Finding it hard to move on after a break-up? Facebook wants to ease things a bit.

The social networking site is testing a tool that would ease the pain that people undergo after a break-up by letting them control their interaction with their exes.

On Thursday, Facebook announced a new tool that will limit posts, photos, videos and status messages of former partners without having to "block" or "unfriend" them.

Facebook and Twitter have made it a lot easier to connect with people around the world. But these sites make it difficult to get over someone, especially after a break-up, when photos, relationship status and tweets pop up on user's news feed. Facebook's so-called "Take a Break" tool proposes to change that.

"Starting today, we are testing tools to help people manage how they interact with their former partners on Facebook after a relationship has ended. When people change their relationship status to indicate they are no longer in a relationship, they will be prompted to try these tools," Facebook Product Manager, Kelly Winters, explained in a blog post on Thursday.

Facebook said the new tool will help users stay focused on their future by helping them move on and show less of their past. With the help of the new tool, users can also choose not to share their future posts with their former partners and untag themselves from old couple photos without notifying their exs of the changes.

According to Facebook, the new "Take a Break" tool can be used for the following purposes:

  • See less of your ex's name, posts and profile picture on Facebook.
  • Limit your photos, videos or status updates from your former partner.
  • Untag yourself from your past posts with your ex and edit who can see them.

While these changes go against Facebook's "connect the world with one network" goal, a lot of thought has been put into it to help users overcome post-breakup blues. Users in the US will have access to the new tool on their mobile devices before Facebook decides a broader rollout based on user feedback. Until then, you can find suitable means to fight your break-up blues in other ways.

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