Cancel a pending friend request before the other person accepts it
You can take back a friend request you sent on Facebook at any time before the other person accepts it. The person will not be notified that you cancelled it — they will straightforward see that the request is no longer there. Once someone accepts your request, you cannot undo that action through a cancellation; you would need to unfriend them instead.
The steps differ slightly depending on whether you are using Facebook on a computer or on a phone. Both methods take less than a minute, and you can cancel multiple requests in the same session if needed.
Key Takeaways
- You can cancel a friend request only before the other person accepts it; after acceptance, you must unfriend them instead.
- On a computer, go to the person's profile, click the "Cancel request" button, and confirm the cancellation.
- On a phone, open the person's profile, tap the button showing "Cancel request", and confirm.
- The other person will not receive a notification that you cancelled the request.
- You can view all your pending requests by going to your Friends section and selecting "Sent requests".
How to cancel on a computer or laptop
Open Facebook in your web browser and search for the person's name using the search bar at the top of the page. Click on their profile to open it. Look for a button that says "Cancel request" — this button appears near the top of their profile, usually in the area where friend action buttons are located.
Click the "Cancel request" button. A small menu may appear asking you to confirm. Click "Cancel request" again if prompted. The button will disappear, and the request is now cancelled. The person's profile will no longer show that you sent them a friend request.
How to cancel on a phone or tablet
Open the Facebook app and use the search icon to find the person's name. Tap on their profile to open it. Look for a button that says "Cancel request" — on phones, this button is usually near the top of the profile, sometimes under a menu icon if space is limited.
Tap the "Cancel request" button. If a confirmation prompt appears, tap "Cancel request" again. The button will change or disappear, confirming the request has been cancelled. You can now close the profile.
Finding all your pending requests in one place
If you have sent multiple friend requests and want to see them all at once, go to your Friends section. On a computer, click the Friends icon in the left menu, then look for a link that says "Sent requests" or "Friend requests sent". On a phone, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), scroll to Friends, and select "Sent requests".
This page shows every request you have sent that has not yet been accepted. You can cancel any of them from this list by clicking or tapping the "Cancel request" button next to the person's name. This is faster than visiting each person's profile individually if you need to cancel several requests.
What happens after you cancel
Once you cancel a request, the person will not see it in their friend requests list. They will not receive a notification telling them you cancelled it. If you change your mind later, you can send them a new friend request, and it will appear as a fresh request with no history attached.
If the person had already accepted your request before you tried to cancel, the cancellation will not work because they are now your friend. In that case, you would need to unfriend them instead, which is a different action found on their profile or in your Friends list.
Reasons your cancel button might not appear
If you cannot find a "Cancel request" button on someone's profile, the most common reason is that they have already accepted your request — you are now friends, and the button has changed to show friendship options instead. Another possibility is that you never sent them a request in the first place.
If the person has blocked you, their profile may not load normally, and you will not see standard buttons. If you are having trouble locating the button after checking these possibilities, try refreshing the page or closing and reopening the Facebook app, as display issues sometimes resolve on their own.
The difference between cancelling and unfriending
Cancelling a request stops a pending request before it is accepted. Unfriending removes someone who is already your friend. If you sent a request and the person accepted it, you cannot cancel — you must unfriend them instead. To unfriend someone, go to their profile, click or tap the Friends button, and select "Unfriend" from the menu.
Unfriending is also invisible to the other person by default — they will not be notified unless they check your profile and notice you are no longer listed as a friend. Like cancelling a request, unfriending does not prevent you from sending a new request later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the person know I cancelled my friend request?
No. Facebook does not send a notification when you cancel a request. The person will straightforward see that the request is no longer in their list, but they will not receive a message or alert about it.
Can I cancel a request after someone accepts it?
No. Once someone accepts your request, you are friends, and the cancel option is no longer available. You would need to unfriend them instead if you want to remove the friendship.
What if I accidentally cancelled a request I meant to keep?
You can send a new friend request to the same person at any time. It will appear as a fresh request with no record of the previous one. There is no limit to how many times you can send requests to the same person.
Can I cancel multiple requests at once?
You can cancel them quickly by visiting your Sent requests page and cancelling each one individually, but Facebook does not have a bulk cancel feature. If you have many pending requests, visiting the Sent requests page is faster than going to each person's profile separately.
Does cancelling a request affect my ability to message the person?
No. Cancelling a friend request does not change your ability to send messages. You can still message people who are not your friends, though the message may go to their message requests folder rather than their main inbox.