Facebook Filter

Facebook Filter 1.3.0 beta 2 is now available.

New in this version:

• Added app names to the “Apps to link and hide” tab, so you can select apps from a list without having to lookup the app’s ID number.
• Added app filter links to the toolbar button menu. Click the down-arrow on the side of the toolbar button to access all apps listed on the “Apps to link and hide” tab of the Options window.
• Added a “Help” tab to the Options window, with links to the Help page, the Home page, and email.
• Fixed a display problem with the Options window on Macs.

Please see the new-and-improved Help page for version 1.3.0 for lots more info and screenshots.

Note: this is a beta version, meaning that some things may be broken, and I may release followup beta versions soon after this one if problems are found. When the beta testing is finished, I’ll release the fully-tested version 1.3.0 on this blog. You’re welcome to install this beta version and help test it (bug reports gladly accepted via the Contact page) or wait until the full version is released. Thanks!

Install version 1.3.0 beta 2 here

Facebook Filter 1.3.0 beta 1 is now available.

New in this version:

• Display News Feed posts from a single app (Mafia Wars, FarmVille…)
• Hide ads and suggestions on all pages.
• Hide or move sections in the right sidebar: Requests, Suggestions, Sponsored (ads), Events, Pokes, and Connect With Friends.
• Add quick-access links: “All Friends” (to list all friends), “Phonebook” (to list friends’ phone numbers), and “Pages” (to list pages you’re a fan of). Look for these orange links on the left side of the Home page.
• Expand all filter links on the left side of the Home page (Messages, Photos, Friends…)
• Expand long News Feed posts and comments (with “See More” links).
• Compatibility for the Songbird Media Player and Web Browser.
• Don’t remove Recent Activity posts from fan pages you’re an admin for.

Please see the new-and-improved Help page for version 1.3.0 for lots more info and screenshots.

Note: this is a beta version, meaning that some things may be broken, and I may release followup beta versions soon after this one if problems are found. When the beta testing is finished, I’ll release the fully-tested version 1.3.0 on this blog. You’re welcome to install this beta version and help test it (bug reports gladly accepted via the Contact page) or wait until the full version is released. Thanks!

Install version 1.3.0 beta 1 here

Facebook Filter 1.2.3 is now available. It fixes another problem related to hiding posts when a custom friends list is selected on Facebook’s new Home page.

Install version 1.2.3 here

Facebook Filter 1.2.2 is now available. It fixes a problem related to hiding posts when a custom friends list is selected on Facebook’s new Home page.

Facebook Filter 1.2.1 is now available. It fixes a problem with staying on the “Live Feed” (now called “Most Recent”) when using the new Home page that Facebook is releasing today.

Recent Activity posts

Facebook Filter can now remove Recent Activity posts from your Wall! Facebook may have removed the ability to stop these posts from being added to your Wall, but now version 1.2.0 can automatically remove them. Just go to your Wall occasionally to let Facebook Filter scan it, and you’ll see the posts quickly disappear. This feature can be enabled with a new checkbox on the Options window, but is disabled by default.

Stay on the Live Feed

This version also adds the ability to keep your Home page on the “Live Feed”, which has posts in order by time, rather than the “News Feed”, which is a summary of “interesting” recent posts, not necessarily in any order. (The name “News Feed” is confusing because the blue filter button at the top left is also called “News Feed”, but there are actually two feeds.) Most users will want to stay on the “Live Feed” to be sure all posts are displayed, and in order by time. This feature makes sure that happens, even when Facebook occasionally switches you back to the summary “News Feed” without asking you. This feature can be enabled with a new checkbox on the Options window, but is disabled by default.

Allowed applications

Better handling of the list of applications that shouldn’t be hidden. It also now handles application names with special characters, such as the ™ symbol.

Facebook’s new interface

Added support for the new interface Facebook is testing with select users.

If you use Facebook Filter, become a fan of its page on Facebook and help spread the word!

Version 1.1.11 adds compatibility for the new streamlined interface that Facebook is currently beta testing with some users.  You can read more about the new streamlined interface in the article at Technorati.

It also adds the ability to filter messages when a custom friends list is selected in the list of filters on the left side of the Home page. For example, if you create a list of friends called “Work”, and then select that filter on the Home page, this version of Facebook Filter will still hide the messages you tell it to. Previous versions only worked on the actual “News Feed” filter at the top left of the Home page.

Version 1.1.10 fixes a problem with “was tagged in an album” messages when using Facebook in French.

Version 1.1.9 adds the ability to hide “commented on someone’s status” and “likes someone’s status” messages, which appear on the “summary” News Feed.

In case you’re confused by Facebook’s “News Feed” and “Live Feed”, here’s a quick explanation… When you select the blue “News Feed” button in the filter list at the top left of the Home page, it displays two links at the top: “Live Feed” and “News Feed”, one of which will be selected already:

Or:

The “Live Feed” displays all the most recent posts in order by time, with the most recent posts at the top.

The “News Feed” (which is confusing because the blue filter is also called News Feed) probably should have been named “Summary Feed”, because that’s what it is — it displays a summary of the most important posts over the last few hours. But they’re not necessarily in order by time, and Facebook determines what’s “important”, based on things like which friends you comment on most, how many comments a post has, etc.  The “commented on someone’s status” and “likes someone’s status” messages only appear on this summary feed, and can now be hidden with version 1.1.9.