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Most of us have learned by now that it’s better not to include your relationship status in your Facebook profile, even if you’re “In a relationship” or “Married.” There are concerns about advertisers knowing too much about you, for one thing; and having to announce a breakup on Facebook is the digital equivalent of throwing salt in an open wound, for another.

Listing yourself as “Single,” meanwhile, can get a little lonely.

Now Facebook has rolled out a new feature that allows anyone within your social network to prod you into sharing that private relationship information, as well as other bits of info, either privately or on your public profile. This feature, called Ask, lets your friends request that you share your hometown, current city, address, phone number, and — you betcha — relationship status, if you haven’t already filled them out online.

The option is now available to all Facebook members. There is no way to turn the feature off, or to prevent your friends from bugging you to fill out the more sensitive areas of your profile. A Facebook representative told Yahoo Tech that, if you don’t want the requester to know given information, you can simply ignore the Asks you receive from your nosy buddies.

The feature works like this: Anyone who’s interested in learning some extra details about a Facebook friend can go to her profile. Underneath her main profile picture, there’s a generic About section. Most people, especially those who are conscious about their privacy, don’t fill these in. And even if you’re willing to share your hometown, you might have skipped Relationship Status (for the reasons I mentioned above).

Each incomplete category will have an Ask button positioned to its right. You can click it to request that information, and a box will pop up that includes the option to add a comment.

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The person you send a request to will see it in her notifications, along with your comment.

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Here’s what it looks like to reply to a relationship status update.

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