This is a common question for many Facebook users. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook has become a huge part of people’s social lives. As friendships change over time, many users find themselves wanting to “unfriend” certain people on Facebook. However, they may hesitate to do so because they don’t want to upset anyone or cause drama by having that person find out they unfriended them. So do Facebook friends get notified when you unfriend them? The short answer is no, but let’s dive into the details.
What happens when you unfriend someone on Facebook?
When you unfriend someone on Facebook, it removes that friend connection between your profiles. This means:
- They will no longer show up as a friend in your friends list.
- You will stop seeing their posts in your News Feed.
- They will no longer be able to view any of your posts that are set to Friends only.
- You will both stop being suggested as potential tag options when tagging photos.
- Any tags that person had on your posts in the past will be removed.
- You will no longer be able to see information on their profile that is only visible to friends, like their full friends list.
So essentially, unfriending someone removes them from your social circle on Facebook. However, they will not get any type of notification informing them of this change.
Why doesn’t Facebook notify people when they are unfriended?
Facebook does not send out notifications when someone unfriends someone else. There’s a few reasons behind this:
- To avoid unnecessary drama – Getting an alert that a friend unfriended you could stir up unwanted conflict. Facebook wants to avoid fueling online feuds.
- User privacy – Users may unfriend someone because they want more privacy from that person or havepersonal reasons for cutting ties. Notifying the unfriended person goes against this desire for space.
- Too many friending/unfriending actions – With so much friending/unfriending activity happening on Facebook all the time, sending notifications for all these actions would be excessive.
Essentially, the only person who knows you got unfriended is you. This allows people to prune their friends lists without social repercussions.
How to tell if you’ve been unfriended by someone
Since Facebook doesn’t send an alert, how can you tell if someone has unfriended you? There are a few subtle signs:
- They disappear from your friends list.
- You can no longer tag them in posts or photos.
- You stop seeing their posts in your News Feed.
- Any past tags you had on their posts/photos disappear.
- Mutual friend connections change or drop.
- Chat history with that friend disappears.
Checking a few of these indicators is the best way to confirm if you’ve been unfriended. However, if you don’t have many mutual friends or rarely interacted with that person on Facebook to begin with, it may be harder to tell.
Can you tell if someone just blocked you?
Blocking and unfriending are different actions on Facebook that have overlapping effects:
- Unfriending – Removes a friend connection so you no longer see each other’s posts.
- Blocking – Prevents someone from viewing your profile, contacting you, or seeing things you post.
If someone only blocks you, it can look similar to being unfriended from your end:
- You can still technically be Facebook friends.
- You will stop seeing their posts and profile updates.
- Your past communications will disappear.
Mutual friends may still be visible.
However, someone who blocked you would not disappear from your friends list. And if you visit their profile directly, you would see a message saying the content is unavailable.
So while it’s sometimes ambiguous, blocking and unfriending do have small differences in their effects.
Should you unfriend someone who unfriended you first?
Finding out you’ve been unfriended can feel upsetting or like a social snub. Some people’s first instinct may be to unfriend that person back. However, here are a few things to consider before reacting:
- Don’t take it personally – People unfriend for many reasons that have nothing to do with you directly. It doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t like you.
- Consider why they may have done it – If you’re disturbing them with constant notifications or posts they disagree with, unfriending you may have been their way to resolve this.
- Focus on mutual friendships – Just because one connection faded doesn’t mean you have to lose touch with all mutual friends.
- Reflect on if you still want them seeing your posts – You may decide it’s also best for you if they are unfriended too.
Essentially, being reactionary or aggressive about it rarely helps. Take time to process the change before deciding if you should also unfriend them. If you still want to maintain a cordial relationship with them offline, unfriending them back could just create unnecessary social complexity.
Can you tell who viewed your Facebook profile?
While you can’t get notifications for unfriending, many Facebook users are also curious about who has viewed their profile. Facebook does not have a direct way to see who viewed your profile at this time. While some third-party apps claim they can show you this info, it is unlikely to be accurate. Facebook’s privacy settings prevent your profile views from being accessed like this.
Some things that may look like someone viewing your profile but are not:
- Seeing ads based on your profile info – Facebook may show people ads based on your profile data, even if they haven’t viewed your profile.
- Visiting as a non-logged in user – People can view profiles while logged out, which would not show up as a view from that specific account.
- Brief preview in News Feed – Hovering over your post in someone’s feed does not necessarily count as a profile view.
So while certain activities may suggest someone could be peeking at your profile periodically, there’s no way to know for sure on Facebook.
Will unfriending someone cause drama?
For most friendships, unfriending someone on Facebook causes little to no drama at all. In many cases, the unfriended person may not even notice they’ve been unfriended if you did not interact much online.
However, there are some situations where unfriending can exacerbate existing social tensions:
- During fights or falling outs with close friends
- In romantic relationships or after a bad breakup
- If you share mutual friends who may get dragged into the issue
- When coworkers or professional contacts unfriend each other
Basically, the closer or more intertwined the relationship, the more likely an unfriending action will come across as a social slight or contribute to drama. With distant acquaintances though, it usually goes unnoticed.
Tips to avoid drama from unfriending someone
If you foresee the potential for drama or hurt feelings when unfriending someone, here are some tips to handle it tactfully:
- Do it slowly – Unfollow them first so posts stop showing up. Give it time before officially unfriending.
- Limit mutual friendships – Prune some shared friends as well to limit talk about the change.
- Untag yourself first – Remove any connections like shared photos before unfriending.
- Provide advanced warning – If appropriate, let them know you intend to remove them.
- Block them too – This prevents them from easily noticing by viewing your profile.
- Adjust privacy settings – Limit the audience on any posts referencing the change.
- Avoid public call-outs – Venting or posting about the issue could stir up drama.
With the right precautions, you can discreetly unfriend someone without causing a stir. The less obvious the change, the less likely it is to become a big issue.
Conclusion
To wrap up, when you unfriend someone on Facebook it does not send them any form of notification or alert. The change occurs silently on their end. However, there are still subtle signs the person may pick up on to figure out they’ve been unfriended if you actively interacted before.
While getting unfriended can feel awkward or hurtful, try not to take it personally. People unfriend for many reasons that may have nothing to do with you directly. Before reacting, take time to process why it may have happened and if you need to remove that person too. With close relationships, handle the situation tactfully to avoid social drama. But for most acquaintances, unfriending will go unnoticed and cause no issues at all.