To hide your friends list on Facebook, open Settings, select How people find and contact you under Audience and visibility, open Who can see your friends list?, then select Only Me. This hides the complete friends list on your profile, although mutual friends and friendships visible through someone else’s profile can still appear elsewhere.
The short version
- Hide the full list: Open Who can see your friends list? and select Only Me.
- Keep access for friends: Select Friends to hide the list from people outside your friends.
- Expect some visible connections: Mutual friends and friendships exposed through other profiles can remain visible.
- Handle individual people separately: Blocking restricts profile access and ends an existing friendship, while unfriending removes the relationship.
| Place or option | What it does | Main consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop website | Hides the full list with the audience setting | Start from your profile picture |
| Android app | Hides the full list with the audience setting | Start from Menu |
| iPhone app | Hides the full list with the audience setting | Start from Menu |
| iPad app | Hides the full list with the audience setting | Uses the same path as iPhone |
| Mobile browser | Hides the full list without using the app | Sign in before opening Settings |
| Facebook Lite | Hides the full list in the Android Lite app | Start from Menu |
| Friends audience | Keeps the list visible to friends | Hides it from non-friends |
| Desktop blocking | Restricts a particular viewer’s profile access | Ends an existing friendship |
| Android and iPhone blocking | Restricts a particular viewer’s profile access | Ends an existing friendship |
| Unfriending | Removes one friendship from both lists | Does not hide your remaining list |
| Deactivation | Temporarily hides the profile | Your name may remain in friends’ lists |
| Deletion | Permanently removes the profile | Also affects content, Messenger and Facebook Login |
Hide your friends list on a computer
On Facebook’s desktop website, click your profile picture, then click Settings & privacy > Settings. Under Audience and visibility, click How people find and contact you. Open Who can see your friends list?, then select Only Me.
Choose that audience to hide the complete list on your personal profile from other people. If you want your Facebook friends to retain access, select Friends instead. That choice hides the list from non-friends while keeping it visible to your friends.
Change the setting on Android or iPhone and iPad
In the Android app, tap Menu > Settings & Privacy > Settings. Under Audience and visibility, tap How people find and contact you, then tap Who can see your friends list?. Tap Only Me to hide the full list on your profile.
In the iPhone or iPad app, tap Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings. Under Audience and visibility, tap How people find and contact you > Who can see your friends list?, then tap Only Me. On any of these apps, select Friends instead if your goal is to hide the list only from non-friends.
Use a mobile browser or Facebook Lite
For the mobile-browser version, open Facebook in your browser and sign in. Tap Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings, then find Audience and visibility. Tap How people find and contact you > Who can see your friends list?, then tap Only Me.
In Facebook Lite for Android, tap Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings. Under Audience and visibility, tap How people find and contact you > Who can see your friends list?, then tap Only Me.
Both the mobile-browser interface and Facebook Lite also let you keep the list visible to friends. To do that, open the same audience setting and select Friends.
Check the audience if connections still appear
If someone can still see your complete list on your profile, return to Who can see your friends list? and select Only Me. If they can see only mutual friends or a connection elsewhere, that does not mean your full list is public. The audience setting controls the complete list on your own profile.
Other people control the visibility of their own friends lists. Facebook says friendships exposed through another person’s profile can remain visible in Feed, Search and elsewhere, and mutual friends can still appear. Keep those limits in mind if you want to conceal a particular relationship while remaining Facebook friends.
Block a particular viewer when needed
Blocking restricts a particular person’s access to your profile and ends an existing friendship. Choose it when you want that broader restriction; keep using the friends-list audience setting if you want to retain the friendship.
On desktop, open the person’s profile, click Options or More, then click Block and Confirm. In the Android or iPhone app, open their profile, tap ••• or More, tap Block, then tap Block again.
For another route on desktop, click your profile picture and open Settings & privacy > Settings. Under Audience and visibility, open Blocking > Block profiles and Pages > Edit > Add to blocked list. Enter the person’s name, click Block beside the correct result, then click Confirm.
For the alternative route in the Android or iPhone app, tap Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings. Under Audience and visibility, tap Blocking > Add to blocked list. Enter the name, tap Block beside the correct result, then tap Block again.
If you are looking for Block in a Feed post menu, Facebook no longer offers it there. Open the person’s profile or your Blocking settings instead. On desktop, manage blocking separately for additional profiles, and remember that blocking does not guarantee concealment from alternate profiles or every shared app or group context.
Remove a friendship instead of hiding it
Unfriending removes the relationship from both friends lists. It does not preserve a hidden friendship or hide the other people in your list, so choose it only when you want to end that Facebook connection.
On desktop or in the Android app, search for the person and open their profile. Select Friends > Unfriend, then select Confirm. Use the friends-list audience setting separately if you also want to hide the remaining list.
Deactivate your profile for a temporary break
Deactivation temporarily hides your entire profile, but friends may still see your name in their own friends lists. Choose it only if you want to hide the profile itself, since it does not remove every reference to your friendships.
On desktop, click your profile picture and open Settings & privacy > Settings > Accounts Center. On Android, start from your main profile, then tap Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings > Accounts Center.
If you see Manage accounts, select it, then select Manage beside the profile and open Deactivation or deletion. Select the intended account or profile, choose Deactivate account, then select Continue. Complete the remaining on-screen prompts.
If you see Accounts instead, select Personal details > Account ownership and control > Deactivation or deletion. Select the intended account or profile, choose Deactivate account, then select Continue. Follow the remaining prompts to finish.
Delete your profile only if you want permanent removal
Permanent deletion removes your profile, deletes content and affects Messenger and Facebook Login. If you only want to hide your complete friends list while keeping your profile, select Only Me in the friends-list audience setting.
To start deletion on desktop, click your profile picture, then open Settings and privacy > Settings > Meta Account. On Android, tap Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings > Meta Account.
If you see the Manage account layout, select Manage account > Manage > Deactivation or deletion. On Android, select the account or profile, choose Delete account, then tap Continue and follow the remaining prompts. On desktop, select Continue and follow the on-screen deletion prompts.
If you see the Accounts layout instead, go from Meta Account to Personal details > Account ownership and control > Deactivation or deletion. Select the intended profile, select Continue, then follow the on-screen deletion instructions. For more on this broader account change, see how to delete your Facebook account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to save the friends-list audience change?
Facebook’s instructions end when you select Only Me. They do not specify an additional Save or Done button.
Can you hide every friend count or individual friendship?
Facebook does not document a separate control for hiding every friend-count indicator or every individual friendship. You should not treat the friends-list audience as a guarantee that every sign of a connection will disappear.
Does locking your Facebook profile replace hiding the friends list?
Facebook does not document profile locking as a friends-list hiding method. You can use profile locking only in countries where Facebook supports it.
Will hiding a teen account’s friends list hide connections from parental supervision?
You should not assume that it will. If you are a supervising parent, you can separately view a teen’s friends when that feature is available by opening Family Center, selecting the teen, then opening Their connections > Friends > See all.
How do you unfriend someone whose profile is deactivated?
On desktop, open your own profile, select Friends, find the person’s name, then select Options > Unfriend. On Android, open your profile, select See All Friends, open Options beside the person, then select Unfriend [name] for that person.