The basic steps to send a friend request
To send a friend request on Facebook, find the person's profile, click or tap the "Add Friend" button, and wait for them to accept or decline. The button appears next to their name at the top of their profile, or sometimes in the search results when you look them up. Once you send it, that person gets a notification, and the request sits in their pending list until they respond.
If you're on a computer, go to Facebook's search bar at the top, type the person's name, and click their profile from the results. On a phone, tap the magnifying glass icon, search the same way, and tap their name. Either way, you'll see their profile page. Look for a button that says "Add Friend" — it's usually blue and near the top of the page next to their profile picture.
After you click it, the button changes to say "Friend Request Sent" or "Pending". That's your confirmation the request went through. The other person will see it in their notifications and in a dedicated "Friend Requests" section of Facebook.
Key Takeaways
- You can send a friend request by finding someone's profile and clicking the "Add Friend" button near their name.
- The person you request will see your request in their notifications and can accept, decline, or ignore it.
- Once someone accepts your request, you become friends and can message each other and see each other's posts (depending on privacy settings).
- Facebook shows the person your profile picture, name, and mutual friends you have in common when they review your request.
- If someone declines your request, you can send another one later, but Facebook may limit how many requests you can send in a short time.
What the other person sees when you send a request
When you send a friend request, the person receives a notification that shows your name, profile picture, and how many mutual friends you have. They can see your profile by clicking on your name in the notification. Facebook also tells them where you're from and what school or workplace you list, if you've filled those in.
The request sits in their "Friend Requests" section until they decide what to do. They can accept it (making you friends), decline it (rejecting the request), or straightforward ignore it and leave it there. If they decline, you won't get a notification — you'll only know if you go back to their profile and see that the "Add Friend" button has returned.
If they accept, you both become friends when ready. You'll then be able to see each other's posts (unless one of you has privacy settings that hide certain content), send direct messages, and see each other in your friend lists.
What information Facebook shares about you
When someone receives your friend request, Facebook automatically shows them your profile picture, your name as it appears on your account, and a count of mutual friends. If your profile is set to public or has a lower privacy level, they may also see your bio, your cover photo, and recent posts you've made — depending on what you've chosen to share.
Facebook does not show the person your email address, phone number, or any information you've marked as private in your settings. However, if you've filled in your hometown, current city, workplace, or school, that information is visible on your profile by default and will show up in the request preview.
You can control what appears on your profile by going to Settings, then Privacy, and adjusting who can see your posts, your friend list, and your personal details. Changing these settings affects what people see both in friend requests and when they visit your profile directly.
When Facebook limits how many requests you can send
Facebook has built-in limits on friend requests to prevent spam and abuse. If you send too many requests in a short period — the exact number and timeframe are not publicly stated — Facebook may temporarily prevent you from sending more requests for a few hours or days. You'll see a message saying you've sent too many requests and need to wait.
These limits reset on their own. You don't need to do anything except wait. The time varies, but it's usually between a few hours and 24 hours. If you're sending requests to people you actually know, you're unlikely to hit this limit. It mainly affects accounts that send dozens of requests to strangers in rapid succession.
If you've been blocked or if someone has declined your request, you generally cannot send them another request for a certain period. Facebook doesn't publish the exact waiting period, but it's typically several months before you can try again.
Canceling a request you've already sent
If you change your mind after sending a request, you can cancel it before the person responds. Go back to their profile and click the button that now says "Friend Request Sent" or "Cancel Request". The request disappears from their pending list, and they won't see a notification that you canceled it — it straightforward vanishes.
Once someone accepts your request and you become friends, you can't "undo" the friendship through a cancel button. Instead, you have to unfriend them, which removes them from your friend list. They won't get a notification that you unfriended them, but they will notice you're no longer on their friend list if they check.
What happens if someone declines or ignores your request
If someone declines your request, the request is deleted and you won't receive a notification about the decline. The only way to know is to visit their profile again and see that the "Add Friend" button has returned. You can send another request after some time has passed, though Facebook may impose a waiting period before allowing you to try again.
If someone ignores your request and leaves it in their pending list without responding, it stays there indefinitely. You can cancel it at any time, or you can leave it sitting. There's no automatic expiration — Facebook doesn't delete old pending requests on its own.
In either case, the person will not see your request again unless you send a new one. Declining or ignoring a request does not block you; it straightforward rejects that particular request.
Privacy considerations when sending requests
Sending a friend request reveals your existence and your profile to someone, even if you've never interacted before. They learn your name, see your picture, and can click through to view whatever parts of your profile you haven't made private. If your profile is public, they can see a lot — your posts, your photos, your friend list, and your personal details.
Before sending requests to people you don't know well, consider what's visible on your profile. If you want to limit what strangers see, adjust your privacy settings so that only friends can see your posts, your friend list, or your photos. You can also make your profile picture and name visible to everyone while hiding everything else.
Facebook also uses friend requests as data — the company tracks who sends requests to whom, which helps it build a map of your social connections and interests. This data is used to show you targeted ads and to suggest new friends. You can't prevent this, but you can be intentional about who you send requests to if you're concerned about what Facebook learns from your behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send a friend request to someone who has blocked me?
No. If someone has blocked you, you cannot send them a friend request, message them, or see their profile. The block prevents all contact. If the person later unblocks you, you can send a request again, but you won't know when or if they've unblocked you — you'll only learn about you try to visit their profile and it works.
What if I send a request to someone and they never respond?
The request stays in their pending list indefinitely. You can cancel it at any time if you change your mind. There's no automatic timeout, so the request won't disappear on its own. If you want to try again later, you'll need to cancel the old request first and then send a new one.
Does the person know my name if I send a request with a fake profile?
Yes. Whatever name you've put on your Facebook account is what they see. If you've used a fake name, they see that fake name. Facebook does not verify that account names match real identities, so you can create an account with any name you choose — but the person receiving your request will see whatever name you've registered with.
Can I send a friend request to someone if we have no mutual friends?
Yes. You can send a request to anyone whose profile you can find, whether or not you have mutual friends. The request will show zero mutual friends, which may make the person more likely to decline if they don't recognize your name, but there's no technical barrier to sending it.
What does it mean if the "Add Friend" button doesn't appear on someone's profile?
It usually means you're already friends with that person, or they've blocked you, or their privacy settings prevent you from sending them a request. If you're already friends, you'll see an "Unfriend" button instead. If they've blocked you, you won't be able to see their profile at all. If their settings are very restrictive, the button may straightforward not appear.