You can prevent someone 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 restricting, which lets them send requests but hides most of your activity from them if they become a friend. Most people use blocking when they want no contact at all, and restricting when they want to stay connected but limit what someone sees.

If someone has already sent you a request, you can decline it without blocking them. But if the same person keeps sending requests after you decline, blocking is the faster solution than declining repeatedly.

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 they sent you, or by searching their name in your settings.
  • Restricting someone lets them stay your friend but hides your posts, story, and online status from them without notifying them.
  • If you block someone and later change your mind, you can unblock them after a waiting period, though they will not automatically become your friend again.
  • Blocking is not the same as unfriending — unfriending removes someone from your friends list but lets them still see your public posts and send you messages.

How to block someone from their Facebook profile

The simplest way to block someone is to visit their profile and use the menu at the top. Open their profile, look for the three dots (⋯) or the down arrow next to the "Add Friend" or "Message" button, and tap or click it. A menu will appear with the option to block. Select "Block [Name]" and confirm when Facebook asks you to verify.

Once you confirm, Facebook removes any friendship between you, deletes any pending friend request from them, and prevents them from finding you in search or seeing your profile. They will not receive a notification that you blocked them, but they may notice if they try to visit your profile and see a message saying the profile is not available.

How to block someone who sent you a friend request

If someone has already sent you a request, you do not have to accept or decline it first. Open your friend requests (the icon that looks like a person with a plus sign), find their request, and look for the three dots next to their name. Tap or click those dots and select "Block." This declines their request and prevents them from sending another one.

This method is faster than declining and waiting for them to send another request, because blocking stops the requests when ready. You can also decline the request first and then block them later if they send another one.

How to block someone using Facebook settings

If you cannot find someone's profile or prefer to block them without visiting their page, you can do it from your settings. On Facebook, go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings. Scroll down to "Blocking" and select it. You will see a section called "Block users" with a text box where you can type the person's name or email address.

Type their name or email and click "Block." Facebook will show you a list of people who match that name — select the correct person and confirm. This method works even if you are not friends with them or if their profile is hard to find.

The difference between blocking and restricting

Blocking is permanent until you unblock someone. Restricting is a lighter option that keeps someone as a friend but limits what they see. When you restrict someone, they can still message you and see your public posts, but they cannot see your story, your online status, or posts you share only with friends. They will not know they are restricted.

Use restricting when you want to stay connected for work or family reasons but do not want them seeing everything. Use blocking when you want no contact at all. You can restrict someone by visiting their profile, tapping the three dots, and selecting "Restrict [Name]."

What happens after you block someone

Once you block someone, they cannot send you friend requests, see your profile, message you, or find you in search results. Any messages you sent them before the block will still be visible to them, but they cannot reply to you. If you were friends before blocking, they will no longer see your posts or be able to tag you in photos.

If you later want to unblock them, you can go back to Settings and Privacy, select Settings, scroll to Blocking, and find their name in the "Blocked users" list. Click "Unblock" next to their name. Facebook requires a waiting period before you can unblock someone you just blocked — usually a few minutes — to prevent accidental unblocks. After you unblock them, they do not automatically become your friend again, and you will have to send a new friend request if you want to reconnect.

Blocking on mobile versus desktop

The steps are the same on Facebook's mobile app and desktop website, but the buttons look slightly different. On mobile, you will see three dots (⋯) instead of a down arrow, and you tap them instead of clicking. On desktop, you may see a down arrow next to the "Message" button. Both lead to the same blocking menu.

If you use Facebook Messenger separately from the main app, blocking someone in the Messenger app also blocks them in Facebook itself, and vice versa. You do not have to block them in both places.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the person know I blocked them?

They will not receive a notification that you blocked them. However, if they try to visit your profile or search for you, they will see a message saying the profile is not available. Some people figure out they are blocked by trying to find you, but Facebook does not tell them directly.

Can I block someone without being their friend?

Yes. You can block someone whether you are friends with them or not. Blocking works the same way — it prevents them from sending requests, seeing your profile, or messaging you. You do not have to be connected to them first.

What if I block someone and then change my mind?

You can unblock them by going to Settings and Privacy, selecting Settings, scrolling to Blocking, and clicking "Unblock" next to their name. After you unblock them, they do not automatically become your friend again. If you want to reconnect, you will need to send them a new friend request or accept one from them.

Does blocking someone delete our old messages?

No. Messages you sent before blocking will still be visible to them in their inbox, but they cannot reply to you. Messages they sent you will still be in your inbox, and you can read them, but you cannot message them back unless you unblock them.

Can I block someone temporarily?

Blocking is not designed to be temporary, but you can unblock and reblock someone whenever you want. There is a short waiting period after you unblock someone before you can block them again, but after that you can block them as many times as needed.