What blocking your Facebook profile actually does
Blocking your profile on Facebook stops specific people from seeing your posts, photos, and personal information — but it works differently than blocking an individual person. When you block someone as a person, they cannot find your profile at all. When you restrict who sees your profile, you are controlling what information appears to people you have not blocked, including strangers and acquaintances.
Facebook gives you two separate tools. The first is blocking individual people, which is the strongest privacy option. The second is adjusting your privacy settings so your profile is visible only to friends, or only to a custom list of people you choose. Most people use a combination of both.
Understanding the difference matters because blocking someone takes them out of your network entirely, while privacy settings let you keep your profile visible to some people but hidden from others. If you want to hide from one specific person, blocking is faster. If you want to hide from a whole category of people — like coworkers or distant relatives — privacy settings are more practical.
Key Takeaways
- Blocking an individual person on Facebook prevents them from finding your profile, messaging you, or seeing any of your content, and they will not be notified that you blocked them.
- Adjusting your profile privacy settings lets you control whether your profile is visible to friends only, friends of friends, or the public, without blocking anyone.
- You can restrict individual posts after you publish them so only certain people see them, or change who can see your past posts all at once.
- Blocking someone does not delete old messages or comments they made on your posts before you blocked them.
- If you block someone and then unblock them, they will not see a record of the block, but your friendship will be gone and they will have to send you a new friend request.
How to block a specific person on Facebook
Open Facebook on your phone or computer and go to the profile of the person you want to block. On their profile, click the three dots in the top right corner (on mobile, this appears as three horizontal lines). A menu will appear. Select "Block" from the options.
Facebook will ask you to confirm. Click "Block [Name]" to finish. The person will not receive a notification that you blocked them, and they will not be able to see your profile, send you messages, or find you in search results. If they try to visit your profile directly, they will see a message saying the profile is not available.
You can also block someone from a conversation. Open the message thread, click the person's name at the top, and select "Block." This blocks them as a person, not just in messages — they will be blocked from your entire profile.
How to change who can see your profile
If you want to hide your profile from everyone except your friends, go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings. On the left side, click "Privacy." Under "Who can see your profile," you will see a dropdown menu that currently says "Public" or "Friends." Click it and choose "Friends" to make your profile visible only to people you have accepted as friends.
You can also choose "Friends of Friends" if you want a middle ground, though this shows your profile to anyone connected to your friends. "Custom" lets you hide your profile from specific people without blocking them — you can type in names or groups to exclude.
Changing this setting does not affect posts you have already shared with a different audience. If you posted something as "Public" before you changed your profile to "Friends only," that post will still be public unless you change it individually.
How to control who sees individual posts
When you create a post, before you click "Post," look for the audience selector — it usually shows an icon like a globe (public), a group of people (friends), or a lock (private). Click this icon to choose who sees that specific post. You can make it visible to friends only, a custom list, or specific people.
If you have already posted something and want to change who can see it, click the three dots on the post itself and select "Edit the audience." Choose your new audience and save. This changes who can see the post going forward, but people who already saw it may have shared or screenshotted it.
You can also hide a post from one specific person without blocking them. Click the three dots on the post, select "Hide from," and type their name. They will not see that post, but they can still see your other posts and your profile (unless you have blocked them or changed your privacy settings).
How to review past posts and change their privacy
Go to your profile and click "Posts" to see everything you have shared. Scroll through and look for posts marked with a globe icon (public) or a group icon (friends of friends). Click the three dots on any post and select "Edit the audience" to change who can see it.
If you have many old posts and want to change them all at once, go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings. Click "Privacy" and scroll down to "Your activity." Click "Limit past posts" and confirm. This changes all your old posts to "Friends only" in one action, though it does not affect posts you create going forward.
Be aware that this tool only changes the privacy setting — it does not delete posts or remove them from people who already saw them. If someone screenshotted or shared a post before you limited it, the screenshot is still out there.
What happens when you block someone
When you block someone, they when ready lose access to your profile. They cannot see your posts, photos, friends list, or bio. They cannot send you messages or friend requests. If they search for your name, your profile will not appear in results. Any messages you had with them will still exist in your inbox, but they will not be able to send new ones.
Comments or posts they made on your profile before you blocked them will remain visible to you, but they will not be able to see them anymore or add new comments. If you were tagged in a photo together, they can still see the photo (because it is on someone else's profile), but they cannot see your profile or your version of the photo.
Blocking is not the same as unfriending. When you unfriend someone, they can still see your profile if it is set to public, and they can still message you. Blocking removes them entirely. If you want to stay friends but just hide your posts, adjust your privacy settings instead.
How to unblock someone
Go to Settings and Privacy, then Settings. Click "Blocking" on the left side. You will see a list of people you have blocked. Find the person you want to unblock and click "Unblock" next to their name. Confirm when Facebook asks.
When you unblock someone, your friendship does not automatically return. They will have to send you a new friend request, and you will have to accept it. They will not receive a notification that you unblocked them, and there is no record of the block on either of your profiles.
If you unblock someone and then block them again later, Facebook will not show a history of how many times you have blocked them. Each block is treated as a new action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone tell if I blocked them?
Not directly. Facebook does not send a notification when you block someone. However, if they try to visit your profile or search for you and cannot find you, they may figure it out. If you were friends before and suddenly they cannot see your posts or profile, they might suspect a block, but Facebook does not confirm it to them.
If I block someone, will they see old comments I made on their posts?
No. Once you block someone, they cannot see any of your comments on their posts, and any comments you made before the block will be hidden from them. However, other people who were in the conversation can still see your comments.
What is the difference between blocking and restricting someone?
Blocking removes someone entirely — they cannot see your profile or message you. Restricting (sometimes called "limiting") is gentler: they stay on your friends list, but they can only see posts you specifically share with them. You can restrict someone by going to their profile, clicking the three dots, and selecting "Restrict."
Can I block someone without them knowing, then unblock them later?
Yes. When you unblock someone, they do not receive a notification, and there is no record of the block on your profile. However, if they noticed you were blocked and you suddenly appear again, they may realize you unblocked them.
If I block someone, do my mutual friends know about it?
No. Your mutual friends will not be notified that you blocked someone. They can still see that person's profile and be friends with them. Blocking is private — only you and the person you blocked know it happened.