When someone restricts you on Facebook, it limits your ability to see and interact with their profile and posts. Here’s a quick overview of what restricting looks like from the perspective of the restricted user:
You won’t be able to see their posts
If someone restricts you, their posts and shares will no longer show up in your News Feed. You also won’t be able to visit their profile and scroll through their timeline to see their posts.
Your comments on their posts will be hidden
If you’ve commented on any of their posts in the past, your comments will no longer be visible to anyone else once you’ve been restricted. Your comments will essentially be hidden from view on their posts.
You won’t see their comments
Similarly, the person who restricted you will be able to comment on your posts, but you won’t be able to see their comments. Their comments on your posts will be hidden from your view.
You won’t be able to react to their posts
The Like, Love, Care, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry reactions will be disabled on their posts and comments. You won’t be able to interact via reactions at all if you’ve been restricted.
You can’t start a conversation with them
If you try to start a new conversation with someone who restricted you by sending them a message, it will simply say that they aren’t accepting messages from you right now. You won’t be able to start a new thread with them.
Your connection will appear removed
On your end, it will seem like they are no longer friends with you on Facebook. Your friend connection with them will appear severed from your perspective.
You can still message in existing threads
If you already have an existing message thread ongoing with the person who restricted you, you will still be able to send new messages in that thread. You just can’t start any new threads.
You won’t see if they’re active or typing
In ongoing message threads, the indicators showing a user is active on Facebook or typing a reply won’t show up for the person who restricted you. You won’t see if they are online or typing.
You can’t be tagged by them
Someone who has restricted you won’t be able to tag you in any posts or pictures. You won’t receive notifications of new tags from that person.
Other privacy settings still apply
Any other privacy settings either of you have will still apply. For example, if you have privacy set so only friends can see your posts, a restricted person still won’t see your posts even if they are friends with someone you allow to see the post.
They may still see some of your info
Depending on your privacy settings, a restricted person can still potentially see things you share publicly, like your bio info, profile picture, cover photo, and public posts you share with everyone.
You can still tag them in posts
You will still be able to tag the person who restricted you in posts, but the tag will not appear linked to their profile and they won’t receive a notification about it or see the tag appearing on your post.
You can still send friend requests
If you aren’t currently connected as friends on Facebook, you will still have the option to send them a new friend request, even if they have restricted you.
You may not be notified
When someone restricts you, Facebook does not always notify you. It’s possible you may not receive any indication that you have been restricted by another user.
You can’t report their profile
The option for reporting a restricted person’s profile will be removed once you have been restricted. You can submit feedback about the restriction, but cannot file an official report.
You may still be in the same groups
If you and the restricted person are both members of the same Facebook groups, you will both remain members and be able to interact in the group normally.
Pages can still see your comments
If you comment on a Facebook Page the restricted person manages as a Page admin, they will still be able to see and moderate your comments on their Page.
Some friend features still work
Depending on the friend feature, you may still be able to tag the restricted person in some instances, like in Life Events posts where tags are enabled.
You can remove the restriction
If you restrict someone, you have the ability to remove the restriction in your account settings. Likewise, the person who restricted you can decide to stop restricting you at any time.
Restrictions sync across devices
If you are restricted by someone, that restriction will sync and apply across mobile and desktop. You will be restricted across all your Facebook access points.
Conclusion
Being restricted on Facebook significantly limits your interactions and visibility with that person’s profile and posts. You will not see their activity, be able to comment, or engage in most ways, essentially removing your access to that person on Facebook from your perspective as the restricted user. The restriction makes it seem as if they are no longer friends with you or don’t exist on Facebook from your point of view.
| Impact of Facebook Restriction | From Restricted User’s Perspective |
|---|---|
| Seeing their posts and activity | Not visible |
| Commenting on their posts | Comments hidden |
| Reacting to their posts | Reactions disabled |
| Messaging them | Can only continue existing threads |
| Friend connection status | Appears disconnected |
| Tagging them | Tags do not notify or link to profile |
| Reporting their profile | Reporting disabled |
| Receiving notifications | No notifications received |
In summary, being restricted on Facebook is a one-sided experience where your access and interactions are extremely limited, but the person who restricted you maintains the ability to take most actions and see your public activity without you seeing theirs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would someone restrict me on Facebook?
There are a few common reasons someone may choose to restrict you on Facebook:
- They want to limit your ability to see and interact with their profile and posts for privacy reasons
- There was an argument or disagreement and they no longer want you commenting on their page
- You posted something they found offensive or inappropriate
- You were harassing them or someone close to them
- They feel your behavior on Facebook has been abusive in some way
- They feel you are cyberstalking them or monitoring their activity
- They are concerned about information they share being passed on to you
- The relationship has changed and they no longer want you involved in their online social circle
In most cases, being restricted relates to a breakdown in the relationship, a need for enhanced privacy from you specifically, or behavior they find unacceptable and want to prevent repeating.
How do I know if someone restricted me?
There are a few signs that may indicate you have been restricted by someone on Facebook:
- Their posts and updates no longer appear in your News Feed
- Your comments have disappeared from their posts
- You can’t see their profile information or timeline posts
- You don’t receive notifications when they post, comment, or interact with your page
- You can’t react to or comment on their posts
- You can no longer tag them in posts, pictures, or events
- Your messages to them fail to send or they won’t receive new messages
If you notice some of these signals, it’s very likely that person has restricted you. However, you may not receive any kind of alert or notification from Facebook informing you of the restriction.
What should I do if I’m restricted?
If you find out someone has restricted you on Facebook, here are a few things you can do:
- Reflect on why they may have felt the need to restrict you and if you said or did anything that made them uncomfortable interacting with you
- Send them a message in an existing thread politely asking why you have been restricted and if there is any way to resolve it
- Apologize if appropriate and let them know you didn’t intend to make them feel harassed or unsafe
- Respect their wishes and don’t attempt to circumvent the restriction
- Wait and give them space in case they reconsider the restriction in the future
- Submit feedback to Facebook if you feel the restriction was unwarranted or abusive
- Focus conversations on alternate platforms if you need to communicate further
Unless the restriction seems completely unjustified, try to understand their reasoning and make amends if your actions contributed to them placing the restriction. Continue interacting normally with mutual friends without discussing the restricted person’s profile or situation.
Can I find out who restricted me?
There is no direct way to definitively find out who has restricted you on Facebook. Since Facebook does not notify users about restrictions, you will need to deduce who likely restricted you based on changes in your ability to interact with them.
Pay attention to people you can no longer see posts from, comment on, or message. Think about who you may have had disagreements with recently or contacts who have withdrawn from communicating with you more generally. Look for connections where engagement suddenly seems one-sided.
Short of directly asking and getting confirmation, you will need to make an educated guess based on where you see interactions most limited or severed completely. Facebook provides restricted users with a lot of anonymity, so the restrictor has full control over whether to reveal they limited your access.
Is there a way to override a Facebook restriction?
There is no way for a user to override or remove a restriction imposed on them by someone else on Facebook. The power to remove the restriction lies entirely with the person who imposed it.
Even if you are friends with the restrictor, you will remain restricted until they decide to stop limiting your access. The only way to regain access is if the restrictor chooses to revoke the restriction themselves.
Unless the situation constitutes harassment or abuse that would violate Facebook’s policies, Facebook will not get involved in individuals’ decisions to restrict one another. Attempting to evade or circumvent a restriction could result in your account being disabled for violating terms of service.
Can I restrict someone who has restricted me?
Yes, you can choose to restrict someone who has restricted you on Facebook, but it may not have much practical effect. Essentially, you would just be limiting their access to your profile in the same way they are limiting your access to theirs.
Restricting them does not override or remove the initial restriction they placed on you. You will both continue to have restricted access to each other’s profiles independently.
Before choosing to restrict them in return, consider whether it may escalate tensions further. In some cases, it may be better to seek a resolution through mutual communication rather than engaging in retaliation by restricting them back.
What happens if I delete a restricted user from friends?
If someone has restricted you on Facebook, deleting them from your friends list does not override or remove the restriction they have placed on you. They will remain in control over your ability to interact with them.
From their perspective, it will simply seem as if you deleted them as a friend. But all the limitations of the restriction will still apply to you until they choose to remove it.
In most cases, it makes more sense to keep them as a friend while restricted. That way, if they ever decide to stop restricting you, your connection will still be intact and your interactions can resume as normal. If you delete them as a friend, you’d have to try to re-add them later to restore the relationship.
Can I get someone banned for restricting me?
Getting another user banned from Facebook solely for restricting you is highly unlikely. Facebook gives users the right to limit interactions in this way, so it does not violate any policies on its own.
Banning only tends to occur if restricting is done in conjunction with harassment, threats, hate speech, bullying or other serious policy violations.
You are free to report a user who restricted you if you feel it was done maliciously, but Facebook will likely consider it a personal issue between users and will not intervene or force the restrictor to remove the limitation on interacting with you.
Can I create another account if someone restricts me?
Trying to get around a restriction by creating a second account goes against Facebook’s policies. Maintaining multiple accounts or creating “fake” accounts pretending to be someone else could potentially get all of your accounts disabled.
If you try to friend the person who restricted you from a new account, they will likely just restrict that account as well once they realize it is you again. There is no way around the limitations they have imposed unless they voluntarily lift the restrictions themselves.
The best course of action is to participate authentically from your real account and try to resolve the underlying issue that led to the restriction through honest communication. Circumventing restrictions will just make the problem worse in most cases.