How to take a break from someone on Facebook

Social networking websites have evolved from a traditional approach that places more importance on the mental well-being of their users. A few examples include Snapchat's partnership with Headspace, a popular meditation app, Instagram enforcing tougher penalties for users who send abusive messages to others, etc. Facebook has also introduced similar features; one such feature we'll be talking about today is Break. In this article, we bring you the perfect guide to help you understand how to take a break from someone on Facebook or unfollow someone on Facebook, and the difference between taking a break from Facebook and unsubscribing.

How to take a break from someone on Facebook

Below are some of the differences between Facebook make a break vs unsubscribe feature.

  • When you take a break from chatting with a person/profile on the platform, you are essentially muting that person indefinitely.
  • Their posts will stop appearing in your news feed, and similarly, any of your posts will not appear in their feed.
  • You can also change the privacy settings for messages already on your timeline so that the person can't see them.
  • All mutual tags between you and the person will be deleted along with posts made on each other's timelines.
  • The person's profile will not be requested/notified when tagging, posting, and your friends' posts tagging a person of interest will not show up in your news feed, etc.
  • This is different from the unfollow option as the selected person will not be able to see your messages, which is not the case when you unfollow someone i.e. they can still see your posts after you unfollow them.

It is designed to make it easy for users to change relationship status without taking major action, such as blocking or unfriending the other person. It has no time limit and you can take a break from someone for as long as you want/need. The person you are resting from will not be alerted to your actions, which will prevent awkward conversations. Now, after understanding this feature, let's move on to how to take a break from someone on Facebook.

Note. Smartphones do not have the same settings options, they differ from manufacturer to manufacturer, so check the correct settings before changing anything.

Taking your mind off someone on Facebook is pretty easy and only takes a few taps. For some strange reason, the take a break feature is not available on desktop browsers, and you can only take a break from someone through the mobile app or using a mobile browser.

1. Launch the Facebook app on your mobile device by tapping the app icon.

2. Click on the search button and enter the name of the person you want to take a break from. Visit their profile.

3. Click on the "Friends" button. Select "Break" from the menu.

Note. On some devices, you will need to tap on the three horizontal dots to view your profile settings.

Select "Take a break" from the menu.

4. In the next Less *person* name pop-up window, tap View Settings to fine-tune the settings.

5. From the options provided, select Restrict where you see. This person's posts and posts where he/she/they are tagged will not appear in your feed, nor will you be prompted to send a message or tag the person after selecting this option. Click the "Save" button.

6. If you want to hide your messages from this person, click "View Options" and select "Hide your message from" on the next screen. This option will indirectly add the person to the restricted friends list. Don't forget to click Save.

7. To change the privacy settings for past posts about you and the person concerned, click View Options under Edit who can see past posts.

8. Select Edit all my posts and posts I'm tagged in and Save. Any posts you and the person made on each other's timelines will be deleted and you won't be tagged in their posts. You can also individually change the privacy settings for each previous message.

You have completed the process of how to take a break from someone on Facebook.

If you don't see the Break option when you click Friends as shown in step 3, make sure your app is up to date. To update the Facebook app, follow these steps;

1. Tap on the Google Play apps icon.

2. Either search for Facebook, or tap the image on the display in the upper right corner, and then select My apps & games.

3. Check if an update is available for Facebook. If yes, click the Update button and wait for the update to finish installing.

4. After the app is updated, check if the option to take a break is available.

If after a while you want to undo the changes, you can return all of the above settings to their default state and end the break. You will need to manually follow the person (only if you want to see their posts in your news feed) and remove them from the restricted list. Follow the given points to perform the corresponding actions.

  • To follow a person, simply go to their profile and click the "Follow" button.
  • To remove them from the restricted list, click the "Friends" button on their profile and select "Edit Friends Lists" (or "Add to Other List"). Open the restricted list and tap the tick icon next to a person's name to remove him/her from the list.

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We hope this guide was helpful and you were able to teach you how to take a break from someone on Facebook or unfollow someone on Facebook, and the difference between taking a break from Facebook and unsubscribing. Let us know which method worked best for you. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments section.

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