15 Facebook Hacks You Need Right Now

Facebook has become the ultimate addiction of our wired-in generation. Even when it drastically changes its layout and causes mass protest, it doesn't matter. Those who were the first to dissent will subsequently come flocking back to our social media shepherds. It is the new opium of the people. Literally.

But you still have some control over the good ‘Book. From deleting your searches to disabling message-read receipts, here are 15 secrets you can unlock to help save your sanity, one click at a time.

Find all the public photos of you floating around

Go to your Activity Log, select “photos,” then “photos of you,” then “public.” This’ll reveal that Halloween costume from 2007 you thought everyone forgot about. They didn’t. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about it, short of asking the person to take it down.
 

Block annoying content from your feed

Don’t give a shit about #TheDress? Download this extension and enter terms you want blocked on your page. Great for avoiding Netflix spoilers as well.
 

Conceal specific statuses from people

Sometimes a friend hasn’t quite reached limited-profile status, but you don’t want them to see a specific status on a one-time basis. Maybe you took a trip and didn't invite them. When you’re about to post, click the “Friends” button in the lower-right corner, then “More Options,” then “Custom.” From there you can choose specific people to conceal that post from. Be careful, though; Facebook will save that setting for future posts, so clear it when you’re done.

Save videos you want to watch later

Obviously, that video of the baby seal waddling on a surfboard is of the utmost importance, but your boss may not be on the same page. Facebook rolled out a new feature that lets you bookmark videos and stories to view later by clicking the downward arrow on the upper right of the video and selecting "save video." You can access all saved content on the left-hand nav bar.

Disable message-read receipts

You read their message, but you don’t want them to know you have absolutely no interest in responding. This Chrome app (for desktop only, sadly) makes your "Oh, I guess I didn’t see that..." excuse all the more plausible.

Get notified when someone unfriends you

Save yourself the sting of searching for a friend’s profile only to discover they’ve heartlessly terminated your friendship God knows how long ago. This extension will let you know by adding a "lost friends" tab to your page. Just remember: the truth hurts sometimes.

Clear your search history

In one of the most insidious moves of all, Facebook stores every page, person, and one-night stand you’ve ever searched for. Click the downward triangle on the upper-right corner of your page and select “Activity Log.” Hidden under the unassuming name “more” on the lefthand bar you’ll find “search.” Behold, all of your dirty laundry saved in perpetuity. And while it’s not visible to the public, you can clear your searches one by one and destroy the evidence.

Download a friend’s album

If you want to snag all your friend’s photos from that trip you took together, download this Chrome extension that lets you zip them to your desktop, rather than saving each pic one by one.

Be invisible on chat to only certain people

Facebook is all about friends, but not all friends are created equal. Click the settings wheel in your chat bar, and go to Advanced Settings. From there, you can turn off chat for everyone but a select few names.

Prevent apps from posting on your behalf

When you connect to an app through Facebook, you often agree to let it access a bunch of your account information (friend list, bio, etc.), and even post to your wall. However, you can disable it from ever posting on your behalf by going into Settings, clicking the Apps section on the left-hand bar, selecting the app in question, scrolling down to the "This App Can," and un-ticking "Post."
 

Download your entire Facebook history

Want to see the first message you ever sent or have a backup copy of all your photos? Go to Settings, General, and click “Download a copy” to get a zip file of all the goods.
 

Hide the note someone tagged you in six years ago

Have an embarrassing collection of other people’s notes cluttering up your page? Go to your profile, find your Friends photo grid, and click the edit button in the upper-right corner. From there you can “manage sections” and uncheck areas you don’t want displayed, like your friend looking for restaurant recommendations in San Francisco circa 2008.

See what your profile looks like to the public

Go to your cover photo, click those three dots, and select "View as" to see what exactly you’re showing the world.
 

Invite all your friends to like a page at once

Spamming sucks, so use this one sparingly. Open up your console in Firefox with the command Ctrl+Shift+K. A window will appear where you can enter the following code to avoid inviting people one by one:

javascript:elms=document.getElementsByName(“checkableitems[]”);for (i=0;i < elms.length;i++){if (elms[i].type=”checkbox” )elms[i].click()};
 

Block obnoxious app invites

If you've had it with all those Farmville invites from your freshman-year roommate you don't have the heart to unfriend, there's a way to banish them for good. In your settings, click "Blocking" on the left-hand bar and type the name of your invite-happy friend(s) in the "Block app invites" section.

Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, and get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.

Ali Drucker is a senior editor at Maxim. If you use your middle name as a last name on Facebook, you've lost her respect forever. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.