Ethan Brooks
How To Silence and Reactivate Facebook Story Sounds
Managing your Facebook feed can be kind of weird, but muting or unmuting stories is actually pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. It’s helpful if you wanna cut down on clutter or stop seeing stories from certain folks without unfriending them. Keep in mind, the process varies a bit depending on whether you’re on mobile or desktop, but the core ideas are similar.
Step 1: Open the Facebook App
Start by firing up the Facebook app on your phone. Make sure you’re logged in because otherwise, none of this will work. On some setups, you might need to check your app version and update if it’s kinda old — because of course, Facebook has to make it harder than necessary.
Step 2: Find Your Profile
Once open, tap that Profile icon usually in the top right corner. If you’re on desktop, it’s that little profile picture at the top. This takes you to your profile page where most of the magic happens.
Step 3: Get into Settings
Next, tap the menu icon, which is typically three horizontal lines in the app, then scroll or look around for Settings & Privacy. Some versions have a direct Settings button, others hide it deeper. Once there, find Settings. Usually, on mobile, it’s in a menu on the side or a dropdown. On the desktop, click the gear icon or the dropdown menu in the top right corner and select Settings & Privacy.
Step 4: Dive into Story Controls
Now, scroll to find the section called Audience & Visibility or something similar, and tap on Stories. Sometimes it’s tucked away under privacy controls, so you might need to dig a little. On mobile, it might be inside Story Settings — whatever gets you there. Here’s where a lot of folks get tripped up — just keep looking because Facebook packs these options in multiple places.
Step 5: View Muted Stories
In the stories settings, look for View Stories You’ve Muted. Tap on it — this is your list of muted stories. If you don’t see anything, no worries. Muted stories aren’t the same as hidden or blocked; it’s just the stories you’ve previously muted to not see on your feed.
Step 6: Unmute or Mute Stories
To unmute a story — just tap it and select Unmute or similar. Usually, there’s an option in a menu or a toggle. On some devices, it’s a long-press on the story itself, then selecting to unmute. On the flip side, if you want to mute a story, go back to your main feed, find the story, tap the three dots or options menu (vertical dots), and hit Mute. Done. You won’t see updates from that story anymore unless you unmute it later.
One thing that’s kind of weird — sometimes these options don’t show up immediately. It’s worth trying a restart of the app or even the phone if muting/unmuting doesn’t seem to stick. On one setup it worked the first time, on another, I needed to restart for it to register.
Extra Tips & Common Troubles
If muting or unmuting is acting up, double-check your app version under Settings > About > App Version. Making sure you’re on the latest build helps a lot. Also, toggle notifications off if you don’t want to be haunted by story alerts from muted folks. Because Facebook does love to ignore user preferences sometimes.
Another thing — muting a story does NOT stop someone from seeing you in their friends list or block them or anything. It’s just about hiding their stories from you, so you don’t get distracted or annoyed.
Summary
- Find your profile and head into Settings & Privacy
- Locate Stories under Audience & Visibility
- View and manage your muted stories list
- Mute or unmute stories from there or directly on the feed
Hopefully this shaves off a few hours for someone. Facebook’s UI is a mess sometimes, but once you understand where the controls are, it’s pretty easy to keep your feed tidy. Good luck muting those stubborn stories!