Use Your Facebook See First List to Identify Close Friends

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by Linda Roeder
This longtime web enthusiast and consultant has a broad knowledge of how personal web pages work.
Updated August 19, 2019

You may have hundreds of friends on Facebook, but—let's face it—they aren't all close friends. Some may be virtual co-workers or acquaintances you barely remember. If these people are taking up valuable space on your News Feed—but you don't want to hide them entirely—you can select the friends you want to appear first on the feed when they post. You can also choose to designate a friend as a "close friend" and receive notifications each time your close friend posts to Facebook.

Select People to Appear First in Your News Feed

To choose the people (or Pages) that you want to see first on your Facebook News Feed:

  1. Click the arrow in the top right corner of your Facebook page.

  2. Select News Feed Preferences from the drop-down menu.

  3. Click Prioritize who to see first to open a screen that displays thumbnail images for all your friends and Pages.

  4. Click the thumbnails of the people you want to see at the top of your News Feed when they post. A star is added to the thumbnail.

  5. When you have made all your selections, click the menu that says All at the top of the thumbnails and select People you see first from the drop-down menu to display the thumbnails you have selected.

  6. When you are satisfied with your selections, click the Done button to save your changes.

You can add up to 30 people or Pages to your See First list. The selections you make are not ranked; that is, the person you choose first isn't necessarily seen first. However, all the See First posts will appear at the top of your News Feed.

Use the See First Feature on a Profile or Page

If you are on a person's profile or a page, you can add them to your See First list from there.

  1. Click Follow if you aren't already following the profile or Page.

  2. Go to the Following or Liked button near the cover photo.

  3. Select See First.

When you put friends on your See First list, they are not notified that you have done so, nor do you receive notifications when they post.

How to Add a Person to Your Close Friend List

Putting someone on your See First list is different from identifying them as a close friend. When you add a friend to your Close Friends list, you receive a notification every time they post on Facebook. To add someone to your Close Friends list:

  1. Go to the friend's profile page.

  2. Hover over the Friends button.

  3. Choose Close Friends from the drop-down menu.

If you prefer not to receive notifications whenever your close friend's post, you can turn this feature off at any time.