Facebook makes breaking up slightly less painful

Breaking up is now a little easier to do, at least on Facebook, thanks to a new feature that lets people untangle themselves from a relationship without cutting ties altogether.

The operator of the world’s biggest social network introduced a tool on Thursday for users to “take a break” after changing the status of a relationship with another person, letting them see less of an ex’s posts without blocking or unfriending them. People can also tell Facebook to show an ex less information.

While the feature might seem intrusive, it’s become more necessary as Facebook has worked to highlight a user’s most important relationships. The company is using its data to make better suggestions, which includes offering “memories” of older posts, which, after a breakup, could sting. Bloomberg