How to turn off Facebook Graph Search

Turn off Facebook Graph Search

Facebook Graph Search launched this year, and as with any major Facebook product update, it was received with mixed reviews. Many said it is not innovative, yet others hailed it for making connections more readily available. Regardless of the intention of the tool or its usefulness, many are asking how to turn it off and go back to the way it was before the rollout.

UPDATE (July 2013): now that Facebook is rolling Graph Search out to all languages, users will no longer be able to turn off Facebook Graph Search, even with this handy trick.

While there is a method for reverting settings, you can only turn off Facebook Graph Search until the system forces all users into Graph Search, so the “old Facebook” will only be available for a limited time. Meanwhile, click the gear icon at the top of your Facebook page, click “Account Settings,” then open the “General” tab and select “Language Settings.”

Here’s where it gets tricky. If your language is defaulted to English (US), select another version of English, like English (UK). The reason this turns off Graph Search is that the updates are currently only available in the US, so changing your language will switch Graph Search off, but again, this only lasts until Facebook rolls out the new options to all users.

After you’ve altered your language, hit “Save Changes” and Graph Search will be gone immediately.

Not so fast, Facebook users

Although this is a workaround to turn off Facebook Graph Search, it can actually be a tremendously helpful tool for business not only for finding like-minded people, but to organize events, aide in locating new clients and the like.

Think about what demographic is your brand’s cash cow. Let’s say your best clients tend to be people aged 50+ that lean conservative. Use Graph Search to locate, “people in [your city] who were born after 1962, who are Republican,” and see who pops up. As a bonus, start that search with “my friends who live in [your city] who were born after 1962, who are Republican,” and find out who you are already connected to – if they’re not potential clients, like minds attract, so it is worth reaching out to them to remind them of what you do and ask for referrals.