.

The box on the right side of the screen is where you type in a friend’s name and add them to the list. You can add as many people as you want, they wont get any kind of notification. And chances are, they wont notice unless they only have like 10 friends total and don’t follow any pages or subscribe to any famous people’s feeds.

If you’re really paranoid about what they can see, you can view your profile as that friend and then you’ll see what they see. Depending on whether or not you’ve got the new timeline feature there are two ways to do this. Both start by going to your profile page. Then, if you still have the old profile there’s a button at the top right that says “View As…” if you click the button you’ll get an option to type in any friend’s name. Just type in the friend you’ve put on the restricted list. If you’ve got the new Timeline it’s a little bit harder to find. It’s still on the right, under your cover image, under the drop down where the gear is located. Same thing from there, type the friend’s name in the box and you’ll be able to see what they have access to. This works for ANY friend by the way. If you’re concerned about what a particular friend can see this is a good way to check it out.

Keep in mind, if you’ve got your default setting for posts to Public everyone will see it… everyone on the internet who can find your profile. So if this concerns you, use that little drop down next to the Post button when posting an update. You can also post things to people ONLY on a specific list. So if you’re posting something controversial and don’t want to offend Grandma or start a fight with your Tea Party friends, make a list for only the people who will appreciate those things. Got a lot of friends who love cats? Got some who are dog people and have been hating on all your cat posts? Then make a list of the cat lovers and start posting things to only the cat lovers. Or post it only to the dog lovers to annoy them, the possibilities are endless.

Does that help you all? Any questions? I’m happy to answer whatever questions you have.

Happy New Year everyone, may all your Facebook friends be real and true friends!