How to disable Facebook contacts in the BlackBerry 10 contacts app

Having Facebook contacts at your fingertips is great unless of course, you don't really want them there. Luckily, there is an easy solution to remove them on BlackBerry 10 if they're not needed.

By Bla1ze on 7 Mar 2013 03:56 pm

If you're like pretty much everyone else is the world, you likely have a Facebook account. If you're like me though, you probably don't really use it. For me I keep it around to talk to a small amount of family members and very little else. I have very few contacts on there and I'm not really looking to add any more. For that reason alone, I don't really need those contacts on my phone even though I do like having the app on there and present in the BlackBerry Hub.

Apparently there is a lot of folks out there, while maybe not for the same reasons, really don't want their Facebook contacts on their device and as such have been wondering how to remove them from their BlackBerry 10 device. Luckily, it's a pretty simple process to remove them and still keep the Facebook app active on your device as well as in the BlackBerry Hub. If you're among those wanting to know how it's done, you can jump below and read through the full tutorial.

Go to Contacts app and swipe down from the top.

In order to get everything working properly, you're going to want to start with the contacts app as that's where your Facebook contacts are stored and where your device is pulling them from anytime they appear. So you can tap on the contacts icon and go from there:

Once launched, you'll want to swipe down from the top to reveal the settings icon.
Tap on the settings icon to be taken into the settings screen.

Contacts settings screen, this where you disable the Facebook slider.

Now that you have the contacts setting screen open, you will see a listing of all the apps that are using and pulling in contacts into the contacts app. From there, you can disable any of your choosing but for now we're just concentrating on Facebook:

On the Facebook slider, just pull it over into the "Off" position.

Verify that Facebook contacts have indeed been removed.

With that step completed, you can slide back into the contacts app and view the list of apps using or pulling in contacts once again. You should find now, that Facebook has been removed and no longer showing you any of the contacts you once had listed.

Verify that Facebook still remains in the BlackBerry Hub.

If you followed the steps accordingly and Facebook contacts are now no longer showing within the contacts app, you can jump back into the BlackBerry Hub to ensure that Facebook is still appearing there. If so, you've done everything correctly. If not, you may want to try again. You will still also find that the Facebook app also remains on your device as none of these changes affect the removal of that app or your account login. That's it! An easy fix to an annoying problem for some.

Topics: BlackBerry 10 Help Facebook Help, How-To & Tips

Bla1ze 2966 (articles) 6510 (forum posts)

57 comments

Boots4283 Mar 7, 2013 at 4:02 pm

Is it sad these articles sadden me because I don't have a z10 yet? sigh

FIRST

M--Canuck Mar 7, 2013 at 4:06 pm

Nice I can now comment using my Z10. Awesome

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The Me Mar 7, 2013 at 4:15 pm

How can we see people with a Z10 (for BBM Video Chat or Audio Chat)? At the moment, if someone has a BBOS (Legacy) or PlayBook, they'll show up in the BBM Video tab, but if they have a Z10, it removes them, even though they have a PlayBook and a Z10.

mnc76 Mar 7, 2013 at 5:59 pm

That IS weird. Lokks like it may be an issue with the fact people get one BB I'd for all their devices. Hence if you have a Z10 + PB the z10 doesn't know which device you want to contact that user through...

00stryder Mar 7, 2013 at 4:20 pm

Thanks Bla1ze, this annoyed me somewhat with the native contacts app on the PlayBook.

mckillio Mar 7, 2013 at 4:26 pm

Can you not merge them like on the PB?

soapydarren Mar 7, 2013 at 4:27 pm

This doesn't seem to work for me cos each time the device is turned off and then back on, it automatically syncs the contacts from fb, twitter,etc back on and sometimes when you do some editing......same thing happens. dunno if that's one of the things the OS updates may have fixed cos I don't have the updates yet.

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feldmen01 Mar 7, 2013 at 4:27 pm

You can "Link" contacts, which works very well.

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Keepin_Pace Mar 7, 2013 at 4:37 pm

Most people make the mistake of thinking it's still showing Facebook contacts when it has been turned off. In some cases what is happening is the contact has been linked and the contact shows the picture from Facebook.

Because the 'F' is showing in corner up picture its an honest mistake.

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Trick_Deck Mar 7, 2013 at 4:38 pm

Ok so question. If you do this does this remove FB from being linked to the contacts you actually do have in your phone? Or does it simply removed the excess fb contacts that it brings over?

Sparro Mar 7, 2013 at 5:01 pm

I have done that, and yes the facebook contacts disappear. But... When I start a new email and I start typing the name of the recipiant, my facebook contacts are in that list and I don't want them there. I have to go through dozens of names before I get to the one I want, that is in my contacts app.
How can I fix this?

peacebelfast Mar 8, 2013 at 4:49 am

I have exactly the same problem, all 1500 Facebook "friends" show up when I start typing, it is driving me crazy.

verginiamaro Mar 8, 2013 at 7:22 am

It's been driving me crazy too! I have to be honest, it's the thing I HATE the most about gmail (and Android phones). I keep my contact list small so that I can easily get to the contacts I need. Having Facebook auto-populate my contact list is the most infuriating thing ever because it ensures that I have to scroll through 20 or so people before I get to the person I need. I miss my old Bold right now...

peacebelfast Mar 8, 2013 at 7:37 am

I actually put my sim back in my Curve just now to send texts. I have just downloaded the the new os for the Z10, and I will see if it is improved. I Ihave to be able to send messages easily or it defeats the purpose of the Z10. I do love everything else about the Z10 though.

koolaje Mar 8, 2013 at 7:41 am

I would try something like this: logout from facebook, then do the above. Restart your blackberry and try to type an email to see if ur facebook friends are still there. It might be that since you disable the link between facebooks contacts to contacts app, it still hangs in there before you refresh it.

And it might be better for all to disable the link before logging in your facebook app so it wont populate in the first place. Sorry i cant test this as i'll be getting my z10 next week.

dcbo89 Mar 7, 2013 at 5:14 pm

Aha this is a test

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soapydarren Mar 7, 2013 at 5:36 pm

Question..... did you understand my post after reading? I never implied that I think or thought anything. I said each time I turn the device off and on again,it automatically turns them on and that means having to manually turn them off again. It happens a lot when I edit as well and that includes linking contacts. I am not mistaking one for the other as i know very well what I am saying. Most times when I edit, it sometimes remains turned in until I do a restart and then manually turn them off. And on every restart, i have to manually turn them off in I don't want them displayed. Also using the accessing the contacts from the call app shows you all rather than just the phone book ones. I don't know if it was designed to be that way but that's not how I want mine as i only want phone book contacts to appear in my phonebook...i want other contacts synced for different reasons but definitely not for them to appear in my phonebook.

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soapydarren Mar 7, 2013 at 5:46 pm

Can anyone tell me how to get Google Talk on my z10? I can seem it integrated into the hub on one of the photos shown. Thanks a lot.

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mnc76 Mar 7, 2013 at 6:05 pm

I don't own a z10 (yet) but that may be the icon for gmail (not gtalk) you're seeing?

Edit: sorry!! You are correct! That is CLEARLY gtalk!!! Duh... :)

Tenkawa Mar 7, 2013 at 5:59 pm

Soapy: Google Talk app by Blackberry.

Kandoo-BB Mar 7, 2013 at 6:28 pm

I just merge on the PlayBook surely this option is there in BlackBerry10?

canadauni Mar 7, 2013 at 7:13 pm

Ok so if we have deleted a Facebook contact but we got their number how would we go about connecting the Facebook account to said number post deletion?

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soapydarren Mar 7, 2013 at 7:23 pm

The thread isn't about deleting fb contacts. If the feature isn't turned off, you see all your fb and other social networking contacts on your phone book or contacts app. So you can turn it off to decide which ones you want to see. You can save a contact on ur phonebook, link with tour Facebook and then turn Facebook view off jut all Facebook information for that contact such as birth date and company will then show on the info tabs for that contact in your phonebook. I'm not very good at explaining things but I hope I passed a message there.

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soapydarren Mar 7, 2013 at 7:26 pm

My last post was for candauni.....
Tenkawa: there isn't any Google Talk app pre installed on the z10 and I can't find it in BlackBerry world either, that's why I asked.

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dracolnyte Mar 7, 2013 at 7:26 pm

Okay after I turn off my facebook contacts in contacts app, it automatically turns back on within 48 hours. for example, I dont have an Abigail on my phone but I have her on facebook, she keeps reappearing, along with my other fb contacts, after a while.
how to solve?

bulls2213 Mar 7, 2013 at 8:33 pm

I had all kinds of issues myself. The only solution I found was starting from scratch. Add whatever accounts you want (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), and make sure to disable the accounts from the contacts view as Bla1ze mentioned above. Then add each contact manually and make sure not to add them to your SIM card (menu --> remove from SIM). If the contacts have the same name as their social media account it'll link automatically, otherwise you'll have to add a link. After I did it this way it's all working the way I want (finally).

soapydarren Mar 7, 2013 at 7:32 pm

Dracolnyte: it's exactly what I'm tryna say as well. Mine takes less than 48hrs to reappear. It does immediately the phone is turned on(if turned off for any reason).

Sparro Mar 7, 2013 at 8:01 pm

Come on Bla1ze find me a solution. And while you're at it, why don't you post a working .apk or .bar for your netflix app.........

bulls2213 Mar 7, 2013 at 8:33 pm

THIS! +100000000

bulls2213 Mar 7, 2013 at 8:27 pm

I'm not sure about everyone else, but it was an absolute nightmare for me to set up my contacts properly. I ended up having to start from scratch and made sure NOT to add each contact to my SIM card (it does that by default and can cause issues... not good for OCD people like me). It sometimes doesn't let you modify the name either.

bp22_ca Mar 7, 2013 at 9:37 pm

What I hate is I go to the trouble of linking contacts and I have the correct Birthday in my contact list may 16/1970 let's say and Facebook keeps synching may 16/00 into the same contact. The worst part is the z10 interprets may 16/00 as may 15th when it puts reminders in your calendar.
It is also not smart enough to realize that the mobile number (222) 333-4444 is the same as the number FB is pushing as +12223334444 so you end up with duplicate numbers too.

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shefiu Mar 7, 2013 at 11:27 pm

For the calendar you can change it to remind you on the day rather the previous day. Editing FB, linkedin and other social info on the device has been a pain though..

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bp22_ca Mar 8, 2013 at 12:13 am

The reminder time isn't the problem. If I just look in the calendar it actually shows the birthday/anniversary as the day before(FB) and the actual day(Exchange). If I look at the contact the dates are correct, the event just doesn't show up on the right day in the calendar. After some investigation by unlinking the contacts and deleting birthdays and anniversaries. I traced it back to FB. I don't know if it is an issue with their dates showing up with /00 as the year since there is no year shown on the persons profile or if it is just a facebook issue.

GranReviewsmo Mar 8, 2013 at 12:36 am

Thanks a lot for this!!!

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soapydarren Mar 8, 2013 at 12:42 am

Good to see I'm not the only one with the issues. Starting from scratch hasn't been a solution for me cos I insist that turning off the fb , twitter and all is only a temporary solution. You prob have never had to restart or turn tour phone off. Do that and check to see what happens after. The birthday reminders have been set for me to happen in the same day at 9am but looking through the contact information and calendar, it appears as a day before. My contacts dates of birth have been altered but the reminder sets off as I want. Strange for u to find a contacts dob as June 3rd instead of 4th but you're reminded on the 4th.

joshua_sx1 Mar 8, 2013 at 1:08 am

Starting from scratch is really the best so far... you probably need to spend some time, especially if you have tons of contact but worth in the end...

Then don't forget to back it up through BlackBerry links...

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soapydarren Mar 8, 2013 at 1:33 am

What do you start from scratch? Problem is that the moment you add a Facebook account, it adds your contacts to the existing ones. When you follow the instructions in turning off the feature,it responds but reappears when phone is turned off and on. It has NO solution at the moment.

peacebelfast Mar 8, 2013 at 4:54 am

Yes, I completely agree. I seriously cannot go on trying to send messages when 1500 Facebook "friends" details and birthdays keep appearing each time, even with the Facebook contacts turned to off.

djaystylez Mar 8, 2013 at 10:30 am

This article was helpful

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GregV61 Mar 8, 2013 at 1:32 pm

Funny. I'm not having an issue. I flipped the switch for FB contacts three days ago. I rebooted yesterday. Just checked now and still no FB contacts showing up.

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soapydarren Mar 8, 2013 at 8:13 pm

I must tell you how much I envy you right now. I wish I could turn mine off and not have it turn on automatically. I've read dracolnyte saying his works like mine. It's frustrating. I've just got the software update but it still doesn't fix it. My battery ran out and phone went off. On switching back on, i have fb,twitter,sim contacts turned on again.

critanime Mar 8, 2013 at 4:48 pm

Sure this works for the main contacts app. But all my contacts still show up when composing a email or text. Which is rather annoying.

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MegaMoneyMan Mar 8, 2013 at 5:29 pm

Has anyone noticed that the Facebook App on BB Z10 displays wrong birthdays, like a day shorter. Could anyone please offer some clues? Thanks in advance.

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Rootbrian Mar 9, 2013 at 6:13 pm

I am afraid that is a facebook api thing.

Rootbrian Mar 9, 2013 at 6:12 pm

Facebook will be the first thing, same for twitter. I don't need those contacts AT ALL in my address book. Only people I call/sms will be in there.

CrackUK Mar 12, 2013 at 6:31 am

So let me get this clear, Chris Parsons and Bla1ze are actually the same person?!

Laxsister Mar 13, 2013 at 4:59 pm

Had no problem removing FB contacts. Went to do the same for Twitter and well the "Settings" option is no longer available in the Contacts app. What happened?

corey strickland Mar 14, 2013 at 9:56 pm

I don't mind them in my contacts but not when I compose a new message. That's the annoying part.

My solution, delete the app and remove the account. Download Facebook lite app. You get to use Facebook without the contact integration.

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konvajw Mar 19, 2013 at 9:31 pm

Just to add another problem with Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. contacts coming onto the phone and not being able to prevent them. When are have your Z10 phone paired via bluetooth with your car, all of these contacts get transferred to the car also (and hiding them via contact options) doesn't help. So as bad as all of these contacts showing up when composing a new message is that they all appear when trying to find somebody to call in your car.....

singh60 Mar 22, 2013 at 8:39 am

I'm having the same issue. Turn off Facebook contacts, restart the phone and they appear in the contacts again. In the settings its switched back to on. Very annoying!!

pabstdk Mar 26, 2013 at 2:54 pm

Same issue for me... Anyone with a fix, it would be greatly appreciated...

zachgeo Apr 16, 2013 at 2:14 am

I did this, but the FB contacts still show up when I'm sending emails. Today, I accidentally sent a sensitive email to an FB contact rather than my business partner (they share the same name). I had no reason to think the FB contact would be on the list of email recipients. After realizing my mistake I took a look and realized that FB, Twitter, and Linkedin contact are all potential "to" or "cc" candidates on my email. As a business user, I seriously don't want this -- I keep my contacts list very limited precisely to avoid these types of mistakes. This sort of thing did not happen on my Torch, and it seems to be a big oversight by BB.

soogriff Apr 18, 2013 at 8:14 am

Thank you for this! I did not want every single FB friend on my contacts list.

ivette0786 3 weeks ago

Thanks! It was easy. That was annoying me badly

GadgetMaster 2 weeks ago

Thanks. Noted this when searching on how to rid my Z10 of the contact and birthday information that flooded my phone when I installed the Facebook app. Very frustrating. What happened to the choice previously given of whether FB contacts (and their pictures) and calendar events (birthdays, etc.) would end up on your phone in the first place??? Well, this has partially helped with FB contact issues. The FB app is too intrusive. We shouldn't have to go through this.

GadgetMaster 2 weeks ago

This should be an opt in process...not opt out.

GadgetMaster 2 weeks ago

BTW, I found that to keep given contacts from pulling in and holding on to data from their FB page I had to select the contact, click "Links", then unlink them from Facebook. Trivia: When viewing the FB app on the Z10 it only displays in portrait w/o rotating to landscape. But when going to FB mobile via the browser (http://m.facebook.com) FB can be viewed in either landscape or portrait.

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