Facebook to Launch New Tools to Help Ease Breakups

By Lorraine Caballero, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, November 21, 2015

Facebook is planning to launch a new tool that aims to help ease breakups between two ex-lovers without the need to unfriend or unblock each other.

The social media giant recently announced that it will start testing out new tools that will help ex-lovers cope better after their breakup. Facebook will provide users the option to filter the information they encounter about their former flame on the social network without having to click either the Unfriend or Block button, according to TechCrunch.

The option to activate the new breakup tools will pop up once a Facebook user changes relationship status on the network. To give post-breakup Facebook users virtual space, they will be given the option to filter posts from an ex-lover, an AP report published on CNBC says.

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"This work is part of our ongoing effort to develop resources for people who may be going through difficult moments in their lives," the AP quotes Facebook product manager Kelly Winter's statement in a blog post.

Opting to see less of the person on Facebook will mean that the user will no longer see posts from that person in the News Feed. In addition, that person will also be omitted from the tag and message suggestions. It is worth noting that the ex will not know if a user has used the new breakup tool on the network.

Users can also limit the posts that their ex-lover can see of them on Facebook. They can also hide posts from that person. This means the person in question can only see posts they are tagged in, and those shared publicly or the Timeline of a mutual friend.

Facebook also provides a virtual version of throwing away and burning old photos. With the new tools, users will be able to scour through and edit the privacy of previous posts. This will involve manually untagging themselves from posts and photos.

Facebook is planning to launch the new breakup tool across the United States on mobile. Activating the new tools is optional. Changes in the said tools may also be implemented before Facebook rolls them out to other countries.