Bellingham Metro News background photo with screenshots attached of the new Facebook feature.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Facebook appears to have quietly introduced a major change to how hidden comments function across the platform, allowing users to manually expand and view comments that were previously hidden by Facebook’s automated moderation systems or by page administrators.
The update is already appearing for many users across the app including on the devices of Bellingham Metro News reporters and works similarly to systems seen on other social media platforms such as TikTok or X (formerly Twitter). Instead of comments disappearing entirely from public view, users can now tap or expand a “View hidden comments” option directly inside comment sections to see content that had been filtered out.
The change does not only apply to a user’s own page or profile. Users are now able to view hidden comments across all public pages, including news outlets, businesses, entertainment pages, and community groups, simply by opening the comment section and selecting the hidden comment option if it appears.
The feature marks a noticeable and surprising change in how Facebook handles moderation visibility. Previously, many comments hidden by automated spam detection, profanity filters, or page moderation tools would effectively disappear from public view unless manually reviewed by administrators. With this new system, at least some of those comments can now be expanded and viewed by the public.
For news outlets and public-facing pages, the update could create a new layer of transparency surrounding moderation practices. Readers may now be able to see comments that were filtered automatically or hidden by page management, giving users a clearer understanding of what conversations are taking place behind moderation walls.
At the same time, the update may also create new concerns involving spam, scam attempts, phishing links, and harmful automated comments. Facebook’s automated systems have long hidden suspicious comments containing fake promotions, impersonation attempts, cryptocurrency scams, malicious links, and other potentially dangerous content before most users ever saw them.
Most notably—within the comment sections of news content pages, posts about car crashes or serious incidents tend to be targeted the most by phishing scammers who comment on the posts saying “I was on the scene when this happened: read more here, and it would include a suspicious link—the link if clicked on would compromise the unsuspecting victims device.
With hidden comments now more accessible, users are being encouraged to use caution when browsing comment sections, especially when expanding hidden replies. Scam links and suspicious accounts may still appear inside those sections even if Facebook originally filtered them from wider visibility.
Bellingham Metro News encourages readers to remain alert while navigating comment sections online. Avoid clicking unknown links, suspicious advertisements, or messages claiming prizes, giveaways, or urgent account warnings. If something appears suspicious, it is best to report the comment directly through Facebook’s reporting tools and avoid interacting with the account entirely.
As of now, Facebook has not publicly released a major announcement detailing the full scope of the change or whether the feature is being tested gradually across different regions and devices. However, users across multiple pages are already beginning to notice the new hidden comment visibility option appearing within the app.
About the Author
Discover more from Bellingham Metro News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
