Facebook's New Tool Makes Breaking Up a Little Easier

The heartache of a broken relationship may soon become less painful on Facebook.

"Starting today, we are testing tools to help people manage how they interact with their former partners on Facebook after a relationship has ended," wrote Facebook product manager Kelly Winters.

The world's largest social network is trying to help people who have split up with a spouse or lover, offering a new feature that spares them from constantly seeing their former partner's posts and pictures in their news feed.

Facebook will begin testing the breakup protection on mobile devices in the U.S. before deciding whether to offer it to all of its 1.5 billion accountholders worldwide.

The optional tool is designed for people who don't want to take the more extreme measure of blocking an ex-lover from their Facebook network.

After changing their relationship status of Facebook, people will also be allowed to remove their names from past posts linking them to a former partner.

When a user chooses to "see less" of someone, their posts will not show up on the News Feed. Users can also remove their own videos and status updates from their ex's News Feed and untag themselves from old posts. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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