Quick Answer
There are a couple different ways to remove the Add Friend button from Facebook messenger:
- You can block the person which removes the Add Friend button and prevents them from contacting you.
- You can adjust your Facebook privacy settings to limit who can send you friend requests.
The easiest and most straightforward method is to simply block the person you no longer wish to receive messages or friend requests from. The block feature will remove the Add Friend button from your messages with that person.
Explanation
Many users find the constant presence of the Add Friend button within Facebook messenger annoying, distracting, or unnecessary – especially when chatting one-on-one with people they may not wish to become Facebook friends with.
The Add Friend button appears by default in Facebook messenger whenever you are messaging someone who is not already in your Facebook friends list. This allows either person to easily send a friend request if desired.
However, for casual messaging conversations or when you want to limit contact with the person to just messenger, having this Add Friend button dominate the chat window can be frustrating.
Fortunately, Facebook provides a couple different options for removing the Add Friend button and controlling friend requests:
Option 1: Block the Person
The easiest way to get rid of the Add Friend button for an individual you are messaging is to simply block them. Here is how:
- Open your messages with the person you want to block.
- Click on their name at the top of the message window.
- Select the “Block” option from the dropdown menu.
Blocking the person has several effects:
- Removes the Add Friend button from your messages.
- Prevents the person from contacting you or seeing things you post.
- Deletes the message history with that person.
Blocking is ideal for completely cutting off contact with someone on messenger. Keep in mind blocking is irreversible, meaning if you change your mind later you will have to send a new friend request.
Option 2: Adjust Privacy Settings
If you don’t necessarily want to completely block someone but just want to remove the friend request capability, you can adjust your privacy settings.
Here are the steps:
- Go to your Facebook Settings menu and select “Privacy”.
- Choose “Privacy Settings”.
- Click “Friends and Networks”.
- Under “Who can send you friend requests?”, select “Friends of Friends” or stricter.
This will limit who can send you friend requests to just mutual friends, or an even smaller group if you choose a more restrictive setting.
The disadvantage of this approach vs blocking is that it doesn’t single out the specific person you want to limit. It applies your settings to everyone.
Additional Options
Here are a couple other options related to managing friend requests and the Add Friend button:
Turn Off Friend Request Notifications
If you don’t want to go so far as completely blocking friend requests, but want them to be less intrusive, you can turn off notifications. Go to Settings > Notifications and disable notifications for Friend Requests.
Delete Message History
Without fully blocking someone, you can delete your message history with them. This keeps the messenger conversation fresh and removes some of the relationship implied by an established history. To delete history, open the conversation, click on the name at the top, and select “Delete Messages.”
Summary
The Add Friend button can be annoying or unnecessary when chatting one-on-one with people on messenger. Here are your options to remove it:
- Block the person – This fully cuts off contact on messenger.
- Adjust privacy settings – Limit who can send you requests overall.
- Turn off friend request notifications – Make them less intrusive.
- Delete message history – Reset the relationship.
Blocking the person is the simplest targeted approach. Adjusting privacy settings can work but limits requests from all people, not just one.
The Pros and Cons of Facebook Friend Requests
While removing the Add Friend button may be desirable in some messaging situations, friend requests and Facebook friends do have some potential benefits:
Pros of Facebook Friends
- Allows you to keep in touch and follow what they post.
- Lets you message them easily in the future.
- Builds your social network and connections.
- Shows mutual friends you may have in common.
There are advantages to being friends such as staying updated on their life activities, being able to reach out later, and building your social circle.
Cons of Facebook Friends
- Over-sharing of personal content.
- Drama or unwanted interactions.
- Feeling obligated to accept requests.
- Too many notifications and updates.
However, some downsides are over-sharing of drama or personal details, feeling obligated to accept friend requests, and too many updates.
Balancing the Pros and Cons
Ultimately, it’s about finding the right balance for each relationship. Having some common friends can be beneficial, but too many superficial connections leads to fatigue. Being selective and curating your friend list to those you truly want to keep up with is best.
Should You Remove the Add Friend Button?
Here are some key questions to consider when deciding whether or not to remove the Add Friend button for someone:
- How well do you know this person?
- How often do you interact?
- Do you want to follow their activities?
- Is there a chance you’d message them in the future?
- Do you have many mutual friends?
If you barely know them, don’t interact much, don’t care to follow their updates, and have no reason to message them later, removing the option to add as a friend could be beneficial.
But if you have an established relationship, mutual connections, or think you may want to contact them later, allowing friend requests as an option could be advantageous.
Conclusion
The Add Friend button in Facebook messenger provides an easy avenue for strengthening relationships by connecting as Facebook friends. However, for casual messaging conversations, it can feel distracting and unnecessary.
Blocking the person completely removes the button and prevents further contact. Adjusting privacy settings can also limit some friend request abilities. But these options have trade-offs, so consider the situation and relationship carefully.
Overall, being selective about who you choose to friend and proactively curating your friend list to meaningful connections is recommended over merely removing friend request capabilities in messenger. This provides a balanced approach to leveraging the pros of Facebook friends while minimizing the cons.