Facebook friend requests allow users to connect with each other on the platform. When you send a friend request to someone, they will receive a notification prompting them to confirm or ignore the request. But what happens if the recipient takes no action on the request? Do Facebook friend requests expire or disappear if left unattended?
In short, Facebook friend requests do not expire or disappear on their own. A pending friend request will stay in place indefinitely until the recipient accepts or ignores it. There is no set time limit for responding to a friend request on Facebook.
Understanding Facebook Friend Requests
When you want to connect with someone on Facebook, you can send them a friend request. This sends a notification to their account prompting them to take action on your request.
Here is an overview of how Facebook friend requests work:
- You send a friend request to someone by going to their profile and clicking “Add Friend.”
- The recipient will receive a notification that you want to be friends.
- They have the option to confirm your request, which will add you as friends.
- They can also choose to ignore the request, which takes no action.
- Or they can delete the request, which withdraws it entirely.
Once you have sent someone a friend request, it will sit pending until the recipient confirms, ignores, or deletes it. There is no expiration date or time limit for responding. The ball is entirely in the recipient’s court.
Do Facebook Friend Requests Expire?
So do Facebook friend requests expire after a certain amount of time? The short answer is no. Once you send someone a friend request, there is no expiration date or time limit associated with it.
Facebook friend requests do not automatically disappear or get deleted from the recipient’s account if they fail to respond after a certain period of time. The request has no expiration and will continue to sit in their inbox indefinitely until they take action on it.
Even if you send someone a friend request and they never respond, it will not delete itself. There have been instances of friend requests persisting for years without a response. The only way for a friend request to be removed is if the recipient proactively accepts, ignores, or deletes it. Facebook’s system does not impose any time restrictions.
Why Don’t Facebook Friend Requests Expire?
Facebook likely designed its friend request system this way to give recipients full control over who they connect with. Since there is no expiration date, the user can decide if and when they want to respond to a request without feeling rushed or pressured.
Having lifelong pending requests also allows recipients to revisit old requests if they change their mind later on. Rather than the request disappearing, they still have the option to accept it.
Overall, Facebook’s approach reduces unwanted removals of requests and gives the recipient unlimited time to make their decision.
Can a Sender Withdraw a Pending Friend Request?
If you’ve sent someone a friend request on Facebook but then change your mind, can you withdraw it?
The answer is yes – if you no longer want an outstanding friend request to remain, you can revoke it at any time as the sender:
- Go to your Facebook profile and click on the Friends section.
- Here you will see a list of any pending friend requests you have sent.
- Hover over the request you want to revoke and click the “Cancel Request” button.
- This will immediately withdraw your friend request so it is no longer pending in the recipient’s inbox.
Withdrawing a request is permanent – once canceled, the recipient will no longer see it on their end. This allows you to back out of requests that have gone unanswered.
However, you cannot remove requests that the recipient has already seen and ignored. Once ignored, the only way to eliminate it is for the recipient to take action and delete it themselves. But by withdrawing pending requests, you can proactively clean up your end.
Can the Recipient Take Any Action?
While Facebook friend requests do not expire, the recipient does have a few options to manage requests sitting in their inbox:
Confirm the Request
If the recipient decides they want to connect with you, they can click the Confirm button on your request. This will add you as a friend on Facebook.
Ignore the Request
Ignoring does not do anything to the actual request – it will continue to stay pending in the recipient’s inbox indefinitely. But ignoring will remove the notification, which some users do just to clean up their notifications.
Delete the Request
If the recipient no longer wants your request clogging up their inbox, they can actively delete it. This permanently removes the request so they will no longer see it.
Deleting a friend request is the only way for the recipient to fully eliminate it from their account. Ignoring or letting it expire will not make it disappear.
How Long Do Deleted Friend Requests Stay in the Trash?
If the recipient deletes your friend request, how long until it’s gone for good?
Deleted Facebook friend requests remain in the recipient’s trash folder for 30 days before being permanently erased:
- When the recipient first deletes your request, it moves to their trash folder.
- It will stay here but remain fully deleted from inbox view.
- After 30 days, the deleted request is permanently removed from their account.
- Once past 30 days, the recipient cannot retrieve or restore the deleted request.
So when you have a friend request deleted, it is not immediately wiped from existence. Facebook keeps it recoverable in the trash for one month, just in case the user changes their mind.
But after 30 days have passed, the deleted request is gone for good and cannot be restored.
Can You Resend a Deleted Friend Request?
If the recipient deletes your friend request, is it possible to send it to them again in the future?
Yes, you can resend a friend request on Facebook even if the recipient previously deleted it. When you send someone a new request after a prior deletion, here is what happens:
- Your new request will appear in the recipient’s inbox as normal.
- They will not be notified it is a re-request if 30+ days have passed.
- The recipient can then decide whether to confirm, ignore, or delete it again.
Resending a deleted request essentially resets the process and gives the recipient a fresh choice.
However, you cannot spam someone over and over with requests again and again. If the recipient has recently deleted your request within the last 30 days, Facebook will not permit you to immediately resend it. This protects users from harassment.
But once sufficient time has passed, you are free to send a new friend request and try connecting again if you desire. Just be respectful of the recipient’s previous choice and don’t badger them with relentless requests.
Can You Accept a Friend Request That Was Accidentally Deleted?
What if you’re the recipient of a friend request and you deleted it on accident – is there any way to recover it?
Unfortunately, no. Once you delete someone’s friend request, it cannot be undone or accepted at a later date. Some key points:
- When you delete a request, it moves to your trash folder for 30 days before being permanently erased.
- During those 30 days, you cannot recover the request to accept it.
- After 30 days, the deleted request is wiped from your account and cannot be retrieved.
- Your only option is to have the sender resend you a new friend request.
So if you changed your mind and wanted to accept a deleted request, you cannot dig it back up. The nuclear option of deleting a request wipes it clean with no undo capability.
Your only recourse is to contact the sender and ask them to send you a new friend request that you can then confirm. But once that original request hits the 30 day mark in your trash folder, it’s gone for good in all circumstances.
Can Facebook Delete Old, Unanswered Friend Requests?
Based on Facebook’s current policies, there is no indication that the company actively deletes or removes unanswered friend requests after a certain amount of time. Requests seem to persist indefinitely.
However, Facebook likely reserves the right to purge unanswered requests as they see fit. The platform has changed policies before, and may do so again in the future.
Few social media platforms permit lifelong pending requests between users. So it would not be surprising if one day Facebook instituted expiration dates for unconfirmed requests, such as:
- Deleting requests older than 1 year.
- Removing requests from inactive accounts.
- Capping the maximum number of pending requests.
But as of now, no such expiration policies are in place. Facebook leans towards giving users full control over managing requests.
Of course, users can still delete old, unwanted requests on their own initiative. But the company itself does not automatically remove them after a certain period of unresponsiveness. Requests seem to persist indefinitely unless the user takes action.
Tips for Following Up on Unanswered Friend Requests
Having a Facebook friend request go unanswered can be disappointing. Here are some tips on how to follow up on requests that have received no response:
Wait a Full Week
Give the recipient at least week before following up. Friend requests often get lost in notifications and they may just need more time to notice it.
Send a Message
Politely send them a message saying you noticed they hadn’t responded to your friend request from last week. Keep it casual.
Refrain from Repeated Requests
Never bombard someone with multiple friend requests if they ignore your initial one. This will come off as desperate or creepy.
Accept Their Decision
If your follow up also goes unanswered, it’s best to move on. Not everyone will want to accept your request. Don’t take it personally.
Try Connecting in Real Life
If possible, try striking up a real life conversation with the person to warm them up to the idea of connecting online.
With thoughtfulness and patience, you can increase your chance of turning an unanswered request into mutual friendship. But also know when to respectfully back off if someone remains unresponsive.
Can You Limit Who Can Send You Friend Requests?
Is there a way to lock down your Facebook profile so you only get friend requests from certain people?
Yes, Facebook does provide privacy options to restrict who can send you friend requests:
Friends of Friends
– Only allow requests from friends of your existing friends. This is the default setting.
Friends Only
– The most restrictive setting. Only users already in your friends list can send requests.
Everyone
– Open your account up fully to anyone. This exposes you to more spam and bots.
To change this setting:
- Go to your Facebook Settings.
- Click on the Privacy tab.
- Navigate to the “Who can send you friend requests?” section.
- Select your desired option: Friends of Friends, Friends Only, or Public.
The Friends of Friends option strikes a good balance for most Facebook users. But you can limit requests even further or permit requests from anyone. Adjust this based on your comfort level.
Should You Accept Every Facebook Friend Request You Get?
Getting a lot of friend requests on Facebook can seem flattering, but should you accept every single one? Here are some factors to consider:
Do You Know the Sender?
If the request comes from someone you know reasonably well in real life, go ahead and confirm it to strengthen your connection. But for strangers or bare acquaintances, ignore or delete.
Is There a Mutual Friend?
Having shared friends makes the request more legitimate. But always check for context clues that your mutual friend actually knows the sender personally.
Are They Suspicious?
Don’t accept requests from accounts with little info or activity. These are likely fake profiles trying to gain access or spam you.
Your Comfort Level
Only accept requests you’re comfortable with. It’s better to ignore questionable ones rather than regretting it later.
While many requests will be perfectly harmless, following these guidelines can help filter out shady ones. Use your own judgment and don’t feel obligated to add contacts you don’t know or trust.
Should You Delete All Your Pending Friend Requests Periodically?
As time passes, you may end up with old, lingering friend requests clogging up your Facebook inbox. Is it wise to do periodic purges deleting these requests?
Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Pros of Deleting Old Requests
- Cleans up your inbox and notifications.
- Removes requests you missed from people you can’t identify anymore.
- Limits chance of accidentally confirming suspicious requests.
Cons of Deleting Old Requests
- Eliminates potentially genuine requests you skipped over.
- Extra work sifting through all pending requests.
- You lose the context/reminder of who requested originally.
Overall, doing an occasional purge of old, building up requests can be beneficial for a cleaner inbox. But don’t overdo it, as you may end up removing requests you actually want to keep around from real contacts.
Use your best judgment on which requests seem too old or random to keep pending forever. But don’t feel an urgent need to delete requests unless your inbox gets extremely cluttered.
Should You Send Friend Requests to People You Don’t Know?
What about the flip side – is it wise to send Facebook friend requests to people you have no connection with?
Here are some risks of friending strangers:
- They will likely ignore or delete your request.
- May come across as creepy or intrusive.
- Exposes your profile and information to unknown parties.
- Possibility of them being fake or shady accounts.
In most cases, it’s best to avoid sending random friend requests. Doing so rarely leads to meaningful connections. People want to friend people they actually know.
Only exception might be sincerely reaching out to public figures or celebrities you admire, albeit with low expectations.
For ordinary people, focus friend requests on:
- Real life friends and acquaintances.
- Friends of friends with shared connections.
- People you have actually interacted with and want to know better.
This increases the likelihood of your request getting confirmed and leading to an authentic relationship. But resist the urge to randomly friend strangers just to boost your numbers.
Should You Ever Delete a Facebook Friend?
While we’ve explored managing incoming requests, what about existing Facebook friends? Is it ever wise to delete or unfriend a contact?
Reasons you may want to remove a friend include:
- The connection has run its course organically.
- You no longer get along or have a falling out.
- They overshare or post annoying content.
- Political or social differences drive you apart.
- They are inactive, fake, or suspicious accounts.
While pruning friends can seem aggressive, it is a valid way to curate your network. Use good judgment on when to remove stale, negative, or fake contacts.
But avoid mass deleting in anger or disputes. Try resolving issues amicably with friends first before cutting ties permanently online.
Conclusion
Receiving a Facebook friend request can be exciting, but also overwhelming if you get too many. While requests themselves do not expire, you ultimately have full control over who to add, ignore, or remove.
Be selective in managing both incoming requests and current friends to shape the network that feels right for you. This takes maintenance, but helps maximize the value of your social media connections.