Blocking someone on Facebook prevents them from seeing things you post, starting conversations with you, adding you as a friend, or inviting you to events or groups. However, it doesn’t completely erase their existence or prevent all forms of contact.
When you block someone on Facebook, here is what happens:
You won’t get new messages from a blocked person
Once you block someone, they can no longer send you new messages on Facebook. If they try to send you a message, it will not go through and they will not get a notification that you blocked them. They may still think the message was sent unless they check their sent box.
You won’t get notifications about a blocked person
In addition to not receiving new messages, you will stop getting notifications about a blocked person. This includes if they react to your posts, tag you, mention you, invite you to events, start conversations in groups that you both belong to, or do anything else that would normally notify you.
A blocked person’s messages will be filtered from your inbox
If the blocked person tries to send you a new message, it will not appear in your Facebook inbox at all. Their past messages will remain in your inbox history for now, but they will be filtered out so you won’t see them at the top of your messages list.
You can still see messages from before you blocked someone
While new messages are blocked, you can still read previous conversations with a blocked person in your message inbox. Their name will appear grayed out, and you have to click on it to view the messages. You can delete these past messages individually or all at once if you want.
A blocked person’s comments will be hidden from posts
The blocked person will not be able to comment on or react to your public posts and comments. If they had already commented on your posts in the past, those will also be hidden after you block them.
You won’t see a blocked person’s posts or be notified about their activity
In your timeline or news feed, posts made by someone you’ve blocked will no longer be visible. This helps prevent you from seeing their profile updates without directly visiting their page. Additionally, you won’t get notifications about their activity like being tagged in a post or leaving a comment.
You can still visit a blocked person’s public profile and posts
Unlike on your own news feed, you can still manually visit a blocked person’s public profile page and see what they post. Blocking only prevents their posts from automatically appearing in your feed. If you go directly to their page, you will be able to see everything they post publicly as usual.
A blocked person won’t be suggested to you by Facebook
Facebook’s algorithms try to reconnect you with people you may know or used to be connected to on the platform. Once you block someone, Facebook will no longer recommend them to you as a friend suggestion and will avoid displaying their content in your feeds or notifications.
You can’t add a blocked person back as a friend
If you regret blocking someone and want to add them back as a friend, you will first need to unblock them. You can’t send a friend request to someone who is blocked. They would also be unable to send a request to you or accept one while blocked.
Other ways a blocked person’s profile may be limited for you
In addition to the main changes above, blocking someone on Facebook can impact their profile and interactions in other minor ways:
- Their profile picture may be hidden in mutual friends’ posts and comments
- Their profile won’t be suggested in the audience selector when posting
- Their profile may show limited info or be unavailable in messenger
- You may see mutual friends listed as “Facebook User” on their profile
A blocked person won’t get any notification that you blocked them
When you block someone on Facebook, they aren’t notified or warned by the platform itself. The only way they may realize is if they try to interact with you and see your profile is now unreachable.
Some signs that may tip them off include:
- Being unable to message you
- Your profile disappearing from their friends list
- Not seeing new posts from you in their news feed
- Past messages between you now showing as unavailable
You can unblock someone if you change your mind
Blocking on Facebook isn’t permanent unless you delete the person as a friend altogether. If you regret blocking someone, you can easily unblock them to restore your connection and allow contact again.
To unblock someone:
- Go to your Facebook Settings
- Click “Blocking” in the left column
- Click “Unblock” next to the person’s name
This will immediately undo the block so they can message you again or interact with your profile as normal.
Other options besides blocking someone on Facebook
While blocking prevents someone from contacting you and hides their content, you have a few other options to limit contact:
Unfriending
Unfriending removes them from your friends list so you won’t see their posts, but still allows messaging. They can send a new friend request in the future.
Restricting
Restricting keeps them as a friend but hides their posts from your timeline. You can still message each other normally.
Muting notifications
Muting stops notifications from someone but allows you to remain friends. You’ll still see their posts.
Muting posts
Muting someone’s posts hides their content from your timeline but allows notifications. You stay friends.
Muting stories
Muting stories prevents someone’s stories from appearing at the top of your news feed. You can still view them on their profile.
If you feel harassed or unsafe, take further action
If someone is harassing you or making you feel unsafe, blocking may not be sufficient. Further actions Facebook provides include:
- Reporting a profile or specific content to Facebook
- Filing a legal request for content removal
- Submitting evidence to help Facebook remove accounts engaged in bullying or harassment
You can also consider speaking with authorities if you feel in danger or are concerned for your safety due to someone’s behavior on Facebook.
Conclusion
Blocking someone on Facebook prevents new contact or posts from that person showing up in your feed, but does not erase all evidence of them or past interactions. While you won’t get new messages, you can still see older messages and manually view their profile. The block is reversible in case you change your mind. For serious harassing behavior though, additional actions like reporting may be necessary.