Facebook tests tools to make relationship breakups less painful

Facebook is testing ways to stop your ex from popping up in your news feed and vice versa.

The company announced Thursday that it's testing tools in the U.S. on mobile to "help people manage how they interact with their former partners on Facebook after a relationship ends."

"This work is part of our ongoing effort to develop resources for people who may be going through difficult moments in their lives," wrote Kelly Winters, product manager for Facebookin a post on the Facebook Newsroom. "We hope these tools will help people end relationships on Facebook with greater ease, comfort and sense of control."

• How to erase your ex from your life online

If you're in the U.S. accessing Facebook from a mobile device and you change your Facebook relationship status to indicate you're no longer in a relationship, you may be given the option to "take a break" and:

• See less of your ex in your news feed without unfriending or blocking him or her. In this case, your ex's post won't appear in your news feed you'll only see them if you visit his or her profile page.
• Hide your posts from your ex unless you specifically tag him or her, make your post public, or share them on mutual friends' timelines.
• Choose which of your past posts and posts you're tagged in that your ex can still see.

Users can also opt not to use the tools immediately and access them later from Facebook's help centre.

Facebook said the tools could be changed and rolled out further based on feedback.