So, I have seen a ton of people asking me to hover over their name and do some song and dance to keep their comments and activity from showing up. This got me thinking though… there has to be a way to protect myself versus relying on others to do it for me. I don’t want my activity showing up in the scrolling ticker any more than my friends who are asking for help.
Well, I believe I may have figured out how to do this.
Start by going to the page asking if you want to allow subscribers.
Click to allow subscribers… stick with me a second. I know this doesn’t make any sense but it will.
After you click the “allow subscribers”, a pop-up will appear. All you need to do is click the Turn this Off.
What this will do is remove your updates, postings, etc. from the scrolling ticker of anyone that is not a mutual friend/fan of the person you are commenting too. For example, if you and Sally are both friends with Bob, you will get a little notification when Sally and Bob are chatting on Facebook. Sally and Bob will not get a notification when you are chatting with someone they aren’t mutually friends with. You are basically getting an updated version of how our feed used to look… but on the right side of our screen.
Obviously, if you want subscribers, this won’t work for you and you will be sending out your activity on the little scrolling ticker. If you are like me, and apparently many of my friends, and you don’t want your every move known, this will work. I have tested this with a few friends and it works well. I can’t make any promises though as it is just me and my little brain figuring this out.
Update: One thing I have found is that if you LIKE or comment on a fan page, your friends may see that. My husband was able to see that I liked and commented on a fan page of a friend’s blog. He still can’t see any of the updates, likes, etc. I make on non-mutual friend walls… only on public pages. Plus, if your friend has their privacy settings to “public”, you may not have a choice anyway. But, this will keep your information from showing up on those who have more restrictive privacy settings. Basically, it is not a fix for every situation but it is a good start to taking back your Facebook privacy. If you have any problems, go through the steps again.
Please tweet, share, stumble or whatever else to get this information out. Maybe, in time, your and my Facebook wall will be status updates again instead of people begging for their privacy rights!
kelly says
hi there is no page to remove subscribers anymore, is there another way of stopping my activity showing in the ticker box?
plz help
Lisa says
Hi,
I don’t have follow me checked but my posts are still appearing all over other people’s tickers. I have to say, my BIGGEST problem with this is that I am happily going thru my wall liking and responding to other people’s posts and WHAM! I get a chat b/c someone saw my activity on the timeline and wants to chat. The Sally/Bob example doesn’t hold–I comment on a Sally not friends w/Bob post and Bob sends me a message to chat b.c he saw my post on Sally. I love my friends, but I want to be able to be on FB in stealth mode. PLUS if you even look to see who messaged you it shows you looked so to not reply is rude. HELP!
gj says
Hey lisa. Keeping it within the terms or bob & sally, what likely happened is that ur friend(sally) probably has his/her setting at public or something to that effect. So any reply post will be seen by everyone. Ask ur friend to see what her setting is. And as a reminder, this trick isn’t foolproof. It’s impossible to be on Fb on stealthmode. Fb doesn’t want it that way, & will keep making adjustments to the site for it to remain the same.
Kathy Z says
They changed the name of the setting to “Follow”. Thank you for posting this important info. Some guy really creeped me out, I thought I had all my account settings set securely, but FB changes constantly. I will be sure to check on it more frequently. ; )
edward says
when somebody accepts my friend request my friends are getting that update on their tickers.tell me this method of u r’s can even hide that activity from posting on my friends’ ticker?
gj says
Edward needs more reading…
Larry Smith says
I don’t see the Facebook, “Get your own subscribers Page, or the “allow subscribers” link. Has Facebook eliminated it? I don’t know how old this info is. I also do not want my posts broadcast on the “Ticker” Any help will be greatly appreciated!!. Thanks so much!!
………………Larry
gj says
You’re right larry. Due to the fluid nature of fb, this process has changed once again. Looks to be a bit easier now. From your homepage, on the upper right of the screen, (1)click the settings symbol so a menu drops down. (2)Click on “account settings”. (3)On the left side of the screen, click on “Followers”. That seems to be the new term as supposed to the old term “subscribers”. They both mean the same thing though. (4)Lastly, uncheck the “Turn on Follow” box. Voila. You’re done. I must inform you though that this does not keep ALL your posts from the ticker feed. If you post in a public forum, EVERYONE will see it on the ticker feed. Just a reminder, i’m going to copy & paste a section from Stefany’s first post: “What this will do is remove your updates, postings, etc. from the scrolling ticker of anyone that is not a mutual friend/fan of the person you are commenting too. For example, if you and Sally are both friends with Bob, you will get a little notification when Sally and Bob are chatting on Facebook. Sally and Bob will not get a notification when you are chatting with someone they aren’t mutually friends with…”
gj says
You must be tired steve. lol. The “learn more” link is in the paragraph you posted above. I’ll try highlighting it again. Here’s what you just posted above. Look for the asterix:
Allow Subscribers
Subscribers will receive your public posts and will not be added as friends. You can have broader conversations about public topics and keep personal updates for friends. ***Learn more***.
Subscriber Search
To help subscribers find you, allow your timeline to show up in search engine results.
Subscriber CommentsEditWho can comment on your public posts: Friends of Friends
Subscriber Notifications
Whose subscriptions and comments do you want to be notified about?
UsernameEdit http:/
TwitterEditConnect a Twitter account
Want to know what subscribers can see? View your public timeline.
steve says
well i read thru again and saw GI’s post..tried that and this is the pop up i got, not a “learn more”…where to go from here? thanks in advance..
Allow Subscribers
Subscribers will receive your public posts and will not be added as friends. You can have broader conversations about public topics and keep personal updates for friends. Learn more.
Subscriber Search
To help subscribers find you, allow your timeline to show up in search engine results.
Subscriber CommentsEditWho can comment on your public posts: Friends of Friends
Subscriber Notifications
Whose subscriptions and comments do you want to be notified about?
UsernameEdit http:/
TwitterEditConnect a Twitter account
Want to know what subscribers can see? View your public timeline.
steve says
i clicked on allow subscribers and nothing happened..anyone experience this and any suggestions ?
gj says
As Jes brought out already, this doesnt exactly work as stefany described. Seems the good folks at FB have caught on, & have made it quite tricky. Nevertheless, it can still be done, just in a slightly different way. First, go to account settings and click on the “Subscriber” tab on the left side of the screen. There’ll be the box that u can check to allow subscribers. Check the box. Now this is where it gets tricky. No pop-up will appear. Click on “Learn more”. That takes you to the sunscribe main page, which should inform you that you’re allowing subscribers. Thats a good thing….. for now. Next, on the left side of the screen, click the “your subscribers tab”. On the new page, click the settings tab on the right side of the page. The pop-up will then appear. Turn the first subscriber option to off. Finally, click okay, & voila!
Jes says
I tired but there is no pop-up after i click on the allow subscriber
Monica says
Exactly what Eric said. You’re a genius. Thanks!
Eric says
wow, July 2012 and this trick still works. And as far as I can see, you’re the only person who’s posted it. Thanks for the tip.
Stefany says
My pleasure! I am glad it helped you. 🙂
Vanessa Wolf says
I really would like to try it, but I can’t do the thing with subscribers. You have to be at least 18 and that is 5 months away for me 🙁
Sam says
Hi Stefany,
I used your settings; but have a question. I am in a facebook group that no one I am currently friends with is a member of – but my friends are still able to see that I am interacting in this group. So, using your settings, if I continue to make comments on the group wall, will it still show up in my ticker?
Thanks! 🙂
Shannon says
Hi, I didn’t get a pop up? Will you help please
Amy says
THANK YOU STEFANY!! You have made one FB user very happy!
Bless you!
Caroline Conley says
Why don’t people want their friends to see their activity? They will only see activity that relates to you and your friends you share. ha! If you post on a fan page, it will show up on your wall (just like before) and on the side ticker.
Virginia White says
Thank you!!! Question…if i do this and i like on a group page…if i comment will that show in the ticker? I know one of the groups im in says it doesnt. Or what if its public and u don\’t like the page but just comment? U may have explained this already lol
Stefany says
If your nonmutual friend doesn’t has their privacy settings as everyone, your stuff will still be visible.
Rosemary Case says
If she had ‘shut this off’ why did it still show up on my ticker…???? I followed the directions then logged into my friend’s FB page and picture comments I’d posted on a non-mutual friend’s photo were still showing up. Oh well, it’s not like I won’t tell him myself.
Jay says
Oh wow! This is the only thing that actually works that I have come across. It’s annoying for everyone to see all my comments to others they do not know. I fell like i am restricted in what I can say sometimes because everyone can see it. Thank you so much 😀
Stefany says
You are very welcome! =)
Cathy A says
Stefany u are an angel to share this with the world and smart too! . thank you soooo much! Feeling happy to be on facebook again… hated that everyone knew every little thing i do. I have to test it out with someone.
Stefany says
Thanks for commenting Cathy! It certainly isn’t a perfect solution but it helps a lot! 🙂
Cathy A says
Wow nice to know you are awake in the country where you live.. I am in Abu Dhabi – UAE 8.14 am here. Steph does this mean that all my friends will not be able to see any pics that I post?
Stefany says
Your friends will be able to see them. Their friends won’t.
Cathy A says
Stef, just realized that the setting has to be done at each session .. or it reverts to the ticker broadcasting every post, comment etc. Please help… I don’t want to do it every time.
Stefany says
Cathy, that should not be the case. You should only have to set it once. Are you sure it is showing all of your stuff? This is only to stop your statuses from showing up… not others.
John says
Thank you so much! My family could see my FB comments and that was getting me into trouble.
Stefany says
haha! Glad to help.
M.E. says
This didn’t work for me. I followed the directions then logged into my friend’s FB page and picture comments I’d posted on a non-mutual friend’s photo were still showing up. This is sooo annoying. I feel like my privacy is completely violated 🙁
Stefany says
Is the friend you commented on allowing everyone (public) to see their photos? If they are, you won’t be able to stop those from showing up.
J Mo says
PS Would appreciate it if you could email your reply to my questions as I cannot find a subscribe button to this thread. Thx again.
J Mo says
Dear Stephanie,
Thx for the useful information and clarifications. Just to be sure I understand correctly regarding posting on pages: If I post on a public fan page, will this show up on my wall? If it shows up on my wall, does this mean that anyone who visits my wall will see the post?
Stefany says
If you post on a fan page, it will show up on your wall (just like before) and on the side ticker. Anyone can see that unfortunately. All that this method I described will control is when you comment on statuses of friends… but that still is only limited by their privacy settings.
Karen says
Stefany,
I was also looking for a way to not have my likes and comments on a fan page show up on my wall and you answered that. Darn. But, can I go right to my wall after I do post on a fan page and get rid of it that way? Once it is off my wall, do friends still see it?
Thanks so much!
Karen
janine says
This works for real!!!!!
Thank you stefany!!! oxoxox
Stefany says
You are very welcome. Be sure to share with your friends. 🙂
Heather says
I did what you said to do and then my sister and I tried ‘liking’ something that the other one was NOT friends with and it didnt show up on the clicker…BUT after about 5 mins or so, she posted ur link to ‘stop the ticker’ and THAT showed up on MY TICKER on the side, WHY??? If she had ‘shut this off’ why did it still show up on my ticker…????
Stefany says
Heather, if you look above, that is one of the glitches I found… see under the UPDATE near the bottom.
Since the LIKES are not able to be made private, those will show up. But, your personal updates and updates you post to other friends (that remain private or friends only) will not appear on the ticker.
AJ says
Thanks for the tip! I’ve just configured it, still under observation now.
One thing I have noticed, though, is that when you go back to the subscribe page (the link above), it shows the Allow Subscribers button as available again, and if you click on it, it shows the settings as they were when you first got the pop-up.
I hope that is just the default setting when the page is loaded, and that it does not revert back to your original settings.
Stefany says
Yes, I noticed that as well. If you hit the subscribe button again after reloading the page, you have to “turn off” the settings again. The page does load the same every time but as long as you complete the process, this seems to work like a charm.
Rose says
Oh just great, this means everyone has seen the rotten little things I said about my hubby. Oh well, it’s not like I won’t tell him myself. 😉 And it was just about snoring.
Thanks so MUCH Stefany for putting this all in one place. I already shared this on my page.
Now, if we can put a stop to everything sharing that damn status message that if they don’t share a message they’ll have to pay to use FB.
*sigh* Get the sharpie out. 😉
Stefany says
Yeah, those are annoying. Really annoying. Thanks for sharing Rose!
paula says
i like this page this is a nice page you all have fun be back later,
Ashley says
How do I find the “subscribers” page on fb???
Thank you!
Stefany says
It is linked above too…
http://www.facebook.com/about/subscribe
jess c says
i get “page not found” when i hit that link?
Stefany says
I just tried and it worked fine. Try again maybe?
jess says
i think its something with my facebook…. i tried it on 3 different internet browsers and get nothing…. although i dont get the subscribe button that everyone was asking me to click either ? thank you for the info though and i have passed your blog link along for my friends, and they can get it to work just fine!
Stefany says
How odd Jess! Have you had all the changes that have been made? I know there are still some that haven’t seen the transition.
Thanks for passing along the information to your friends. I appreciate that!
jess says
stafany…. i just wanted to let you know that facebook finally realized i was missing info somewhere and i was FINALLY able to hit the link and the subscribe button showed up tonight too!
Stefany says
How strange. I am glad you are finally able to do it!
Kim C says
OMG!! thanks so much for this posting…i do not like that ticker one bit. Me and my husband tried it and it worked 😀 , you just made my weekend so much better!
Stefany says
And you just made me smile. 🙂 You are so welcome. I am glad to have helped.
Shell says
I don’t really see where anything is different, as in information you see, just in a little box. If you scroll down your page don’t you see all that same stuff anyway? I thought the box was a quick view version.
Stefany says
Shell, what I am explaining is how to change what your friend’s tickers show. They will not see all of your activity anymore.
Shell says
I do understand what you said it would do, but my point is this is not new. I mean people could always see everything you liked, commented on, etc. The change now is that besides that info being in your friend’s news feed, now it is ALSO in the ticker. The ticker is a faster view of the same information everyone always had. People just freak at changes in facebook, but it is not new information in the ticker.
Stefany says
I agree with that but I also think having that information so much more easily accessible is an issue.
Kim says
Another HUGE difference is that before, you were able to hide and/or remove comment and like activity from your wall so that it was visible to no one. The ticker removed that option, and therein lies my biggest problem. Another is that I didn’t troll my friends’ walls to see whose stuff they were liking and commenting on, because I don’t care to know. And strangers’ names appearing on my home page at all is an invasion or my privacy, if you ask me. If I cared what strangers’ were posting, I’d friend them! I have deactivated my account and won’t be going back unless they remove that ticker.
Stefany says
I agree Kim. I was never looking at someone’s wall to see what they were up to. The fact that it was readily accessible to anyone and everyone is what bothers me. Not being able hide activity is really bothersome too… great points. Thanks for weighing in.
won says
I think I am missing a big part of this. I am not very tech or social media savvy. I keep reading about the facebook changes and here’s my question. Maybe you can help and explain it to me? Please.
Why don’t people want their friends to see their activity? How does this differ from how it was? Is it that anyone can see your activity now?
I hope you’re not laughing at my questions. I just don’t understand.
Stefany says
Not laughing at all. 🙂
The thing is, with the recent changes, all of your activity is showing up in the little scrolling ticker of your friends. This happens whether they know the other person you are chatting with or not. They see every.single.thing you do.
If I look at my scrolling bar on the right side of my screen, I can see that my friend Jenny commented on her aunt’s page. I don’t know her aunt. I have never met her aunt. I don’t much care to see that Jenny commented on her aunt’s page. Jenny hasn’t changed her settings so all of her friends know her every move.
If you change your settings by the method I described, they won’t see stuff that has nothing to do with them or your mutual friends. They will only see activity that relates to you and your friends you share.
Does that help? Please tell me if you don’t get it. I am more than happy to work through it with you. 🙂
won says
I think I’m getting somewhere with this in my head. So before if Jenny and her aunt had a fight on facebook, you could have read it by going to Jenny’s page and happening upon it. It’s just that now it’s on that scroll on the side of your screen, right?
Thanks for explaining!
Stefany says
Yep… and by changing your settings like I described, any fighting you do with your aunt will only be seen by those that you and your aunt are mutually friends with. I am sure you don’t want all of your friends to know that you and your aunt are arguing. 🙂
dramaqueensmum says
Thanks. I just did that.
Stefany says
You’re welcome!
Debby Pucci says
I don’t go on often so I am lost. I really only check once or twice a week if I remember so I don’t think I will worry about it much.
Stefany says
Yeah Debby… if you aren’t on it much, I am sure it doesn’t bother you much. 🙂
Kristin says
Awesome! Thank you very much!
Stefany says
You are very welcome!
carol says
This is funny, your brain and 4 of my other friends , LOL , I heard this a couple days ago and then from you yesterday. I think a lot of people figured out this facebook junk. lol
Stefany says
That is strange because I have not seen anyone say anything about this method… only the other. You must have some smart social media friends.
mohamed says
hi, thanks for the tip. I will try this out, please let me know how its working out for you 🙂
Stefany says
I have had no problems and, aside from mutual friends, my updates are not showing up on friend’s scrolls. 🙂
Mrs. Cox says
Thank you so much for sharing this on Facebook today and helping me test mine out!
Stefany says
My pleasure. Thanks for helping ME! I didn’t want to post it without trying it on more than hubs. ha!