Facebook doesn't like it when you make too many friend requests at once. Trying to expand your network also quickly could get you blocked from adding more Facebook friends. Maybe it already happened to yous, and yous can't friend someone on Facebook?

Innocent mistakes and ignorance of essential Facebook etiquette can pb to consequences like these. Merely with our tips on how to manage Facebook friend requests, you tin can avoid facing unintentional punishment or lift an existing block and keep making many new friends.

How to Add together Friends on Facebook

Hither is a little refresher on the basics of adding friends for those of you lot not as well familiar with Facebook. Everyone else, please skip ahead.

When logged into Facebook, you tin detect your awaiting friend requests nether Menu (3x3 dots icon) > Friends. Facebook no longer highlights awaiting friend requests, simply you will see a note in your Facebook notifications.

Expanded Facebook Menu with Friends option selected.

On your Facebook Friends page, you'll see a summary of pending friend requests and a listing of people you may know in the left-manus sidebar. Click a person's name on the left to see their full contour on the correct.

Select Confirm to add together a friend or Delete Asking to deny the request. The sender won't be notified.

Overview of received friend requests and people you may know on Facebook.

How to Send and Cancel a Friend Asking on Facebook

You can also search for people y'all know, open their profiles, and, if they accept friend requests from the public or friends of friends, add them past clicking the Add Friend button located right next to the Message button.

Facebook Add Friend button on a person's profile page.

To cancel a friend asking, go dorsum to their profile, click that aforementioned push button, which now reads Abolish Asking.

You tin besides remove a friend via your Friends list. Facebook does not notify people if you lot remove them. Nevertheless, it is possible to track your Facebook friends with third-party tools and receive alerts when people remove you. An case of such a tool is Who Deleted Me.

Unfollowing vs. Unfriending

Rather than unfriending people who are flooding your News Feed with dizzy posts, try unfollowing them instead. That way yous tin maintain your digital sanity, without risking the loss of a real-life friendship. For more information, read our primer on post-obit and unfollowing on Facebook.

From your Feed (Home) discover a mail from your overactive friend, click the arrowhead in the tiptop right to expand the postal service menu, and click Unfollow. If you lot call back the hyperactivity is only temporary, yous can also snooze their messages for 30 days.

Facebook on-post menu to unfollow or snooze a friend.

Alternatively, head to your friend'south profile, expand the menu right next to your friendship condition, and select Unfollow from the lesser.

Unfollow a Facebook friend from their profile page.

Unwritten Facebook Friend Asking Rules

Now that you lot understand the nuts of how to add friends on Facebook, allow'south review some finer details of managing Facebook friend requests.

one. Simply Add together People You Know

Facebook only wants you to add together people you know in existent life. If your friend requests oft remain unanswered or even if but i person reports your friend request equally unwanted, Facebook may conclude that you have sent friend requests that violate its Customs Standards.

Consequently, Facebook might block you from sending friend requests for some time.

To avert being blocked from adding friends, brand information technology easy for people to recognize y'all. Here are some guidelines:

  • Use your existent proper noun or the name you apply in your everyday life, and gear up a genuine profile photo.
  • Endeavor to add only people with whom you have mutual Facebook friends.
  • Send your desired contact a message introducing yourself before you add them.

In other words: don't look like a simulated account, don't add random strangers, and don't be a stranger yourself.

2. Add Friends Conservatively

You lot will often desire to add a new friend immediately, even though you don't have mutual friends on Facebook. And information technology might be more awkward to send a message first than to add them directly. That's cool.

Just be sure yous don't add too many people without common friends at in one case only to expand your Facebook attain.

Faceboook Follow Option

If you don't know someone, but just want to know what they post on Facebook, and if in that location is an option to follow them, rather cull that pick. From their profile, click the three-dot menu, and select Follow. This allows y'all to come across what they are upward to, but your timeline is not shared with them.

3. Written report Spammy Friend Requests

When you delete a friend asking, Facebook promises that the sender won't be notified. Just they might send y'all a new request. If y'all can't get rid of them, you can use either the Find support or report offline or Block options, available from the three-dot card, to prevent further friend requests from that person.

Block person after unsolicited friend request on Facebook.

Utilise the first choice to report fake accounts, strangers, or people who harass you lot.

Report an unwelcome friend request on Facebook.

Keep in mind that if yous practice this, the person may be penalized.

4. Review Friend Requests Yous Have Sent

Feeling self-conscious nigh maybe having sent too many friend requests yourself? Get ahead and double-check.

Go to Friends > Friend Requests > View Sent Requests. From here, you can abolish pending requests.

Cancel Facebook friend requests you've sent.

5. Block Friend Requests From Strangers

Facebook allows you to restrict who can transport you lot a friend asking. Non setting that limit is an open invitation for anyone to request your friendship.

If y'all're receiving too many friend requests from strangers, hither's how you tin can stop it.

Aggrandize the Account carte (arrowhead icon) in the top right and click through to Settings & privacy > Settings > Privacy. Under How People Find and Contact Yous find the Who tin send you friend requests? option and click Edit. Your choices are Everyone or Friends of friends.

Facebook friend request settings in the Privacy section.

half-dozen. Hide Your Friends Listing

Allowing anybody to see who you've friended could crusade some people to be jealous and subject field your friends to unsolicited friend requests. It's all-time to restrict who can see your Friends list and friend activity.

To hibernate your Friends list, caput to How People Find and Contact You lot on your Settings folio. Notice the selection Who can run into your friends list? and click edit.

Here, you tin can further refine your privacy settings by choosing who can run into your Friends listing.

Choose who can see your Facebook friends list.

You can too access all friends-related settings from your (existing) Facebook friends page. From your profile page, click Run across all friends, then click the iii-dot menu next to Notice Friends and choose Edit Privacy.

Edit your Facebook friends privacy.

Why Tin can't I Friend Someone on Facebook?

If you tin can't seem to friend someone on Facebook, hither are the nigh likely reasons...

1. You Sent an Unsuccessful Friend Request

You already sent a friend request, and it's either still pending or the recipient deleted it. At present, the Add Friend push doesn't testify up, so you can't transport a new friend request.

If your asking was deleted, Facebook has blocked you from sending that person another friend asking for one whole twelvemonth. The only style to get around this is to ask the other person to send you a friend request.

If your request is still awaiting (follow our instructions under "Review Friend Requests You lot Have Sent" above), you could transport your friend-to-be a message and inquire them to approve your request.

2. Y'all Blocked the Other Person

You can't friend someone you lot've blocked. See if you tin can unblock them and so try sending a new friend request.

3. They Don't Permit Friend Requests From Strangers

Every bit outlined above, Facebook allows you to restrict who can ship you lot a friend request. If that's the reason you can't friend someone, inquire them to ship you a friend request instead.

iv. Someone Has Too Many Friends Already

Neither yous, nor your friend-to-be, can have more than v,000 friends. If one of you has crossed that limit, yous can't ship each other friend requests.

If you lot have too many friends, consider turning your account into a Facebook Page.

v. Facebook Blocked Yous From Sending Friend Requests

This tin happen if you send too many friend requests at once, accept many unanswered friend requests, or if several people marked your requests every bit spam.

According to the Facebook Aid Center, Facebook cannot elevator a block early, just fortunately, information technology's only temporary and will expire within a few days.

Follow our guidelines to a higher place to avoid this from happening again.

Master Your Facebook Friendships

Friend requests on Facebook remain awkward. Whether you add your best friend, someone you lot know from school, your mom, or your dominate, equally far every bit Facebook is concerned everyone is a "friend."

Even so, Facebook does acknowledge various levels of friendship. After all, yous can sort your friends into close friends, family, acquaintances, or any other custom list you lot create.

How to See Friendship and Relationship History on Facebook

You tin use a simple URL to encounter the friendship and relationship history betwixt you and others on Facebook.

Read Adjacent

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