7 Hidden Facebook Features Most People Don’t Know (2026)

Facebook keeps adding features that most people never notice. In 2011, when Facebook had 600 million users, a guest writer here shared six lesser-known tricks: friendship pages, downloading your data, your “impact”, photo badges, the friends phonebook and secret chat smileys. Facebook now has around three billion users and most of those features have changed or disappeared. Here are seven hidden Facebook features worth knowing in 2026.

Quick answer: The most useful hidden Facebook features are the Feeds tab with Favorites (a chronological feed of people you choose), Download your information, Your activity off Meta technologies, Memories, Manage posts for bulk archiving or deleting, the hidden Message requests folder, and profile lock in supported countries. Most live under Settings & privacy or in the Accounts Center.

1. Feeds and Favorites: a calmer timeline

Open the Feeds tab (in the menu or shortcuts bar) to see posts in time order from Friends, Groups, Pages or your Favorites. Add up to 30 people and Pages to Favorites so their posts appear first.

2. Download your information

The 2011 tip still applies, with a new location: go to Settings & privacy > Settings > Accounts Center > Your information and permissions > Download your information. Our guide shows how to download Facebook data, photos and messages.

3. See and clear activity from other sites

Under Accounts Center > Your information and permissions > Your activity off Meta technologies, you can see which apps and websites shared your activity with Meta, clear that history and turn off future tracking.

4. Memories

Search for “Memories” in the menu to see what you posted on this day in past years. You can also hide certain people or dates so painful memories don’t come up.

5. Manage posts in bulk

On your profile, open the menu next to “Add to story” and choose Activity log, or use Manage posts to select old posts and archive, delete or change who can see them, many at a time.

6. The hidden Message requests folder

Messages from people who aren’t your friends often go to Message requests (and a further Spam folder) in Messenger, so you may have missed real messages. Check it in Messenger under the menu or your chats list.

7. Lock your profile

In some countries, including India, you can lock your profile from the menu on your profile page. Non-friends then see only a limited version of your profile and can’t zoom in on your profile picture.

How to find more hidden Facebook features

Facebook moves settings around often, so the quickest way to find any option is the search box at the top of Settings. The official Facebook Help Center also lists current menu paths, and the Privacy Checkup tool walks you through the most important privacy and security settings step by step.

What happened to the 2011 tricks?

• Friendship pages (shared posts and photos between two friends) were phased out as Facebook redesigned profiles.
• Facebook Impact and photo badges were retired long ago.
• The friends phonebook is gone; contact syncing moved to the Messenger app.
• Chat smileys became emoji and reactions, used in Messenger.

On a slow phone or connection? Try Facebook Lite. Parents can check our guide to the Facebook age limit.

FAQ

Where are Facebook’s privacy settings now?

Most account and privacy controls moved to the Accounts Center, which Facebook shares with Instagram and Messenger.

Can I see my Facebook feed in chronological order?

Yes. Use the Feeds tab and choose Friends or Favorites.

Is profile lock available everywhere?

No. It’s offered only in some countries.

Originally written by guest author Saket Narayan, who blogged about web apps and cloud computing at TechSplurge. Updated for 2026 by QuickOnlineTips.