You can hide your friends list from everyone, specific people, or just strangers
Facebook lets you control who sees your friends list through privacy settings in your account. You can make your list completely private, visible only to you, or share it with friends while blocking it from the public. The setting applies to your entire friends list at once — you cannot hide individual friendships while keeping others visible.
The most common reason to do this is to keep your social connections private from employers, acquaintances, or people you do not want to know who you are close to. Some people also hide their list to prevent targeted harassment or to avoid being contacted by people who see mutual friends and assume they can reach you through them.
Key Takeaways
- Your friends list privacy setting is in Settings & Privacy, then Settings, under the Privacy section — not in your profile itself.
- You can choose between "Public" (everyone sees it), "Friends" (only your friends see it), or "Only Me" (nobody sees it except you).
- Changing this setting affects your entire friends list; you cannot hide some friendships and show others.
- People you have already blocked cannot see your friends list regardless of your privacy setting.
- Your friends can still see their own connection to you in their own friends list, even if you hide yours.
How to change your friends list privacy on desktop
Open Facebook and click the downward arrow in the top right corner. Select "Settings & Privacy," then click "Settings." On the left side, click "Privacy." Look for the line that says "Who can see your friends list?" and click the dropdown next to it.
You will see three options: "Public" (a globe icon), "Friends" (a people icon), or "Only Me" (a lock icon). Click whichever you prefer. The change takes effect immediately — you do not need to save or confirm anything.
How to change your friends list privacy on mobile
Open the Facebook app and tap the three horizontal lines (the menu) in the bottom right corner. Scroll down and tap "Settings & Privacy," then tap "Settings." Tap "Privacy." Scroll to find "Who can see your friends list?" and tap the current setting next to it.
Tap your choice from the three options that appear. The setting updates right away. If you cannot find this option, make sure you are using the latest version of the Facebook app — older versions sometimes hide privacy controls in different places.
What "Only Me" actually means
When you set your friends list to "Only Me," nobody except you can see who your friends are. This includes your friends themselves — they cannot view your complete friends list from your profile. However, they can still see that they are your friend, and they can see the mutual friends you share with them.
People who are not your friends cannot see your friends list at any privacy level. If someone is not connected to you, Facebook does not show them your friends whether your list is public or private.
What happens when you block someone
Blocking is different from hiding your friends list. When you block a specific person, they cannot see your profile, your posts, your friends list, or anything else about you on Facebook. Blocking is more complete than any privacy setting.
If you want to hide your friends list from one particular person but keep it visible to everyone else, you cannot do that with Facebook's built-in tools. Your only option is to block that person entirely. If you want to keep your list private from a group of people (like coworkers) but visible to others, you would need to set it to "Friends" and then remove those people from your friends list, or block them individually.
Why your friends can still see they are your friend
Even if you hide your friends list, each of your friends can see that you are their friend in their own friends list. You cannot prevent this. If someone visits your friend Sarah's profile and looks at her friends list, they will see you there — your privacy setting only controls whether they can see Sarah's name when they look at your profile.
This is a limitation of how Facebook's privacy system works. The friendship itself is visible to both people in the friendship; you can only control whether other people can see the full picture of who you are connected to.
Hiding your friends list does not hide your activity with them
Your friends list privacy setting does not affect whether people can see you in comments, likes, or tags on posts. If you like a photo that your friend posts, people who can see that photo will see your name attached to the like — even if your friends list is set to "Only Me."
Similarly, if you comment on a public post, your name and profile picture appear in the comments regardless of your friends list setting. To control who sees your activity, you need to adjust the privacy of individual posts and comments, not your friends list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hide my friends list from just one person?
No. Your friends list privacy setting applies to everyone outside your friends list equally. If you want to hide your connections from a specific person, you need to block them entirely. Blocking prevents that person from seeing your profile, posts, and friends list all at once.
If I set my friends list to "Only Me," can my friends still see each other?
Yes. Your privacy setting only controls who can see your friends list from your profile. It does not affect what your friends can see on each other's profiles. If two of your friends visit each other's profiles, they can see each other's friends lists based on their own privacy settings.
Does hiding my friends list stop people from finding me through mutual friends?
Partially. People can still see mutual friends when they visit a friend's profile, and they can click on those mutual friends to find you. Hiding your list just prevents them from seeing your entire friends list at once. If you want to be harder to find, you can also set your profile to "Private" so only friends can see your posts and information.
Will my friends know if I hide my friends list?
No. Your friends will not receive a notification that you have hidden your friends list. They will only notice if they try to view your friends list from your profile and cannot see it.
Can I hide my friends list but keep my followers visible?
Yes, these are separate settings. Your friends list privacy and your followers list privacy are controlled independently. You can hide your friends but allow followers, or vice versa. Both settings are in the same Privacy section of your settings.