How to Turn Off Reels on Facebook, and What Works Instead
Facebook doesn't let you delete Reels from the app. It does give you five smaller controls, and stacked together they take Reels from constant to occasional.
How to turn off Reels on Facebook: you can't, completely. As of October 2026 Facebook has no setting that removes Reels from the app. What you can do is stop videos autoplaying in Media settings, hide Reels and creators you don't want, snooze or unfollow the accounts that post them, and read your feed through the Feeds tab instead of Home.
Each of those removes a slice of the Reels you see. Together they turn the Reels shelf from the main event into background noise, and none of them affects your friends, your Page or anything you've posted.
Reels are Facebook's short vertical videos, shown in a dedicated Reels tab and mixed into your Home feed as a row or as full-screen posts. Facebook's Help Center doesn't document an off switch for them, because Reels are one of the main ways Facebook now shows content from accounts you don't follow. Recommendations from strangers are the point of the format, not a side effect.
That's why the realistic goal is fewer Reels, not zero. The controls that help fall into three groups: ones that stop the noise (autoplay), ones that teach Facebook what you don't want (hiding and snoozing), and one that sidesteps recommendations altogether (the Feeds tab). The first and last work immediately; the middle group takes a few days of use.
The flip side matters if you post video yourself. The same recommendation system that fills your feed with Reels is what puts a Page's Reels in front of people who don't follow it, which is why Reels are the format Pages use to reach new viewers, and why some add Facebook video views so a new Reel doesn't open with an empty counter.
Can you remove reels from your Facebook feed?
Not as a category. As of October 2026, there's no toggle in Settings that hides all Reels from Home, and the Reels tab stays in the app. What you can remove is specific Reels and specific sources, which over time changes how many you see:
- Hide a Reel: open the three-dot menu on the Reel and choose to hide it. Facebook uses that as a signal about similar videos.
- Hide a creator: from the same menu, choose not to see content from that account.
- Snooze: from the menu on a post, snooze a person, Page or group for 30 days when you want a break without unfollowing.
- Unfollow: unfollow Pages or people whose Reels you never want, without unfriending anyone.
How do you block reels on Facebook from one source?
Use the creator-level option above or unfollow the Page. If the account is harassing you rather than just annoying you, block it instead, which removes it from your Facebook entirely, not only from Reels.
How do you stop reels from autoplaying?
Through Facebook's autoplay setting, which covers Reels in the feed along with other videos. Facebook's Help Center lists three choices: autoplay on mobile data and Wi-Fi, on Wi-Fi only, or never autoplay videos. With Never selected, videos wait for a tap instead of starting as you scroll.
In the app, open the menu, go to Settings and privacy, then Settings, and look for Media under Preferences, where the autoplay options sit. On a computer, Facebook's help page gives the path: your profile photo, Settings and privacy, Settings, then Media under Preferences. Facebook also notes that videos may need a tap anyway when your connection is slow.
Autoplay is the control with the biggest effect for the least effort, because a Reel that doesn't start is much easier to scroll past.
How do you clear your reels history?
Facebook keeps a record of your activity in Activity log, and that's the place to review and delete things you've watched or interacted with. It's also how you find watched or saved reels on Facebook before you clear anything. Facebook's Help Center doesn't document a single button that clears only Reels history as of October 2026, and the labels inside Activity log change between app versions, so search Settings for watch history or Activity log rather than following an old screenshot.
Clearing history removes your record, but it isn't the same as resetting recommendations. If what you want is a different Reels feed, the stronger tool is the one Meta built for it, covered in how to reset Facebook Reels and the feed algorithm, along with how long it takes to work.
Can you hide reels from one person?
Yes, by the person rather than by the Reel. Snooze them for 30 days, or unfollow them; you stay friends and they aren't told either way. Both take their posts out of your feed, Reels included.
If they show up in the Reels tab as a recommendation rather than in your feed, use the three-dot menu on one of their Reels and choose the option not to see content from them. That's aimed at recommendations, which is where most Reels come from.
Why do I keep seeing reels I don't like?
Because watching counts, even when you didn't enjoy it. Reels are ranked largely on what holds attention: a Reel you watched to the end, or watched twice out of disbelief, tells Facebook to show you more like it. A like barely matters by comparison.
Three habits fix most of it. Scroll past the topics you don't want quickly instead of hate-watching. Hide the worst examples instead of ignoring them. And give the system a few days, because the effect isn't instant. If you want to skip the ranked feed entirely, open the Feeds tab, which shows posts from friends, groups and Pages you follow in the order they were posted, with far less room for recommended Reels.
Can you turn off reels on Facebook Lite?
There's no off switch there either, and Facebook Lite has a smaller menu, so not every control from the main app is in the same place. The person-level controls, snooze and unfollow, are the most consistent across versions.
If autoplay is the main problem on Lite, look for the video or data settings in its menu; Lite is built for slow connections, and its data options are often what limits video. Because Lite changes on its own schedule, check its own settings rather than assuming they match the main app.
What Reels look like from the posting side
Everything above is a viewer pushing Reels away. On the other side, Pages post Reels precisely because Facebook shows them to people who don't follow the Page, which a normal video post rarely reaches. How to make a Reel on Facebook covers what decides whether one travels, and what Facebook counts as a video view explains the number under it.
That number is the first thing a scrolling viewer sees. Facebook video views adds to it on a Reel or video; it doesn't make Facebook recommend the Reel, and viewers who don't want Reels can still hide it. Every Facebook service is on the Facebook page.
Facebook Reels settings, answered
How do I turn off Reels on Facebook?
You can't switch them off completely. You can stop autoplay in Media settings, hide Reels and creators, snooze or unfollow accounts, and use the Feeds tab, which together cut Reels down a lot.
How do I stop Facebook Reels from playing automatically?
Set video autoplay to Never in Settings and privacy, Settings, Media. Facebook's options are autoplay on mobile data and Wi-Fi, on Wi-Fi only, or never.
Can I remove the Reels tab from Facebook?
No. As of October 2026 Facebook doesn't offer a setting to remove the Reels tab or all Reels from the app.
How do I see fewer Reels on Facebook?
Scroll past unwanted topics quickly, hide the Reels you dislike, choose not to see content from specific creators, and read through the Feeds tab instead of the ranked Home feed.
Does hiding a Reel tell the creator?
No. Hiding a Reel, snoozing or unfollowing someone doesn't send them a notification.
How do I clear my Reels watch history on Facebook?
Use Activity log to review and delete your activity. Facebook doesn't document a single Reels-only clear button, so search Settings for watch history or Activity log.
Keep reading
- Facebook video views — Reels are how Pages reach strangers, and Facebook video views adds to the count those strangers see first.
- How to reset your Facebook algorithm — Show more, Show less, the Feeds tab and how long they take.
- How to make a Reel on Facebook — What decides whether a Reel travels.
- What Facebook counts as a video view — The defined event behind the number under a Reel.