Skip to main content

How to: Get rid of the Facebook Timeline

timeline turnbackWe live in a post-Timeline era. The redesign of the profile page has been formally introduced and whether we like it or not, it’s here to stay. Facebook introduced Timeline back in the fall of 2011 at f8, and it quickly became clear that this would replace the profile page as we’d known it.

The user backlash has been swift and lasting, and there are still stifled cries of dissent even though Facebook has taken its sweet time entirely rolling out Timeline. But the time has come: brands and business will soon have access to the new format, and the continuing implementation of Open Graph apps mean that resistance is most definitely futile.

Related Videos

Lucky for you, there is a way to at least trick yourself into reliving the good old days.

Social Fixer

Social Fixer for Facebook is a browser extension that allows you to customize your Facebook experience (disclaimer: it doesn’t support IE). There are loads of things you can do here, like create tabbed News Feeds for a quicker and more browser-like look, install themes, hide comments after you seen them before, or even customize the font. But perhaps most tempting is that fact that you can get rid of Timeline.

To be more specific, what Social Fixer does is change the way you see Facebook. After installing the plugin, head to Facebook and then hit the wrench icon at the top of the page and then select Social Fixer Options.

Now  you are more than welcome to leave whatever you want checked and personalize how you see Facebook, but if all you want is to rid yourself of Timeline, uncheck everything. Then go to the Timeline section under options and check these options: Display posts in a single column; hide cover photos; hide the friends box; and hide maps of check-ins. Then save, and go ahead and check out your handy-work by viewing a Timeline enabled profile. It should have reverted to a much simpler style, although it won’t be identical to your original profile page. It’s definitely less-crowded and image heavy than the alternative.

Timeline Remove

This extension is currently available for IR, Firefox, and Chrome (Safari support is in the works). The tool basically strips out Timeline for you, but everyone else will still able to see your Timeline (unless of course, they’ve also installed the extension). Basically it’s only to preserve your own sanity if you just can’t stand looking at it. Sure it’s rather simplistic but from the mounting complaints we’ve seen, we’re sure some are desperate enough for the quick fix. 

Editors' Recommendations

Elon Musk says Twitter will launch pricier Blue tier free of ads
A digital image of Elon Musk in front of a stylized background with the Twitter logo repeating.

Elon Musk said on Sunday that Twitter is planning to offer a higher-priced Blue subscription that will have zero ads.

Musk, who acquired Twitter in October 2022 in a deal worth $44 billion, didn’t say how much the new tier will cost, nor when it will launch.

Read more
Thanks to Tapbots’ Ivory app, I’m finally ready to ditch Twitter for good
Profile displayed in Ivory app

Ever since Elon Musk took ownership of Twitter, it’s been one chaotic new thing after another. You literally cannot go a day (or a few days or even a week) without some stupid new change to the site — whether it’s about checkmarks for verified or Twitter Blue subscriber accounts, how links to other social networks are banned and then reversed, view counts on Tweets, or something else. I can’t keep up with every little thing that has happened since the beginning of November, and it feels like the spotlight is always on the toxicity of the site in general.

New Twitter alternatives have been popping up recently, but it seems that the most popular one continues to be Mastodon. I originally made a Mastodon account back in 2018 when it first launched, but it never clicked with me back then, and I eventually went back to Twitter. With the Musk mess, I tried going back to Mastodon, but again, it didn’t really click with me — until Tweetbot developer, Tapbots, revealed its next project: Ivory.
The significance of Tapbots and Tweetbot

Read more
What is Reddit?
A person using Reddit on a Macbook.

If you spend a lot of time online, chances are you’ve heard of Reddit. The site once billed itself as the “front page of the internet,” and that’s not an empty boast. As of November 2022, Reddit is the fourth most visited site in the U.S., according to Semrush, and the sixth most visited worldwide. So, what exactly is Reddit? Essentially, it’s a massive collection of forums where people can share news and content or comment on other people’s posts. Here's everything you need to know.
Further reading

Best subreddits
Most popular YouTube videos

Read more