The purpose of Facebook groups is to encourage users to join and become part of extended communities, linked to a local area, a specific cause, an interest or hobby, or something else.
Some of the most popular groups on Facebook connect members of the same town or village within a community group for ease of sharing notices and invite users from all over the world to connect through likeminded interests and hobbies.
But regardless of the purpose and meaning behind a group, one thing that users need to get their heads around is how group notifications and updates work on their feed.
When you join a group, the presence of updates whenever someone posts to the group can be annoying – especially when the updates that appear on your feed aren’t relevant, and then there are hundreds or thousands of group members posting around the clock.
Which is why so many group members choose to stay in a group but unfollow it, thereby turning off the notifications and updates, so they can pick and choose when they check the group and see the content.
Here’s a quick guide to managing your engagement with a group, sharing how to unfollow a group – and what to do when you’re ready to leave the group completely.
3 Steps to Unfollow a Group
- Via the search bar or the Groups content block in your Facebook menu, navigate to the group that you want to unfollow
- Click on the dropdown button that says ‘Joined’
- Choose the option to ‘Unfollow Group’
Alongside the unfollow button you will see options to ‘Manage Notifications’ and ‘Leave Group’.
Click on ‘Manage Notifications’ if you still want to receive some updates but want to limit the number of notifications you get. Click on ‘Leave Group’ if you no longer want to be a part of that community.
What Happens When You Unfollow a Group?
When you unfollow a group, you will stop receiving notifications about updates in the group. You will also stop seeing updates from the group in your Facebook feed.
If and when you want to find out what’s happening in a group, you will still be able to access all the content by heading to the group feed – this information will simply no longer be available via your notifications and direct updates.
This is the best option for someone who wants to remain part of a group but is keen to limit the number of notifications they receive and who wants to tidy up their Facebook feed.
We hope this helps! Facebook Groups are a great tool for those who want to connect with specific demographics, local communities, and likeminded individuals on Facebook. But managing the notifications is a crucial part of enjoying the group – without becoming overwhelmed!
