How to Tell If Someone Blocked You on Facebook
When tensions run high on Facebook, you may get blocked. Here's how to tell if someone has blocked or unfriended you.
Facebook has its benefits. You run into people you haven’t seen in a long time, share favourite throwback photos, and “like” one another’s milestones. But Facebook has a dark side that’s been under more scrutiny than ever lately, with privacy concerns and a preference for polarizing content. Given how divisive the social media site can be, you’ve probably blocked (or at least “snoozed for 30 days”) someone you disagree with, so it’s equally likely that at least one “friend” has you blocked as well.
How to tell if someone blocked you on Facebook
The Facebook algorithm prioritizes content that elicits strong emotions to keep people on the website longer. Unfortunately, that can lead to online disagreements with friends, family or acquaintances—or just people who have different views than you or very strong opinions. If you get into an online fight, the other person could have their feelings hurt and might block you. Here’s how to tell if someone’s blocked you.
Method 1: Scroll through your friend list
You can tell if someone blocked you on Facebook by scrolling your friend list. Social media professional Chad R. MacDonald manages Facebook pages with tens of thousands of followers and is highly experienced with handling Facebook privacy. MacDonald tells us that deactivated accounts’ profiles and profile photos “will still be visible on your friend’s list, although you can’t click on them anymore. Someone who has blocked you won’t show up at all.”
Method 2: Search for their Facebook profile
If you’ve recently gotten into a Facebook kerfuffle with your great-aunt Nora, you might want to check if things are still okay between the two of you. Do a general search for her name in the Facebook search results bar at the top of the page. If Auntie Nora shows up as a friend, you’re still on good terms, and there’s no need to worry. However, if the widget on her search result reads “Add friend,” this means that she has unfriended or blocked you. A simple unfriend is less worrisome than a block, and you can take it as a sign that there’s room for the two of you to rebuild your relationship. If you’re still able to see her public posts, you have not been blocked.
If they don’t show up in search results…
If the person doesn’t show up in search results at all, the user has either deleted their profile or has blocked you. And let’s be frank, if the two of you were arguing it’s more likely to be the latter. To double-check, ask a mutual friend to search the person’s name in their Facebook search bar. If the person shows up in their results but not yours, you have some relationship mending to do.
“If the search yields a result with an active page, it’s clear that you’ve gotten the chop,” says Krystin Dunbar, Senior Campaign Strategist at digital agency Union. But Dunbar cautions this could also mean the person has just changed their privacy settings. “Privacy settings can be changed so that accounts don’t show up in a [Facebook] member search—so this isn’t a foolproof method.”
Method 3: Try to tag them in a photo
Usually, when you try to tag someone in a photo, Facebook will suggest their name once you start typing it. But if you type the person’s name and nothing autofills, this could be because the person has blocked you. Same goes for trying to invite that person to an event or to join a group.
Method 4: Try to access their profile
Of course, their omission from your regular friend list and search results will prevent you from just going to the profile page of someone who’s blocked you. But if somehow you have a link that goes directly to their profile, it should show up as “unavailable” if they’ve blocked you.
How to tell if someone blocked you on Facebook Messenger
It is possible for someone to block you from messaging them on Facebook Messenger even if they haven’t blocked your profile on Facebook, and this would indicate they are unwilling to be more than just a social media acquaintance. To check if someone has blocked you on Facebook Messenger, try sending a message to their profile. If you get an error message that reads “Message Not Sent,” “This person isn’t receiving messages at this time,” or “This person isn’t available at the moment,” then the person has either blocked you or deactivated their account.
Next, find out why you need to stop commenting on those viral Facebook memes.
