Facebook doesn’t have a single button that resets your whole feed. Instead, you reshape it with Content preferences: click your profile picture, select Settings & privacy > Content preferences, then add Favorites, unfollow accounts you’re tired of, reconnect with ones you miss, and manage snoozes. Over time your feed shifts toward what you picked.
This guide covers Facebook on a computer, with notes for the mobile app. It shows the settings that change what Facebook ranks in your Home feed, how to train it one post at a time, how to see posts in a plain chronological order, and how to clear history that feeds its suggestions. Menu names can differ slightly between the website and the app.
How to Refresh Your Facebook Feed With Content Preferences
- Click your profile picture in the top-right corner of Facebook. Result: the account menu opens.
- Select Settings & privacy, then Content preferences. Result: the Content preferences options appear.
- Select Manage “Favorites” and add the people and Pages you want to see first. Result: Facebook shows their posts higher in your feed.
- Select Unfollow to stop seeing posts from people, Pages, or groups without unfriending them.
- Select Reconnect to follow people or Pages you unfollowed before.
- Select Snooze to end, stop, or extend any snoozes you set.
These options come from Facebook’s help page on content preferences. The same page has Political content and Sensitive content settings, which adjust how much you see about topics like elections or graphic content. In the app, Facebook says the related settings are under Settings & privacy > Settings > Feed.
Reconnect With Someone You Unfollowed
For a person whose Feed posts you stopped following, use the Content preferences > Reconnect route above. Find the intended person or Page in that list and select its offered reconnect/follow control; check that the account is now followed. In the mobile app, use Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings > Feed where that layout is offered. Older versions called this News Feed preferences. The choice restores following without promising every post will appear first. If you used a temporary Snooze instead, use its separate end-snooze control described below. These are Feed preferences, rather than Messenger conversation sound or notification settings. Check the person’s actual status before changing it again.
Start Over With Who You Follow
Everything in your feed comes from who you friend and follow, plus Facebook’s suggestions. For a stronger reset, go through your Unfollow list in Content preferences and unfollow anything you no longer want. You stay friends when you unfollow someone.
- Leave groups you joined long ago. Busy groups can fill a feed quickly.
- Unlike Pages you liked years ago but no longer care about.
- Add a handful of Favorites. They show up higher, which crowds out the rest.
Facebook does not provide a guaranteed complete feed reset. Adjust the people and Pages you follow and use the feedback controls above; creating another account or unfriending everyone is not necessary to refresh the feed.
Train Your Feed One Post at a Time
- Select the ••• menu on a post and choose Not interested to see fewer posts like it. Result: the post disappears and Facebook adjusts.
- Choose Snooze from the same menu to hide a person, Page, or group for a while.
- Choose Unfollow to stop seeing a person, Page, or group for good.
- Like, comment on, and share posts you enjoy. Facebook uses that activity to decide what to show you.
- Hide ads you don’t want with the X or the ••• menu on the ad.
Changes build up gradually, so give it a few days of steady use before you judge the results.
See Your Feed in Order by Time
The Home feed is ranked. To skip the ranking, select Feeds in the left-hand menu on a computer, or the Feeds option in the app. There you can view the most recent posts, or filter to Favorites, Friends, Groups, or Pages.
Clear History That Shapes Suggestions
You can clear your video watch history and search history in your Activity log, which you open from your profile’s menu or from Settings & privacy. This removes a record of what you looked at. Facebook doesn’t say exactly how much it changes your feed, so treat it as a helpful extra rather than a reset. Before you clear it, you can see the posts and reels you recently viewed on Facebook in case there is a video you want to save first.
To limit the ad topics you see, go to Settings & privacy > Settings > Accounts Center > Ad preferences.
Hide Unwanted Facebook Ads and Advertisers
To hide a particular sponsored post, open its three-dot menu > Hide ad and follow the feedback prompt. This removes that ad from your view; it is different from unfollowing a friend or hiding all posts from a Page.
For repeated ads from the same advertiser, open the ad’s three-dot menu > Why am I seeing this ad? and use the offered option to hide ads from that advertiser. You can also reach Ad preferences from that explanation and review the advertiser and topic controls available to your account. Meta documents these entry points in its ad-transparency guide. Menu names and available choices can vary by account and region.
These controls help choose which ads you see; they do not promise to remove every ad or reduce the total ad count. Do not treat clearing cookies, using private browsing, or resetting your feed as an ad-free switch. After changing a preference, confirm it in the ad controls and check that the unwanted ad disappeared; other sponsored posts can remain. If an ad appears fraudulent or breaks Facebook’s rules, use its Report ad option.
Refresh the Facebook Feed on iPad
To load newly available posts in the Facebook app on iPad, return to the main feed, scroll to its top, then pull the list down and release. Wait for the refresh indicator to finish. Check for a changed top post or an error; there may simply be no new posts. Refreshing reloads the feed, while Content preferences changes what Facebook recommends. If refresh fails, check connectivity and whether an app update is available instead of repeatedly changing your preferences.
Reload New Posts Without Resetting Preferences
On the Facebook website, use the browser’s Reload button or Ctrl + R on Windows (Command + R on Mac) to request the current feed again. Save any unfinished post first. In the iPhone or iPad app, return to the feed’s top, pull down and release, then wait for the refresh indicator. Check for an error or changed posts; there may be no new posts available. Reloading is separate from the Content preferences and ranking controls above and does not erase Facebook’s recommendation history.
Troubleshooting
- Content preferences is missing: update the Facebook app, or try it on facebook.com in a browser. Facebook changes menus from time to time.
- Unfollowed accounts keep appearing: they may be showing up as suggested posts from friends’ activity or groups. Use Not interested on those posts.
- Your feed is all Reels and suggested posts: try Feeds and its Friends or Favorites filters. Followed accounts can still share videos. See the available ways to hide or reduce Facebook Reels and their limits.
- You want someone gone completely: block them from their profile or from Settings & privacy > Settings > Blocking.
Snooze a Person, Page or Group for 30 Days
Find one of that person’s, Page’s or group’s posts in your Feed, open the post’s three-dot menu and choose Snooze [name] for 30 days when offered. Check the named source before selecting it and review the confirmation. Meta explains Snooze’s 30-day duration and says the snoozed source is not notified. This temporarily changes what appears in your Feed; it does not unfriend the person, block them or leave the group.
Use Undo immediately if the confirmation offers it, or return to the Snooze management list in Content preferences described above and use the intended source’s available end-snooze control. Check the source’s status before applying another preference. Menu names and options can differ by Facebook version and post type; if Snooze is absent, do not treat Hide post or Not interested as the same 30-day action. Unfollow is a separate, ongoing preference described above, and Snooze does not control Messenger notifications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see my Facebook feed in order by time?
Yes. Use the Feeds tab in the Facebook menu to see the most recent posts instead of the ranked Home feed.
Will unfollowing someone unfriend them?
No. You stay friends. You just stop seeing their posts in your feed, and you can follow them again from Reconnect.
Is there a way to reset the Facebook algorithm completely?
Not with one setting. Changing who you follow, marking posts Not interested, and using Favorites is how you retrain it.
How long does it take for my feed to change?
Unfollows take effect right away. Ranking changes from Favorites and Not interested build up over several days of use.
Related: How to See Memories on Facebook, Including Previous Days.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are tested on current devices or checked against official product documentation, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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