Facebook is making it easier to deal with breakups, socially

The social media has long gone past teenage-centric users, and have more realistic, serious ramifications in the present day. In line with its constant efforts of syncing virtual media with everyday life, Facebook is testing a new feature that will help you see less of your old partner/spouse/husband, and remove you from all previous photos and posts that you are tagged in, with him/her.

The new initiative is an effort to ease the emotional impact and numerous embarrassing situations, that you would wish to keep off public eyes. If you’ve been through a breakup recently, chances are that you would not want to see too much of your ex-partner — at least not till the phase of anger and disappointment passes. In this phase, the old photographs posted at the pinnacle of your relationship serve as a painful reminder of the time gone by, and how things have changed. To provide a remedy to this, Facebook’s latest feature will remove you from all, previously tagged photographs and posts, without notifying your former partner that you have done so. Also, he will not be notified when you change your relationship status to ‘single’.

In ways, these features will save you of any confrontation or unpleasant exchanges between you and your former partner, should you block/unfriend him/her from your Facebook profile, and then happen to bump into the person in reality. The increased privacy and sensitivity of these new actions may also make the social media a warmer place to be on. Breakups are often the worst thing to happen at any moment, and what makes it worse is to bear the brunt of social interest. Often, such updates on Facebook end up drawing a lot of unwarranted attention, which is possibly the worst thing that you need to deal with, at such moments.

The new initiative is a part of Facebook’s efforts to make the massive social media platform a happier place for everyone — one where people would love to sign in to. In light of its humanitarian efforts, Facebook has been activating its Safety Check tool in light of recent catastrophes and terrorist attacks, to enable better communication among families and friends at times of crisis. The new breakup protection feature is currently being tested in the United States, and based on feedback, will possibly be rolled out worldwide in the near future.