Facebook's awkward new feature that could put friendships to the test

Facebook's new feature that could test friendships. Photo / 123rf

Facebook has launched a new feature that will allow you to press the "snooze" button on friends and family who over-share their life story.

The "snooze" button, which will roll out over the next week, allows you to temporarily unfollow a person, page or group, meaning you won't be able to see any of their posts for 30 days.

The good news is your frustration will be kept secret as the person you are "snoozing" will not be notified.

The setting can also be reversed at any time and Facebook will notify you when the snooze period is about to end.

"Seeing too many photos of your uncle's new cat? Is your friend tempting you with endless photos of ramen on her Japan trip?" said Shruthi Muraleedharan, product manager at Facebook.

"It turns out, you're not alone. We've heard from people that they want more options to determine what they see in News Feed and when they see it.

"With Snooze, you don't have to unfollow or unfriend permanently, rather just stop seeing someone's posts for a short period of time."

To take a 30-day hiatus from your oversharing friend, you will have to click on the menu icon at the top right-hand corner of a post and select "snooze" from the drop-down menu.

If you're looking for a more permanent solution, you can also unfollow friends, or hide or report individual posts in this way.