You can prevent specific people from sending you friend requests in two ways
Facebook gives you two separate tools to stop unwanted friend requests. The first is blocking, which prevents someone from sending you a request in the first place — they cannot see your profile, message you, or find you in search. The second is a privacy setting that lets you review requests before they reach your inbox, so you see who is trying to connect but decide later whether to accept or decline.
Blocking is permanent until you undo it. The privacy setting is temporary — you can turn it on and off whenever you want. Which one you choose depends on whether you want to stop a specific person entirely or just slow down the volume of requests you receive.
Key Takeaways
- Blocking someone prevents them from sending you a friend request, seeing your profile, or messaging you, and they will not be notified that you blocked them.
- You can block someone from their profile, from a friend request notification, or from your blocked list in settings.
- The "Review Friend Requests" privacy setting lets you approve requests before they appear in your inbox, which slows down unwanted contact without blocking anyone permanently.
- If you block someone by mistake, you can unblock them from your settings at any time, but they will not know you blocked them in the first place.
- Blocking is different from unfriending — unfriending removes someone from your friends list but does not prevent them from sending a new request later.
How to block someone from sending you friend requests
The fastest way to block someone is from their profile. Go to their profile page, tap or click the three dots in the top right corner, and select "Block." Facebook will ask you to confirm. Once you confirm, that person cannot send you a request, see your posts, or message you.
If someone has already sent you a request, you can block them directly from the notification. Open your friend requests (the icon that looks like a person with a plus sign), find the request, and tap or click the three dots next to their name. Select "Block" from the menu. This declines the request and blocks them at the same time.
You can also block someone from your blocked list in settings. Go to Settings, select "Privacy," then "Blocked People," and type their name in the box that says "Block people." Select their name from the results and confirm.
What happens when you block someone
When you block someone, they cannot send you a friend request, see your profile, find you in search, or send you messages. They will not receive a notification that you blocked them, but they may notice they cannot find your profile or that an old message thread has disappeared.
Blocking is one-way — you will not see their profile, posts, or messages either. If you were friends before you blocked them, that friendship ends when ready. If they try to visit your profile, they will see a message saying the profile is not available, but Facebook does not tell them why.
Using the friend request review setting instead of blocking
If you do not want to block someone permanently but want to reduce unwanted requests, you can turn on the "Review Friend Requests" setting. This makes all incoming requests go to a separate folder where you can look at them later instead of having them appear in your main inbox.
To turn this on, go to Settings, select "Privacy," then find "Who can send you friend requests?" and choose "Everyone" or "Friends of friends." Below that, look for "Review Friend Requests" and toggle it on. Requests will now go to a review folder instead of your main notifications.
This setting does not block anyone — it just gives you time to decide. You can still accept or decline any request, and the person who sent it will not know you are reviewing requests first. You can turn this setting off at any time.
Unblocking someone if you change your mind
If you blocked someone by mistake or want to let them contact you again, you can unblock them. Go to Settings, select "Privacy," then "Blocked People." Find their name in the list and tap or click "Unblock." They will not be notified that you unblocked them.
Once you unblock someone, they can send you a friend request again, but the old request (if there was one) will not reappear. They will have to send a new request.
The difference between blocking and unfriending
Blocking and unfriending are not the same. When you unfriend someone, you remove them from your friends list, but they can still see your public posts and send you a new friend request later. When you block someone, they cannot send you a request at all and cannot see your profile.
Use unfriending if you want to end a friendship but do not mind if they contact you again in the future. Use blocking if you do not want any contact from that person. You can also block someone without unfriending them first — blocking automatically removes the friendship if one exists.
Blocking on mobile versus desktop
The steps are the same on the Facebook app and on a computer, but the buttons look slightly different. On mobile, look for the three dots (⋯) at the top of someone's profile. On desktop, the three dots are in the top right corner of their profile header. Both lead to the same block option.
If you are using Facebook through a web browser on your phone instead of the app, the desktop steps explore — you will see the three dots in the same place as on a computer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will someone know if I block them?
Facebook does not send a notification when you block someone. However, they may figure it out if they try to visit your profile and cannot find it, or if they notice an old conversation has disappeared. Facebook does not tell them why they cannot see your profile.
Can I block someone without unfriending them first?
Yes. Blocking automatically removes the friendship if one exists, so you do not have to unfriend them separately. If you were not friends with them, blocking straightforward prevents them from sending you a request.
What if someone keeps trying to contact me after I block them?
If they use a different account or contact you outside Facebook, blocking will not stop that. If they are harassing you across multiple accounts, you can report the behavior to Facebook through the report button on any of their posts or profiles. Facebook can take action against accounts that repeatedly try to contact someone who has blocked them.
Can I block someone temporarily and then unblock them later?
Yes. You can unblock someone at any time from your blocked list in settings. They will not be notified that you unblocked them, and they can send you a new friend request after you do.
If I block someone, will they see my old messages?
Old messages you sent them will still be in their inbox, but they will not be able to message you back or start a new conversation. If you were in a group chat together, they can still see the messages in that group.