Want to stop Suggested for You on Facebook?
This is a common complaint.
A separate issue among Facebook Page owners is Similar Page Suggestions sending new fans right to their competitors!
First, we’ll cover controlling Suggested Groups, Friends, and Pages for personal accounts.
Then we’ll address business Page admins (where suggestions actually can be turned off completely).
This article has been checked and updated as of August 2023.
Why Do I Have Suggested Friends, Pages & Groups?
Suggestions on Facebook are coming from FB itself, not from other users.
Facebook has one agenda: To keep you on Facebook longer, so you will see more ads, so they will make more money.
Suggested Pages get a few users to click around and maybe even share some Facebook Likes. So FB’s mission is accomplished.
While suggestions aren’t paid ads, it’s still in Meta’s interest to keep ’em coming.
Can I Remove Facebook Suggested Pages?
Yes, you can remove Suggested Pages you’ve seen in the Facebook app.
But this is retroactive. You can temporarily or permanently remove suggested content you’ve been shown.
You can’t actually turn off the Suggested for You feature in the Facebook News Feed without a third party app.
Once upon a time we could disable Suggested Pages, but it appears this setting has been removed.
Just in case it returns at some point:
- In the top bar, click the down arrow to the right of the help ? icon.
- Click on Settings. I also tried News Feed Preferences…
- Click on Privacy in the left sidebar. I also tried Apps and Websites. None brought up the needed setting, which is…
- In the “Instant Personalization” section, uncheck the “Enable instant personalization on partner websites” check box.
How to Remove Specific Suggested Pages
You can (retroactively) control suggested content in the Facebook app for Android or iOS.
When you see suggestions that you don’t like, tap more (the 3 dots).
Select how you want to manage this content:
- Hide post to see less content like this.
- Snooze the Page for 30 days to temporarily stop seeing content from them.
- Hide all from the Page to stop seeing content from them.
- Find support or report post if the content concerns you. source
Can I Edit Which Pages Are Suggested?
If Facebook is going to give us these regardless, then perhaps we can help guide them to at least show us relevant Pages.
They haven’t told us how to do that, but I would start with your Ad Topics and edit your interests.
I can’t be sure these settings affect the Facebook Page Suggestions algorithm – but they should!
To adjust ad settings from a desktop browser:
- Click your profile pic at top right and select Settings and Privacy.
- Choose Settings.
- Next click on Ads, then Ad Topics in the left sidebar.
- Search for topics you want to see less of.
- Click See Less.
If Facebook is smart, they will pay attention to your stated interests when suggesting Pages.
You can also click on Ad Settings and adjust which categories advertisers can use to show you targeted ads.
I can’t guarantee you’ll see fewer Suggested Pages in these niches, but it sure would make sense.
To adjust ad settings from the Facebook mobile app:
- Tap your Facebook profile pic at bottom right.
- Tap Settings & privacy.
- Now tap Settings.
- Scroll down to Ads and tap Ad Preferences.
- Adjust Ad Topics and Ad Settings as desired.
A reader also had these suggestions:
Currently it is not possible to get rid of the “suggested pages” but it is possible to direct the topics shown…
My personal feeling is that there are some hidden things on FB. They somehow find out how long a post on a timeline is actively on your screen, and based on that sort of preference a multiplier is generated. You don’t have to like it, it’s just the time you watch something.
If you think the “suggested pages” show something where e.g. the girlfriend gets jealous, then click on “show all” and scroll down… and like some pages with a certain preference. That changes the “direction”… e.g. a guy likes high heels, and somehow FB then only suggests pages with heels and then he thinks his GF should not see that.
To change that choose, 10 or 15 pages with something completely different but with the same different topic. e.g. cars… for sure the next 10 or 20 suggestions are about car pages only. I believe (but I don’t know yet) that needs some likes here and there to keep showing car pages…
Try one or both of these, and let me know if the Suggested Pages become more suited to your interests.
How Do I Remove Suggested Groups on Facebook?
Facebook is also suggesting posts from public groups, and groups you may wish to join.
These seem to be based on similar groups you’re a member of, or groups that friends are in.
If you don’t want to see these, do not like or comment! You can choose to hide the Suggested Post and you won’t see any more from that group.
If you see Suggested Groups, click See more and X out ones you don’t want to see again.
I bet Facebook will still suggest groups to you – just not these ones.
Can I Remove Suggested Friends on Facebook?
Another Suggested for You feature is for friends.
Facebook tries to figure out potential connections between people and then offer suggestions.
These may be people with mutual friends, shared education history, or who are in a network you are in.
Some people suspect they may even be from other apps, but officially, this isn’t the case.
And sometimes, there’s just no clear reason why the algorithm suggests the person!
The good news is that you can simply ignore it if you don’t want to add more friends.
Plus if you happen to block someone for any reason, they won’t ever make an appearance on your list.
Trouble adding the people you actually want to friend? Learn how to add friends on Facebook.
Can I Remove Similar Page Suggestions on my Page?
Surprisingly here, the answer is YES.
Are you a Facebook business Page admin or owner?
When a new fan “Likes” your Page, they’ll be served a series of suggested Pages they may also wish to “Like.”
These recommendations aren’t paid placements. Facebook bases suggestions on location, category, and other pages “Liked” by fans of your page.
Fans can hover over a suggested Page’s thumbnail to “Like” it right away, or click on it to go check out the Page. Or, they can click “See All” to be taken to the full “Like Your Favorite Pages” browser.
It’s cool that the suggested Pages are based on fans’ interests, rather than what’s most popular. But it is a distraction from spending more time on your Page, which they just “Liked.” Suggested Pages might tempt them to click away quickly.
Participation in Page Suggestions is voluntary. But if you opt out of having suggestions shown to your new fans, then your Page won’t be suggested to new fans of other Pages. It’s a tradeoff.
I’ve been asked for this info by a reader who found the suggestions totally irrelevant to her Page.
Others may not want their new fans being steered to competitors. See the screenshot below. If I worked for Crate and Barrel, I would not like this lineup!
It’s your call.
How to Turn Off Similar Page Suggestions on Fan Pages
Login to Facebook on your personal account that’s an admin of the Page.
- From the left sidebar of your Page, click Settings.
- From General, click Similar Page Suggestions.
- Click to uncheck the box next to Include [Page name] when recommending similar Pages people might like on a Page timeline.
- Click Save Changes. source
The screenshot below is of New Facebook in 2021.
Still seeing “People Also Like” on your Facebook Page?
This post was originally published August 2013. I believe the “People Also Like” section is no longer shown on the Page.
If you still see it, try this:
- Hover the top bar of the section and click the Edit pencil.
- Click Manage Sections.
- Click the”People Also Like” bar and drag it to the bottom of the list.
Now, at least it will be below all other sections – and probably never noticed.
More Options to Control Facebook Suggestions
If you dare to try it, a third party app that might help you control FB suggestions is called F.B. Purity. The F.B. allegedly stands for “Fluff Busting” and is in no way endorsed by Facebook.
I haven’t used it nor am I recommending it. Do your due diligence before trying it out.
Personally, I head straight to one of my favorite groups on desktop, bypassing the feed altogether.
If I need to use the mobile app, I take a moment to check out the one or two posts pushed to the top of the feed. Then I head off to accomplish my purpose, without seeing ads and suggested content.
If you have any other tips, tricks, or updates, please leave a comment to help others with Suggested for You on Facebook!
Bear says
None of this is what my Facebook account looks like in 2023
Louise Myers says
The first few images are less than 2 months old, in the iPhone app. If you have an Android you may have to improvise a bit.
Later images are in Chrome browser. Limited options in the mobile app, so using a computer can help.
Bogoy says
“Some people suspect they may even be from other apps, but officially, this isn’t the case.”
Somehow the “suggested” spam has increased by factors some weeks ago… sometimes I get over 40 suggestions, before I see yet unseen friends posts…
When I started getting strangely specific suggestions even seconds after checking a post, my first thought was some AI inclusion… but when I was being suggested topics I have not interacted or searched for for years… I kind of got skeptical… I have no connection to it on FB (downloaded my data to check). I have also disabled use of information from other sources (and checked google too)…
Well… I thought I would do a random test, using a google mobile private tab, and search for a movie actress I almost forgot, and either never looked up, or if, then it would be ages ago. (FB data does not contain her name)
As I was being shown current Movie actresses a lot, I was curious, if this would come up on FB… (using an android phone)
I was kind of disappointed when I still did not see any suggestion for that actress the next day even… on the third day though, there actually came up a suggestion (there is no sensible connection to current day actresses, nor is there a reason to suggest her before others). The time the article was added was marked as “3 days ago”.
So not only did the private tab search appear on FB, but the article for a not connected actress was created on the day I searched…
Louise Myers says
Wow, thanks for your research into this! Facebook users need to know this.
Ruth says
Annoying beyond belief! I snooze them for thirty days or choose option “irrelevant “ and they keep coming. What I’ve found is that you can snooze but you cannot get rid of them. You can re-snooze them for another 30 days but that might go on for years! If not for family and friends, I’d love to get rid of FB altogether.
Willie says
I use a browser extension to block “suggested for you” and “sponsored” posts.
Louise Myers says
That’s an option for people not using the FB app.
Patrick Henry says
I would “Report” all suggested posts as “Harassment”.
This fits FB’s definition of “Harassment” and thus FB is violation of their own policy.
If enough people do it, they’ll shut it off.
Louise Myers says
Great idea 🙂
Keith says
I’ve resorted to reporting every single one I get as “Something Else” and then choosing stuff like “Terrorism” “Sexual Activity” “Child Abuse” etc. so it forces a real person to review it. After flooding them with over 100 of these this week, I’ve yet to hear back.
If 1000 people can send in 100 per week doing this, maybe FB will get the idea we don’t want this feature and remove it.
Louise Myers says
I can’t recommend this, and the bottom line is there’s no reason for FB to remove this feature if it benefits THEM.
Loz says
Does it benefit them though. As my feed is just full of suggestions so I spend less time on it. Their changes to instagram had the same result though least they were smart enough to give you switch off button
Louise Myers says
I can’t say for sure but I expect they’ve done a lot of testing on it.
Barry Jenkins says
Everything on here is out of date and no longer applies. Thanks for completely wasting my time. Please delete this page.
Louise Myers says
Interesting. It’s certainly not “everything” as I checked and the section for business pages is still accurate.
As far as the section for personal profiles, I started that off by saying the short answer is you can’t. I offered some suggestions for people to try to edit what they do, and will, get shown.
It’s Facebook, and this is a feature that’s not going away.
If you’d like to tell me what you found to “no longer apply” I would be happy to update or delete that section.
marc says
this way of dumping suggetion pages not working nymore any suggestions???(LOL)
Louise Myers says
Unfortunately there hasn’t been a way to get rid of Suggested Pages on personal profiles for quite some time. Sorry!
The first part of the article deals with disabling them for business pages and is still valid.
JAY says
Completely useless post and outdated. First of all, her FB page is for business as she has pages she manages. This is USELESS. Complete rubish. What knowledge does she even has? Made a crap post only for advertising.
Louise Myers says
Facebook “Pages” are, by FB’s definition, for business.
As I pointed out at the very beginning of the article, I added a section about “Suggested Pages” in your personal Facebook news feed.
Sorry you didn’t find anything useful here. I do update my posts yearly and Facebook changes their mind about every other day, but I do believe this info is still correct.
Scott Schulte says
Well unfortunately none of that long list of items are available under the general tab there are only 6 items there; name, user name, contact, add account contact, memorilization settings and identity confirmation. I am not sure why you would make up a bogus list of settings that do not exist.
Louise Myers says
That’s interesting because I have 23 items listed on mine. Just checked now.
This article is only about business aka “fan” pages though, it won’t apply to personal profiles, groups, events, etc.
Derek says
The only way I have found to get rid of the suggested pages that work is to log out of facebook for about 1 hour then log back in again. That worked for me on my Samsung 8 anderoid.
Louise Myers says
Great! Thanks for the tip.
Paul says
i have suggested groups opn my page how do i get rid off that
Louise Myers says
I don’t believe there’s an option for this, sorry.
Guy Lazarus says
Where do you get these screenshots? Where do you get this information? It does not match my Facebook account at all. How old is this information? This article is worthless.
Louise Myers says
1. Most of these screenshots were taken in March 2019 from my own FB account.
2. There’s a link in my article to the Help article on FB if you wish to verify.
3. Note that I’m showing both FB business pages and FB personal profiles. Be sure you’re looking in the correct section because they do look different.
4. March 2019. It says so right at the top.
5. Sorry you didn’t find it useful.
Karen says
This article is useless. Deceptive title as there is not an option to “…Turn Off Facebook Similar Page Suggestions.”
Louise Myers says
Actually, there is. This is an option for business Page Admins, who don’t want “Similar Pages” suggested to their fans. That’s what this article covers.
“Suggested Pages” in the news feed of users is different. Perhaps this is the point of confusion? I tried to explain clearly but am open to suggestions to improve the clarity.
~E~ says
You could try using a free safe browser extension to customize your Facebook.
Louise Myers says
Sure, there are a few available.
Deepa Vats says
Not found on my personal page. Here lot of ads are shown on my profile while i unchecked all categories and customized my News Feed. But Still problem is same.
Louise Myers says
Yep, you can’t turn off Facebook ads.
Anthea says
My settings in Facebook does note show general in order for me today get rid of similar pages you’ve interacted with. I don’t like getting these videos,please help
Louise Myers says
There is no setting to get rid of these. Reread the section titled “Can I get rid of Facebook Suggested Pages? [for personal profiles].” You can direct the topics, but not remove them.
Joe says
I don’t have a group or business page. I have a personal FB page and want to stop getting notified about “new page suggestions for you”. The option settings you point out are not there! Any ideas on how to do this?
Louise Myers says
OK, for a profile you have to go into your privacy settings. I will update the article today.
Erwin says
currently it is not possible to get rid of the “suggested pages” but it is possible to direct the topics shown… my personal feeling is that there are some hidden things on FB they somehow find out how long a post on a time line is actively on screen, and based on that sort of preferency multiplier is generated. And you don’t have to like it any more, it’s just the time you watch something. If you think the “suggeted pages” show something where e.g. the girlfriend gets jealous, then click on “show all” and scroll down… and like some pages with a certain preference. That changes the “direction”… e.g. a guy likes high heels, and somehow FB then only suggest pages with heels and then he thinks his GF should not see that. To change that choose 10 or 15 pages with something completely different but with the same differnet topic. e.g. cars… for sure the next 10 or 20 suggestions are about car pages only. I believe (but I don’t know yet) that needs some likes here and there to keep showing car pages …
Louise Myers says
Makes sense, Erwin. Thanks for the update.
simone says
This post comes up for how to stop suggested VIDEOS on facebook and it talks about pages – anyone know how to stop suggested videos showing at the end of your video post??
Jim says
Everyone should know that if you choose “MANAGE SELECTIONS and move PEOPLE ALSO LIKE to the bottom, that might be a mistake to do. Doing this makes it the primary section to see as visitors scroll down the page.
I think Facebook wants businesses to either just hate them, or leave. Why else would they take away control to keep your competitors off your own business page?
Louise Myers says
I can’t disagree with that!
طراحی سایت says
amazing thank you for share
Anthony says
I’ve followed your instructions, however it still shows “”people also like”on the left side of my page. How do I remove it?
Louise Myers says
Since these are the instructions directly from Facebook, I can only guess that this feature either no longer works, is temporarily disabled, or has a “Facebug.”
Jessica says
I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but when you uncheck these settings, you are also removing yourself from the ability to be listed in the “similar pages”. So, yes, you keep those few fans but you may not gain new ones from these listings in the future.
Louise Myers says
Yep, absolutely. I did mention that in the post. It’s a tradeoff, each page owner needs to decide for themselves.
Thanks for underlining this important point!
Gene Wright says
The above does not work. There is no Edit Page listed
Louise Myers says
It’s at the very top of your Admin Panel, approximately in the center. As long as you’re logged in as an Admin of the page, you should see it.