You’re scrolling through your feed, and suddenly it hits you: why can some random person from high school see exactly who you’re hanging out with? It feels a little intrusive. Honestly, it’s weird. We spend so much time curate-ing our photos and status updates, yet we often leave the literal map of our social connections wide open for anyone to browse. Privacy isn't just about hiding secrets; it's about control.
Learning how to hide my friends list in fb is one of those small technical tweaks that actually changes how you feel when using the app. You stop worrying about "people-stacking" or recruiters snooping through your professional connections. Or maybe you just want to avoid that awkward conversation with an ex who’s tracking who you’ve recently added. Whatever the reason, Meta doesn't exactly make it a "one-click" giant glowing button. They want you connected. They want data to be public.
Let’s get into the weeds of how this actually works.
The Privacy Myth: Who is Actually Looking?
Most people assume that if they don't have a "Public" profile, their friends list is safe. That is a mistake. By default, Facebook often sets these permissions to "Friends" or even "Public" depending on when you created your account. If you haven't touched your settings since 2012, you might be broadcasting your entire social circle to the world.
Think about the implications for a second. Scammers use friend lists to create "cloned" profiles. They see who you're friends with, copy your profile picture, and then send friend requests to your actual friends, pretending to be you in a "new account." It happens constantly. By hiding that list, you're not just being "private"—you're actually cutting off a primary tool for identity thieves.
Stepping Through the Mobile App
Since most of us are glued to our phones, let’s start there. Open the app. Look for the "hamburger" menu (those three horizontal lines). It’s usually in the bottom right on an iPhone or the top right on Android.
Scroll down. You’ll see "Settings & Privacy." Tap it. Then tap "Settings." Now, this is where it gets confusing because Facebook loves to move things around every six months. You are looking for the section titled "Audience and Visibility." Inside that, find "How people find and contact you."
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Tap "Who can see your friends list?"
You’ll see a bunch of options. "Public" means everyone. "Friends" means your friends. But if you want total stealth mode, you need to hit "See More" and select "Only Me." Choosing "Only Me" is the nuclear option. No one—not your mom, not your best friend, not that guy you met at a conference once—can see the full list. They will only see "Mutual Friends." That’s a key distinction. You can’t hide mutual friends. If you and I are both friends with Sarah, and I look at your profile, I’m still going to see Sarah there. Facebook views mutual connections as a "transparency" feature, and there is currently no way to toggle that off.
The Desktop Experience is Different
Sometimes it’s just easier to do this on a laptop where you can actually see what you’re clicking. If you're on a browser, go to your own profile. Click on the "Friends" tab right under your cover photo.
On the right side of the Friends header, there’s a small button with three dots (or a pencil icon, depending on your version of the UI). Click that and select "Edit Privacy."
A pop-up appears. This is actually more granular than the mobile app. You can choose who sees your "Friends list," but also who sees the people, Pages, and lists you follow. If you really want to lock it down, set both of those to "Only Me."
It’s funny how we overlook the "Following" list. You might hide your friends but still show that you follow twenty different political commentators or niche hobby groups. If you're going for a privacy overhaul, don't leave the back door open by forgetting the "Following" section.
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Custom Lists: The Middle Ground
Maybe you don't want to hide it from everyone. Maybe you just have a few "frenemies" or family members you’d rather not have snooping.
Facebook allows for "Custom" privacy settings. Instead of selecting "Only Me," you can select "Friends except..." and then type in specific names. It’s a bit petty. But hey, it’s your profile. This is particularly useful if you’re job hunting and want to make sure a specific recruiter—or a current boss—can’t see who you’re connected with in the industry.
Why Facebook Keeps Changing the UI
Security experts like Brian Krebs have often pointed out that social media companies benefit from "frictionless sharing." When your data is public, the network grows faster. This is why you’ll find that every time there’s a major app update, your privacy settings might feel a little... buried.
There was a time when these settings were front and center. Now? You have to dig through three or four sub-menus. It’s called "dark patterns"—design choices that nudge users toward a specific behavior, usually the one that benefits the company’s data collection. By manually going in and searching for how to hide my friends list in fb, you are actively fighting against that design.
What About the "Mutual Friends" Problem?
I get asked this all the time: "I hid my list, but my sister can still see who I'm friends with!"
Again, it’s the mutual friends. If your sister is friends with ten of your people, she will see those ten people. She just won't see the other 400. There is no way to hide the fact that you share a connection with someone if that person also hasn't set their own list to "Only Me." It’s a web. If one person has a hole in their privacy fence, a little bit of your info leaks through.
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Pro-Tips for a Total Privacy Audit
If you're already digging into your friend list settings, you might as well go all the way. It takes five extra minutes.
- Check "Who can look you up using the email address you provided?" Set this to "Only Me" or "Friends." You don’t want random people finding your profile just because they have your Gmail address from a leaked database.
- Review your "Tagging" settings. Make it so you have to approve any photo you're tagged in before it appears on your timeline. This prevents your friend list from being "reverse engineered" through photos.
- Limit Past Posts. There’s a magic button in the "Activity Log" or "Privacy Settings" that lets you "Limit the audience for posts you've shared with friends of friends or Public." This instantly turns years of public oversharing into "Friends Only" content.
The "View As" Tool
Once you think you’ve successfully figured out how to hide my friends list in fb, you need to verify it. Don't just take Facebook’s word for it.
Go to your profile. Click the three dots near your "Edit Profile" button. Select "View As." This shows you exactly what your profile looks like to a stranger (the general public). If you’ve done it right, your "Friends" section should either be gone or only show mutual friends if you were somehow logged in as a specific person. Since "View As" mimics a public viewer, the friends list should be completely invisible.
Digital Hygiene in 2026
We live in an era where data is the new currency. Your social graph—the map of who you know—is incredibly valuable to advertisers and, unfortunately, malicious actors. Hiding your friends list isn't about being "shady." It’s about maintaining a boundary in a world that wants to erase them.
Think of it like putting curtains on your windows. You aren't necessarily doing anything "wrong" inside your house; you just don't want the whole street watching you eat dinner.
Actionable Next Steps
Don't just read this and move on. Do it now.
- Mobile Users: Hamburger Menu > Settings > Audience and Visibility > How people find and contact you > Who can see your friends list > Only Me.
- Desktop Users: Profile > Friends > Three Dots > Edit Privacy > Set Friends List and Following to Only Me.
- Verification: Use the "View As" tool immediately after to ensure the change saved.
If you're on an older version of the app, these paths might vary slightly, but the terminology "Who can see your friends list" remains the constant keyword you're hunting for. Once you’ve locked this down, your profile is significantly more secure against scraping and social engineering.