How to Stop Auto Refresh in Facebook

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If you leave your browser open on the Facebook home page, you may notice that over time the page automatically refreshes with the most current updates in your News Feed. This is due to a meta refresh HTML tag implemented in the Facebook page code. Although some people enjoy this feature, it may be distracting and annoying to you. To stop the automatic refresh in Facebook, you must disable this attribute in your browser. Disabling meta refresh in each browser is slightly different.

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Disable in Internet Explorer

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Step 1

Launch Internet Explorer on your computer. Click the "Gear" icon in the upper-right corner, and then select "Internet Options." A new window will appear.

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Step 2

Click "Security," and then click the "Custom Level" button.

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Step 3

Scroll through the "Settings" and find the "Miscellaneous" setting. Locate "Allow META REFRESH" below it.

Step 4

Click the option next to "Disable." Click "OK" twice to save your settings.

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Disable in Firefox

Step 1

Launch Firefox on your computer. Click the orange "Firefox" button in the upper-left corner, and select "Options." A new window will appear.

Step 2

Click "Advanced" at the top of the window, and then choose the "General" tab.

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Step 3

Place a check mark next to "Warn me when Web sites try to redirect or reload the page."

Step 4

Click "OK" to save the changes. A message bar will appear at the top of the website when Facebook tries to update the page. Click "Allow" to allow Facebook to update the page.

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Disable in Opera

Step 1

Launch Opera on your computer. Click "Tools" in the top menu then select "Preferences." A new window will appear.

Step 2

Click "Advanced" at the top of the window, and then choose the "Network" selection along the left side of the window.

Step 3

Uncheck "Enable automatic redirection." Click "OK" to save your changes.

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