I love Google Analtyics. It tells me so much stuff. Mainly, it tells me a lot of people are finding my blog because they are worried that they’re on their Facebook friend’s restricted list. How do you know if a friend has added you to their restricted list? Well, you go to their profile page and you either see no wall posts at all or only wall posts that have the little globe icon. If it’s got the globe icon that means anyone in all of the internet who comes to that person’s profile page will be able to see it too. 
Why would your “friend” do this to you? Well, are they REALLY your friend? Are you SURE? Do they only “sorta” like you? Is it a family member? Yeah, there are any number of reasons why someone would put you on the restricted list. I’m sure you’re wondering now why they left you as a friend. Well, chances are they figured you’re less likely to notice being put on the restricted list than being unfriended completely. Or maybe they want to snoop on you. If it really bothers you, ask the person directly. If they are really your friend it wont be such a big deal and being honest and direct is always a good plan when it comes to talking to your friends.
Want to add someone to your restricted list? Well, from the menu on the left sidebar go down to the bottom where it says Lists. There may be list options, click on the word Lists. (in the image to the right I’ve put a red box around where it can be found). From there you’ll go to the lists menu, click on the Restricted list and from that page you can add people.
The box on the right side of the screen is where you type in a friend’s name and add them to the list. You can add as many people as you want, they wont get any kind of notification. And chances are, they wont notice unless they only have like 10 friends total and don’t follow any pages or subscribe to any famous people’s feeds.
If you’re really paranoid about what they can see, you can view your profile as that friend and then you’ll see what they see. Depending on whether or not you’ve got the new timeline feature there are two ways to do this. Both start by going to your profile page. Then, if you still have the old profile there’s a button at the top right that says “View As…” if you click the button you’ll get an option to type in any friend’s name. Just type in the friend you’ve put on the restricted list. If you’ve got the new Timeline it’s a little bit harder to find. It’s still on the right, under your cover image, under the drop down where the gear is located. Same thing from there, type the friend’s name in the box and you’ll be able to see what they have access to. This works for ANY friend by the way. If you’re concerned about what a particular friend can see this is a good way to check it out.
Keep in mind, if you’ve got your default setting for posts to Public everyone will see it… everyone on the internet who can find your profile. So if this concerns you, use that little drop down next to the Post button when posting an update. You can also post things to people ONLY on a specific list. So if you’re posting something controversial and don’t want to offend Grandma or start a fight with your Tea Party friends, make a list for only the people who will appreciate those things. Got a lot of friends who love cats? Got some who are dog people and have been hating on all your cat posts? Then make a list of the cat lovers and start posting things to only the cat lovers. Or post it only to the dog lovers to annoy them, the possibilities are endless.
Does that help you all? Any questions? I’m happy to answer whatever questions you have.
Happy New Year everyone, may all your Facebook friends be real and true friends!
If you restrict a person from your Facebook wall will it still show old post on the wall from before they were placed on the restricted list and if so can they see a newly placed comment on the old wall posting if you comment back to that paticular wall post? Not sure how a restricted wall looks on Facebook in the eyes of the person restricted
As soon as you restrict the person, all wall posts that are not public will be hidden from them, including the comments. Test it out, go into Facebook, place someone on your restricted list then go to your profile and do the “View As” and you’ll see exactly what they can see. You can always remove the person after you test it, they’ll never know you restricted them. They will not see any photos, unless you or a mutual friend tags them in your photos. And if a mutual friend tags the restricted person you’ll get the option to approve the tag before it’s made official.
I’m on a guy’s restricted list, I believe, coz I’ve tested it. Basically all I see are news feed on his Wall 1) if he leaves a message on someone else’s publicly viewable Wall, 2)Events he is going, 3) The last post I put on his Wall on his birthday and 4) his latest relationship status. Somehow, he chose NOT to hide his relationship status from me. He hides his Likes, Music, TV shows and whatnots from me. So, everytime he “likes” a Page, I cannot see that news feed on his wall. Needless to say, he even hides ALL his photos from me. He hides his friends List. So, when he adds a friend, I cannot see that news feed on his Wall. No, I cannot see the older posts I left on his Wall or photos. The only way I can see those old posts/comments I made is through the my own old news Feed links on my Wall. Even then, I am not able to leave any comment. Well, I don’t know why he still calls us “friends”. I’m not bothered to delete him or restrict him like he does to me. I don’t spend as much time on FB like he does. So, whatever issue he has with me, that is his own childish problem.
Let’s say that you’ve placed someone on your restricted list. When you post a comment on a non-mutual friend’s “public” or “friends of friends” post, will your comment still show in the ticker of the person that is on your restricted list? What about if you do have mutual friends with your restricted list person?
I hate that stupid ticker. Really. It’s a Facebook megaphone.
I’ve been trying to test this out to see, but at the moment none of my friends are posting anything publicly that are current for me to comment on. My hunch is that yes, they will see a comment on a mutual friend’s public post in the ticker. I’m uncertain if they’ll see what you do on a non-mutual friend’s public post. It doesn’t LOOK like they would. I found a person’s public post and “liked” it then checked my timeline to see if it posts there. I’d say get a couple of friends to work with you and test it out. Have them tell you what they see. Keep in mind that the comment you leave wont show up in the streams immediately, give it like 10 min or so to be sure. I’m curious as well if this will work. I’ll see if I can find some friends to test it with me.
Oh, from what the other commenter says, it looks like if you post to a friend’s wall who doesn’t have things locked down it’ll be on your timeline/wall, as a mention. Not sure about comments and likes though.
Okay, thank you! I hate being at the mercy of everyone else’s privacy settings. I’ll let you know if I figure this out.
What about the comment our mutual friend makes on our post? Does my restricted friend see my post through a mutual friend’s comment on it?
No, they will not see your post on your wall even if a mutual friend comments on it since the post is blocked from them. If you post on your mutual friend’s wall, the person you restricted may see that post though depending on the settings your mutual friend has in place for that person. I hope this helps!