One of the most controversial changes in last week's Facebook redesign was the addition of the Ticker in the top right-hand corner of your News Feed page.

I have seen comments from some people that they like this new feature, but so far they're in the minority. I don't like it for a variety of reasons.

• It's cramming way too much info (basically your entire News Feed) into too tiny a space.
• The scrollbar is difficult to grab and drag.
• Once you do start dragging it, it keeps moving up and down as new stories are added to the Ticker.
• The stories are slow to expand and they close up if you don't move your cursor onto them right away.

Now throw in the distraction that comes from the constant refreshing of content within the Ticker and it's basically a hindrance to actually finding out what's going on with my friends.

Fortunately, if you're using Firefox or Chrome as your browser, there's a simple way to get rid of the Ticker altogether. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find a solution for Internet Explorer.

NOTE: This solution involves installing a third-party browser add-on called Adblock Plus. This add-on has been around for a long time, originally created to block (d'uh!) ads when you're browsing the Web. It's a very popular add-on, with more than 135 million downloads. However, as with any third-party software, you're taking a risk that it could include malware, access private data, etc. While I feel perfectly comfortable installing it based on my research, each person must make that decision for him or herself. If you're at all worried about it, don't install it.

First I'll give the instructions for installing and configuring Adblock Plus in Firefox, then I'll give the instructions for Chrome.

Installing Adblock Plus in Firefox

• In your Firefox browser, go to Tools > Add-ons > Get Add-ons.
• In the search box at the top right, type in Adblock and hit Enter.

  

• Find and highlight Adblock Plus 1.3.9 in your search results and click the Install button.

  

• When the message comes up that Adblock has been installed, click the Restart Now link.

Customizing Adblock Plus to Remove the Facebook ticker.

• Go to Tools > Adblock Plus Preferences. A dialog box will appear.

  NOTE: When the dialog box opens, it may show you a list of "filter subscriptions" that have already been installed by default. These filters will prevent you from seeing ads and other content on all sorts of websites. I am not familiar enough with the lists to know all the things that will be affected, so I recommend unchecking the Enable box for any of the default filters listed (a common one will say Fanboy's List) so the ONLY thing you'll be removing is the Ticker.

• Click the Add Filter button. A blank text box will open.
• Add the exact text below into the text box and click

  www.facebook.com##[id="pagelet_rhc_ticker"]

  

• Add another filter, using the text below.

  www.facebook.com##[id="pagelet_ticker"]

  

• Click OK.

Now go to your Facebook News Feed and the Ticker should be gone!

Removing Adblock Plus from Firefox

If you decide at some point you want the Ticker back, or you're concerned that the Adblock Plus add-on is affecting something else and you want to remove it, simply go back to Tools > Add-ons > Extensions and click Remove.

Installing Adblock Plus in Chrome

NOTE: Adblock Plus for Chrome is in Beta, which means it may not be as stable as it is for Firefox.

• In Chrome, go to the Adblock Plus page in the Chrome Web store.

  

• Click the Add to Chrome button. A confirmation dialog will pop up; click Install.
• To add the Facebook Ticker code, click the Wrench icon in the top right, then Tools > Extensions.
• Click the Options link under Adblock Plus for Beta.

  

  A window will open with four tabs. Each one may already have some things listed in them. I'm going to tell you to uncheck all the defaults because I don't know what impact they will have on your browsing experience with other websites. Instead, I'm just giving you instructions to set it up so only the Facebook Ticker goes away.

• In the Filter Lists tab, uncheck anything that's checked.
• In the Add Your Own Filters tab, highlight anything already in there and click Remove. Then add each of the two lines of code below, separately, into the top text box and click Add Filter.

  www.facebook.com##[id="pagelet_rhc_ticker"]

  www.facebook.com##[id="pagelet_ticker"]

  

• In the Whitelisted Domains tab, highlight and remove anything already in the text box.
• In the General tab, uncheck the options for Disable Inline Text Ads and Block Ads Inside YouTube Videos.

Now go to your Facebook News Feed and the Ticker should be gone!

Removing Adblock Plus from Chrome

If you decide at some point you want the Ticker back, or you're concerned that the Adblock Plus add-on is affecting something else and you want to remove it, simply go back to Tools > Extensions and click Uninstall under Adblock Plus.

Let Me Know How It Goes!

Did you use the instructions above? Write a comment below to let me (and other readers) know how it worked out for you. If you have any questions or issues, shoot me a note at F1@TechForLuddites.com.

Also, if you find the add-on helpful, consider making a small donation to the developer to continue making improvements to it. (I am in no way affiliated with the developer.)

Enjoy your Ticker-Free Facebook experience!

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Posted in Browsers,Chrome,Facebook,Firefox,How To,My Two Cents,Social Media