It’s no longer surprising when a friend or acquaintance launches into a rant on your Facebook feed. Anything from a politician’s tweet to a movie spoiler to the type of mask someone is wearing (or not) can set it off.
If you believe someone in your Facebook feed has crossed a line, you have several options for removing their posts — or them — from the picture. You have the option to unfriend, Block, snooze them (which means you won’t see anything from them for 30 days), or simply hide one of their entries. Here’s a rundown of how to block someone on Facebook and other pieces of information you might need.
Overview
Sometimes there’s no getting around it: someone has seriously offended you, and you don’t want them anywhere, at any time, on your timeline.
When you block someone, they can no longer post on your timeline. They won’t be able to see anything you post on your timeline, tag you, invite you, friend you, or initiate a conversation with you. You will also unfriend them if you are already friends with them.
To block someone, use the following steps:
- In the upper-right corner of your Facebook page, click the arrow.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings”
- Find and select “Blocking” from the left-hand column.
- Look for the “Block users” section in the center of the page and type the person’s name — or a portion of it — into the “Block users” field.
- A list of names that match what you typed in will appear. Locate the individual you want to block and click the “Block” button next to their name.
- If you change your mind, it’s fairly simple to unblock someone — simply return to the “Block users” section, and you’ll see a list of everyone you’ve blocked beneath the “Block users” field. Simply click the “Unblock” button next to their name to unblock them.
What Is Facebook Blocking?
You can block a profile from seeing and interacting with your posts, comments, and updates. When you block someone’s profile, they can no longer:
- Add you as a friend.
- See your posts and timeline.
- Tagged in status updates, comments, and photos.
- Chat with you or send direct messages
- Send you invitations to events and groups.
When you unfriend or unfollow a friend, Facebook automatically unfriends and unfollows that profile, removing their activity from your feed. Keep in mind, however, that blocking and other restrictions are profile-specific; if the blocked person creates a new profile, they can contact you again.
How to Block Someone on Facebook: Detailed Guide
Blocking Someone on Facebook Desktop
To block someone from a desktop browser, do the following:
- Navigate to the person’s profile page.
- Click on the three-dot menu to the right of their cover photo.
- On the next pop-up, select Block and then Confirm.
Blocking Using Facebook Application
When you block someone using the Facebook mobile app, the steps are pretty similar:
- Navigate to the individual’s profile page.
- Select the three-dot menu next to the messaging option to access the manage screen.
- Following your selection of Block, a confirmation window will appear.
- When you’re ready, pause, reflect, and click Confirm.
Using a Mobile Browser
To block a profile on Facebook using a mobile browser, follow these steps:
- Go to your profile and look for the three-dot menu next to the Message option.
- From the three-dot menu, choose Block.
- In the following pop-up, press Block once more.
Using On Messenger on Facebook
When you block someone on Messenger, they can’t send you messages or call you on Facebook or Instagram.
To block someone on Messenger, follow these steps:
- Open the chat window with the person you want to block, and click the “i” icon in the top right corner of your screen.
- Scroll down to Privacy Settings and select Block.
- A pop-up window will appear, asking you to choose whether to block only the messages and calls or the entire Facebook profile.
- Make an informed decision.
Note that blocking on Messenger differs from blocking on Facebook in that you can still see and visit a blocked profile on Facebook. Depending on their settings, you can see their status, likes, comments, and tags.
Messenger Filtering
Messenger recently introduced the Restrict feature, which can be found directly above the Block option. When you restrict someone on Messenger, you can do the following:
- Remove from your conversation list, and you no longer receive notifications.
- Prevent the restricted user from seeing whether or not you have read their messages or your activity status.
- They will not be notified, allowing you to restrict and unrestricted profiles without their knowledge.
How to Obtain Access to Your Blocked List
Seeing the list of blocked people is simple:
- Step 1: From your Facebook homepage, click the down arrow in the top right corner of your screen.
- Step 2: From the drop-down menu, select Settings & Privacy and then click Settings.
- Step 3: In the left-hand panel, click Blocking to see a list of blocking tools.
- Step 4: In the pop-up window, click the Edit button next to Block Users and select See Your Blocked List.
Within the Mobile App
If you want to access the blocked list through the Facebook mobile app, the procedure is slightly different:
- Step 1: Launch the app, navigate to the settings page, and then click the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen. This opens the Settings & Privacy page.
- Step 2: Go to the Audience and Visibility section and scroll down.
- Step 3: Click Blocking to see a list of people who have been blocked from viewing your profile.
The list also includes an additional method for blocking people. You can add people to the list without visiting their profile pages by searching for them in the search bar.
What Happens After I Block a Profile?
Blocking someone prevents them from interacting with you directly. However, you may still come across them through mutual friends and tagged posts.
Here is a list of what you can see after blocking someone:
- Messages: Your message history with the blocked person is still available in your inbox. Mutual friends can also add you to a group chat with the person who has blocked you. However, you can easily delete or leave a conversation at any time.
- Mutual Friend’s Content: If the blocked person and a mutual friend tag each other in a photo, the tagged content will be visible to you on your mutual friend’s timeline.
- Groups: You can see if the blocked person is a member or creator of a group, but they can’t view your group activities or send you invitations.
- Events: Although the blocked profile cannot send you event invitations, you will be able to see common events to which both of you have been invited.
- Apps and games: Your blocks are rendered ineffective in third-party games and apps. A blocked profile may appear in a game’s chat room or as an opponent.
- Marketplace: Buyers can leave reviews even if the seller has blocked their profiles. Sellers can also read and comment on reviews left by buyers who have blocked them.
- Additional Profiles: Blocking someone does not affect any other profiles they may have or create in the future.
Which is Best? Snooze, unfollow, block, or unfriend
Facebook wants us to use the block feature as the last resort, but it also provides other tools with varying degrees of constraint. Before you block someone, consider the following alternatives:
- Snooze: When you snooze a friend, their posts, comments, and activities are removed from your news feed for the next 30 days. To snooze someone, go to one of their posts and click the three-dot menu in the top right corner. You’ll be able to hide or snooze posts from that profile. You can also limit the duration of snoozing posts.
- Hide: This feature allows you to remove specific posts from your daily feed rather than your entire profile. Assume a friend posts a movie review with spoilers, and you only read the first line. You can still save your movie-going experience by hiding the post from your daily feed. Select Hide the post from your profile from the three-dot menu.
- Unfollow: Unfollowing allows you to keep people on your friend list who have shares and posts you don’t want to see on a regular basis. It prevents their content from showing up in your daily feed. Unfollowing them is available by clicking the three-dot menu on their profile page.
- Unfriend: Unfriending someone removes them from your profile and prevents them from seeing your non-public posts. You can still view their public profile, chat with them (if non-friend chatting is enabled), and send friend requests.
- Block: The ultimate restraint tool that renders you and the blocked user invisible to each other.
Unblocking a Profile
When you unblock someone, you remove them from your blocked list and allow them to see your publicly shared posts and content.
However, unblocking a profile does not automatically make them your Facebook friend. To add them to your list, you must send a request. You will also be unable to block them for the next 48 hours.
To unblock someone, follow these steps:
- Follow the steps outlined above to gain access to your blocked list.
- The unblock option is located beside each name on your blocked list.
How To Take a Break From Someone’s Profile
It is sometimes necessary to see less of someone, especially after a breakup or a disagreement between friends. Facebook has launched a new “take a break” feature, which allows you to:
- Don’t See Much of them: Unfollow someone and select what you want to see from their profile to see less of them. Facebook prevents you from messaging or tagging that profile in photos.
- Restrict Users: The profile from which you wish to take a break is added to your restricted list. They can only see posts in which you tag them and photos that you have publicly shared.
- Edit Visibility: You can change the privacy settings of old photos, posts, and videos so that they are only visible to tagged profiles. You can also choose which profiles can see your old posts.
Also, if you don’t want your message threads to appear in your list every time you open Facebook Chat or Messenger, you can archive them.
Do they know when I block them?
When you block a contact on Android or iPhone, they will still be able to text you. These messages will not appear on your phone, but the sender will see that they were sent. They will be unaware that they have been blocked.
Is it possible for someone to see if you blocked them on Facebook Messenger?
When you block someone’s Facebook profile on Messenger, you also block their Facebook profile. They will be unable to message, call, or search for your Facebook profile. If you block someone on Facebook, you also unfriend them. When you block someone, they are not notified.
How long does a Facebook block last?
The length of a temporary Facebook block is determined by the severity of the violation and the user’s Facebook history. It has been discovered that a temporary block can last as little as a few hours or as long as 30 days. There is currently no way to view the Block’s duration.
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