How to delete friends from Facebook
You can remove a friend from your Facebook account in under a minute. The person you remove will not receive a notification that you deleted them, though they may notice over time if they check your profile or look for you in their friends list. Facebook does not tell them directly.
Removing someone is different from blocking them. When you delete a friend, they can still see your public posts, send you messages, and add you again later. If you want to prevent someone from contacting you or seeing your profile at all, blocking is the stronger option — but most people use the delete function when they straightforward want to clean up their friends list or distance themselves from someone without drama.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete a friend by visiting their profile, clicking the Friends button, and selecting Remove from Friends.
- The person you remove will not get a notification, but they can add you again if they want to reconnect.
- On mobile, the process is the same: tap their profile, tap Friends, then Remove from Friends.
- If you delete someone by mistake, you can add them back the same way you would add any other person.
- Deleting a friend does not remove old comments or messages between you — those stay on Facebook unless you delete them separately.
Removing a friend on desktop
Go to the person's Facebook profile. You can find them by typing their name in the search bar at the top of any Facebook page, or by clicking on their name anywhere it appears on your feed or in your messages.
Once you are on their profile, look for the Friends button. It usually appears near the top of their profile, often next to buttons for messaging or following. Click on it. A small menu will drop down with the option Remove from Friends — click that option. The person is now removed from your friends list.
If you change your mind when ready, you can add them back by clicking the Add Friend button that now appears where the Friends button was. There is no waiting period or confirmation required.
Removing a friend on mobile
Open the Facebook app on your phone or tablet. Search for the person's name using the search icon at the bottom of the screen, or find them in your friends list by tapping the menu icon and selecting Friends.
Tap their name to open their profile. At the top, you will see a Friends button (on iPhone it may show as a person icon with a checkmark). Tap it, then tap Remove from Friends from the menu that appears. The person is removed when ready.
What happens to your shared history
Removing someone does not erase your past interactions. Comments you left on their posts stay visible, and comments they left on yours remain as well. Messages between you stay in your message inbox unless you delete the conversation separately. Photos you are both tagged in do not disappear.
If you want to clean up your digital footprint with this person, you will need to go back and delete individual comments, untag yourself from photos, or delete the message thread. Removing them as a friend is just the first step if privacy is your concern.
The difference between removing, blocking, and unfollowing
Removing a friend means they are no longer on your friends list. They can still see your public posts, visit your profile, and send you a message. They can add you again whenever they want.
Blocking someone is much stronger. They cannot see your profile, find you in search, message you, or see your posts anywhere on Facebook. You will not see their posts either. Blocking is what you use when you want to cut off contact entirely.
Unfollowing someone keeps them as a friend but removes their posts from your feed. You can still see their profile and message them, but you will not see what they post day to day. This is useful when you want to stay connected but do not want their content cluttering your feed.
When you might want to remove someone
People remove friends for many reasons. You might delete someone you have not spoken to in years and do not plan to reconnect with. You might remove a coworker after you leave the job, or someone from high school you have drifted away from. Some people clean up their friends list regularly to keep it to people they actually interact with.
If you are concerned about privacy, removing someone before adjusting your privacy settings can help — though remember that removing them does not hide your past posts from them, only future ones. If someone is harassing you or making you uncomfortable, blocking is usually the better choice than straightforward removing them.
Removing multiple friends at once
Facebook does not have a built-in tool to remove many friends in one action. You will need to remove them one at a time by visiting each profile. If you have a very large friends list you want to trim, this takes time, but there is no faster official method.
Some third-party apps claim to let you bulk-delete friends, but Facebook's terms of service restrict what these apps can do, and many are unreliable or ask for access to your account that you should not grant. The safest approach is to remove people manually as you think of them, or set aside time to go through your friends list and remove a few each day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the person know I deleted them?
No. Facebook does not send a notification when you remove someone as a friend. They may eventually notice if they look at your profile or check their friends list, but Facebook will not tell them directly that you deleted them.
Can I remove someone without them seeing I did it?
Yes. The removal is private — only you and Facebook know about it. The person will not receive a message or notification, and there is no way for them to see a log of when you removed them.
What if I accidentally delete someone I meant to keep?
You can add them back when ready. Go to their profile and click the Add Friend button, just as you would with anyone else. There is no penalty or waiting period. If you are not sure how to find them again, search their name in the search bar.
Does removing someone delete our old messages?
No. Your message history stays in your inbox even after you remove them as a friend. If you want to delete the conversation, you will need to delete the message thread separately. You can do this by finding the conversation in your messages, clicking the three dots, and selecting Delete.
Can I remove someone and then add them back later?
Yes. There is no limit to how many times you can remove and add the same person. You can remove them, add them back weeks later, remove them again — Facebook places no restriction on this. The person can also add you at any time after you remove them.