Removing someone from your Facebook contact list is a simple process that can be done in just a few clicks. Here are the steps to take someone off your contacts on Facebook.
Why Would You Want to Remove Someone From Your Contact List?
There are a few main reasons why you may want to remove someone from your Facebook contacts:
- You are no longer friends or acquaintances with the person
- The person has been posting inappropriate or spam content
- You want to limit the information the person can see about you
- The person requested you add them but you don’t actually know them
Removing them from your contacts limits their ability to interact with you and see details about your life on Facebook. It’s a good way to tidy up your contacts and protect your privacy.
How to Remove Someone from Facebook Contacts
From the Facebook Website
If you are using the Facebook website on a computer, here are the steps to remove a contact:
- Click on the upside down triangle icon at the top right of any Facebook page. This will open a drop-down menu.
- Select “Friends” from the menu.
- On the Friends page, click on the button that says “All Friends” at the top.
- Use the search bar to find the name of the person you want to remove.
- Click on the three dots icon next to their name.
- Select “Remove this friend” from the pop-up menu.
- Confirm that you want to remove the person by clicking on the “Confirm” button.
This will immediately remove the person from your friends/contacts list. They will no longer show up as a friend, and certain information you post will be automatically hidden from them.
From the Facebook Mobile App
If you are using the Facebook mobile app on your smartphone, the process is very similar:
- Open the Facebook app and tap on the “Friends” tab at the bottom.
- Tap on the “All Friends” button.
- Use the search function to find the name of the person you want to remove.
- Tap on their name to open their profile.
- Tap on the three dots icon in the upper right corner of their profile.
- Select “Unfriend” from the menu.
- Confirm that you want to remove the friend.
This will remove them right away. The process is essentially the same whether you’re on iOS or Android.
Other Ways to Remove Someone
In addition to the main method of removing someone directly from your friends list, there are a couple other approaches you can use:
Restrict Them
Rather than fully removing someone, you have the option to “Restrict” them. This lets you remain connected as friends, but limits their ability to see your posts or interact with you.
To restrict someone:
- Go to their profile page.
- Click on the three dots icon in the corner.
- Select “Restrict” from the menu.
This is useful if you don’t necessarily want to remove them fully, but want to limit their access and ability to bother you.
Unfollow Them
You can also choose to keep them as a friend but “unfollow” them. This means you stay connected but their posts will no longer automatically show up in your News Feed.
To unfollow someone:
- Go to their profile page.
- Hover over the “Following” button below their cover photo.
- Click on “Unfollow” in the pop-up menu.
This lets you stay friends but cuts down on the updates you see from them. You can always check their profile manually if you want.
Block Them
Blocking someone prevents them from viewing your profile or contacting you entirely. You also won’t be able to view their profile. Use this for people who are bothering or harassing you.
To block someone:
- Click on the upside down triangle icon in the top right corner.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” then “Settings”.
- Click on “Blocking” in the left sidebar.
- Enter the name of the person you want to block.
- Click “Block”.
What Happens When You Remove Someone
Here are some key things that happen when you delete someone as a friend on Facebook:
- They are removed from your friends list immediately.
- They can no longer see posts you make that are set to “Friends Only”.
- You both lose access to view each other’s list of friends.
- Messages between you within Facebook Messenger are removed.
- They are no longer able to tag you in posts or photos.
However, there are some things that do NOT happen:
- They are not notified when you remove them.
- Any posts or photos you previously tagged them in will not change.
- Messages outside of Messenger will not be removed.
- You may still appear in their friends list after removal.
In summary, removing them limits future interactions but does not delete your past history and connections on Facebook.
Should You Let Someone Know You Removed Them?
Most of the time, you do not need to explicitly tell someone that you removed them from your Facebook friends list. The most important impact is that it limits their ability to interact with you in the future.
However, there are some cases where you may want to let them know:
- If you have cut off contact with them completely in real life and want to send a clear message on Facebook too.
- If they have been bothering you or acting inappropriately and you want them to know this behavior led to removal.
- If you still communicate with them through other channels and want to explain your reasoning for removing them.
Otherwise, if it was just a general tidy up of your contacts list, you usually don’t need to call attention to removing them.
What to Do If Someone Notices and Asks About Being Removed
For most casual Facebook friends or acquaintances, they likely will not even notice if you remove them from your friends list. However, some closer connections may notice if they try to visit your profile or interact with you.
If someone asks you why they were removed or can no longer see your profile, here are some polite ways to respond:
- “I’ve been trying to limit my friends list to people I’m in frequent contact with these days.”
- “I’ve been cutting back on Facebook lately and trying to tidy up my profile.”
- “Sorry, I’ve just been doing an overhaul of my account and removing old contacts.”
You can also take the direct approach and politely explain if their behavior is the reason you felt compelled to remove them. But in most cases a simple explanation that you are removing old contacts is perfectly acceptable.
How to Re-Add Someone You Removed
If you change your mind later on, it is possible to add someone back who you previously removed from your Facebook friends list.
To send them a friend request again:
- Go to their profile page.
- Click on the “Add Friend” button below their cover photo.
- This will send them a new friend request which they can accept to regain access to your profile.
Keep in mind you will both gain access again to each other’s profiles, so only do this if you want them to view your account details again.
Conclusion
Removing someone from your Facebook friends list is easy to do in just a few clicks from desktop or mobile. It limits their access to your profile and is a great way to tidy up your contacts and protect your privacy.
Be mindful of whether you want to notify the person about removing them. In most cases it is not needed unless you have cut off contact entirely. If someone notices and asks about it, polite explanations about limiting your contacts work well.
Removing Facebook contacts enables you to craft your profile to be visible just to the close connections you want to share updates and photos with. Don’t be afraid to prune your friends list to create a better experience.