You can make your Friends list private in a few quick steps.Sean Gallup/Getty Images

• You can change your Facebook privacy settings so that only your friends, or no one at all, can see your friends list.
• By default, your friends list is public, so anyone with a Facebook account can see who you're connected to.
• You can even hide your friends list from specific people, while leaving the list visible to the rest of your friends.
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By default, your Facebook profile information, posts, and even your friends are available for all to see. It's often convenient for your friends list to be public, because it can help people find and connect with you.

If you prefer, you can restrict who can see your entire friends list using Facebook's privacy settings. You might not want everyone to see it, especially if you want to mask the identity of some friends from others. Or perhaps you just value your privacy and don't want everyone to know who you're connected to online.

How to hide your friends on Facebook via web browser

1. Open Facebook in a web browser.

2. Click the downward-pointing arrow at the top right of the webpage.

3. In the dropdown menu, click "Settings & privacy," then click "Settings."

Click the downward-facing arrow, then "Settings & privacy," then "Settings."Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider

4. In the pane on the left side of the screen, click "Privacy."

5. In the section called "How people can find and contact you," click "Edit" next to "Who can see your friends list?"

Beside "Who can see your friends list?" click "Edit."Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider

6. Click the downward-facing arrow to reveal a list of options. You can choose: "Public," "Friends," "Friends except...," "Specific friends," "Only me," or "Custom."

Select an option from the dropdown list.Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider

If you click "Custom," you can choose to enter specific names. For example, you can share your friends list with all of your friends except for Bob Smith. After adding a specific person, click "Save Changes."

Choose who you want to exclude your friends list from and click "Save Changes."Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider

How to hide your friends on Facebook via a mobile device

1. Open the Facebook app on your device.

2. Tap the three horizontal lines (this is the hamburger menu). On an iPhone, this is in the lower right of the screen; on an Android, it's in the upper right.

3. Tap "Settings & Privacy."

Expand the Settings & Privacy section to see the Settings menu.Dave Johnson/Business Insider

4. Tap "Settings."

5. Scroll down to the "Privacy" section and tap "Privacy Settings."

6. Scroll down to the section called "How People Find and Contact You" and tap "Who can see your friends list?"

Select "Who can see your friends list?"Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider

7. Choose who you want to be able to see your friends list. You can choose: "Public," "Friends," "Friends except...," "Specific friends," or "Only me." If you choose "Friends except," you can block specific people from seeing your friends list.

Select an option from the list.Grace Eliza Goodwin/Insider