On Facebook Messenger, the “follow” feature allows you to subscribe to updates from specific friends, pages, and groups without becoming friends with or liking those accounts. When you follow someone on Messenger, you’ll see their stories and get notifications when they go live. You’ll also be able to reply to their stories. However, following does not give you access to private messages or full profiles like being friends would.
How to Follow Someone on Messenger
Following people on Messenger is easy. Here are the steps:
- Open the Messenger app and go to the chat list.
- Tap on the person or page you want to follow.
- In the upper right corner, tap the Follow button.
The button will turn blue to indicate you are now following that account. Any stories or live broadcasts they share will show up in your feed. You can unfollow at any time by tapping the Following button.
Benefits of Following People on Messenger
Here are some of the benefits of using Messenger’s follow feature:
- See updates from people you don’t know well enough to friend.
- Keep up with your favorite brands, celebs, influencers, and community pages.
- Discover entertaining or informative stories and live videos.
- Interact with stories through real-time comments and reactions.
- Stay in the loop without cluttering up your main News Feed.
Following allows you to expand who you hear from without friending everyone. It’s great for low-commitment connections or quietly keeping tabs on crushes, exes, and new love interests.
Who Can See Your Followers and Following Lists?
Your full lists of followers and accounts you are following on Messenger are private. No one else can see them. The only followers visible to others are people who react to or view your stories. If you view someone’s story anonymously, they will not see you as a follower.
Limits to Following on Messenger
While following can help you keep up with more people, there are some limitations:
- You can only react to stories from accounts you follow.
- You won’t get notifications for regular posts or shares.
- You can’t message back and forth with followed accounts.
- Your disappeared messages settings don’t apply to stories.
So essentially, following gives you access to view stories, but not full communication. You still need to friend people for unlimited messaging abilities.
Following vs. Friending on Messenger
Here’s a quick comparison of what you can do as a friend vs. a follower:
| Action | As a Friend | As a Follower |
|---|---|---|
| See posts and stories | Yes | Only stories |
| Message | Yes | No |
| Get notifications | Yes | Only for live videos and stories |
| See full profile | Yes | No |
So friend status gives you fuller access and interaction. Following is more passive and limited.
Following Friends Who Aren’t Following You Back
It’s possible to follow someone who doesn’t follow you back. This allows you to see their stories without cluttering up their own feed with your updates. One-sided following can be useful when:
- Catching up with old friends or exes without expectation they’ll follow back.
- Following celebrity or influencer accounts.
- Following new crushes or romantic interests.
- Following co-workers, bosses, or clients to stay connected.
One-sided following doesn’t notify the person or page you are now following their updates. So it can be a discreet, low-pressure way to keep tabs on certain people.
Is Following Someone Back Necessary?
No, following back is not required. You can follow anyone you want without expectation they will follow you in return. Many people and pages have a general open following policy. However, for friends and acquaintances, it can be polite to follow back so you both stay updated.
Following Exes or Old Flames on Messenger
Following an ex or old flame can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it allows you to maintain a connection or keep up with what they’re doing. On the other hand, it can also stir up old feelings or cause hurt if you see them moving on.
Here are some dos and don’ts of following exes on Messenger:
- DO follow if you want an easy, non-disruptive way to keep in touch.
- DON’T follow if seeing their updates will reopen wounds.
- DO use it to gradually reconnect after a bad breakup.
- DON’T follow if one of you still has intense romantic feelings.
- DO follow if you both agree to stay friends.
- DON’T follow just to stalk their new relationship.
The healthiest following occurs when both parties have moved on and want casual friendly connection. Use your best judgment based on your specific situation.
Following a Crush or New Love Interest
Having a crush? Go ahead and follow them on Messenger! It allows you to:
- See their stories to feel more connected.
- Get notifications when they are active online.
- Comment on and react to their stories.
- Gauge their personality and interests.
- Build attraction through responding to their stories.
Following a crush or new date on Messenger helps you learn more about them without being too obvious. You can get a sense of their lifestyle to determine compatibility. Just be cautious about overanalyzing their updates or making your interest too known!
How to Know If Your Crush Likes You Back
Here are some signs your crush may like you back if you follow each other on Messenger:
- They view all your stories.
- They consistently like and react to your stories.
- They initiate messaging outside of just replying to stories.
- They watch your live videos.
- They share stories and posts directed at you.
Of course, the only way to know for sure if your crush likes you is to ask them out on a date! But following each other provides clues to gauge their interest.
Can You Follow Blocked Accounts on Messenger?
No, unfortunately you cannot follow someone on Messenger who has blocked you. You will get an error saying “Couldn’t follow” if you try. And you won’t see any stories or updates from blocked accounts in your feed.
The only way to follow a person who has blocked you is to reach out from a different account they haven’t blocked. But it’s best not to go around blocks – respect their privacy and space.
Making Your Stories Private on Messenger
You can make your Messenger stories private so they are only visible to people on your friends list. To do so:
- Go to the Stories section in Messenger.
- Tap on “Story Privacy” in the upper right.
- Select “Friends” to limit visibility just to friends.
This will prevent followers and non-friends from viewing your stories. You can toggle the privacy setting at any time.
Limits to How Many You Can Follow on Messenger
Facebook has not published any official limits to how many people or Pages you can follow on Messenger. However, at a certain point you will likely start getting notifications that “You are following a lot of people!” This appears to happen once you follow 200-300+ accounts.
While you can technically continue following more accounts past that warning, you may start running into issues like:
- Stories not loading
- Errors following more people
- Delays in notifications
To avoid problems, try keeping your follows under 300-500 accounts maximum. Unfollow old or inactive accounts periodically to free up space for new follows.
Using Messenger Following for Business
Messenger’s follow feature offers great opportunities for businesses and creators to grow their audience. Ways brands can leverage following include:
- Sharing exclusive discounts or giveaways via stories.
- Posting funny, entertaining, or helpful content.
- Going live with Q&As, tutorials, demos, and behind-the-scenes footage.
- Following target customer accounts to join their communities.
- Responding to followers’ reactions and story comments.
The interactive nature of reactions and messaging on stories differentiates Messenger from static Facebook and Instagram feeds. Brands that tap into this two-way engagement can build stronger connections with customers.
Best Practices for Businesses Using Messenger Follows
To gain and retain followers on Messenger as a business, keep these tips in mind:
- Post at least once daily.
- Use brief, eye-catching captions on stories.
- Respond promptly to followers.
- Ask intriguing questions or prompts.
- Share user-generated content.
- Go live for special events or announcements.
Posting high-quality content consistently, and interacting with your audience authentically and personally, will set you up for success with Messenger follows.
Conclusion
Messenger’s follow feature lets you stay updated on friends and accounts you care about through stories and live videos. Following someone is easy – just tap the Follow button on their chat screen.
Benefits of following include discovering entertaining content, communicating via reactions and comments, and loosely keeping up with certain people without friending. Just keep in mind the limits on messaging and profile access.
Use your discretion when following exes, crushes, or restricted accounts. And brands can leverage follows to foster engagement with current and potential customers.
In summary, Messenger following strikes a solid balance between connecting and giving space. Approach it as a way to build relationships gradually, not demand reciprocal interaction. With thoughtful use, it can enrich your connections with the people and communities you care about.