Facebook doesn't like it when you make also many friend requests at once. Trying to aggrandize your network too chop-chop could get you blocked from adding more Facebook friends. Possibly information technology already happened to you, and yous tin can't friend someone on Facebook?

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

How to Add together Friends on Facebook

Here is a piddling refresher on the basics of calculation friends for those of you not too familiar with Facebook. Anybody else, please skip ahead.

When logged into Facebook, you tin find your pending friend requests under Menu (3x3 dots icon) > Friends. Facebook no longer highlights pending friend requests, but y'all volition see a note in your Facebook notifications.

Expanded Facebook Menu with Friends option selected.

On your Facebook Friends folio, you'll see a summary of pending friend requests and a listing of people y'all may know in the left-paw sidebar. Click a person's name on the left to see their full profile on the right.

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 Ship and Cancel a Friend Request on Facebook

You lot tin also search for people you know, open their profiles, and, if they accept friend requests from the public or friends of friends, add them by clicking the Add Friend button located right adjacent to the Message button.

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

To cancel a friend request, go dorsum to their profile, click that same button, which now reads Abolish Request.

Y'all can also remove a friend via your Friends list. Facebook does not notify people if you remove them. However, information technology is possible to track your Facebook friends with tertiary-party tools and receive alerts when people remove you lot. An example of such a tool is Who Deleted Me.

Unfollowing vs. Unfriending

Rather than unfriending people who are flooding your News Feed with empty-headed posts, try unfollowing them instead. That mode you can maintain your digital sanity, without risking the loss of a existent-life friendship. For more data, read our primer on post-obit and unfollowing on Facebook.

From your Feed (Dwelling) find a post from your overactive friend, click the arrowhead in the top right to expand the post menu, and click Unfollow. If you call up the hyperactivity is only temporary, you lot tin also snooze their letters for 30 days.

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

Alternatively, head to your friend'southward contour, expand the carte right adjacent to your friendship status, and select Unfollow from the lesser.

Unfollow a Facebook friend from their profile page.

Unwritten Facebook Friend Asking Rules

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

1. Only Add People Yous Know

Facebook only wants you to add people you lot know in real life. If your friend requests frequently remain unanswered or fifty-fifty if just one person reports your friend request equally unwanted, Facebook may conclude that you have sent friend requests that violate its Community Standards.

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

To avoid being blocked from adding friends, make it easy for people to recognize you. Here are some guidelines:

  • Utilise your real proper name or the name you use in your everyday life, and prepare a 18-carat profile photograph.
  • Try to add together simply people with whom yous have mutual Facebook friends.
  • Send your desired contact a message introducing yourself earlier you lot add them.

In other words: don't look similar a fake business relationship, don't add random strangers, and don't be a stranger yourself.

2. Add Friends Conservatively

You will often desire to add a new friend immediately, even though you don't have mutual friends on Facebook. And it might be more awkward to send a bulletin showtime than to add them direct. That's absurd.

Simply be sure you don't add too many people without mutual friends at once simply to aggrandize your Facebook achieve.

Faceboook Follow Option

If you lot don't know someone, but just want to know what they post on Facebook, and if there is an option to follow them, rather choose that option. From their profile, click the three-dot menu, and select Follow. This allows you to see what they are up to, but your timeline is not shared with them.

3. Study Spammy Friend Requests

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

Block person after unsolicited friend request on Facebook.

Employ the beginning option to report false accounts, strangers, or people who harass you.

Report an unwelcome friend request on Facebook.

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

4. Review Friend Requests Yous Have Sent

Feeling self-conscious most maybe having sent also many friend requests yourself? Go ahead and double-check.

Go to Friends > Friend Requests > View Sent Requests. From here, you tin cancel pending requests.

Cancel Facebook friend requests you've sent.

5. Block Friend Requests From Strangers

Facebook allows you to restrict who tin transport you lot a friend asking. Not setting that limit is an open up invitation for anyone to request your friendship.

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

Expand the Account bill of fare (arrowhead icon) in the top right and click through to Settings & privacy > Settings > Privacy. Nether How People Observe and Contact You find the Who can send you friend requests? option and click Edit. Your choices are Anybody or Friends of friends.

Facebook friend request settings in the Privacy section.

half dozen. Hibernate Your Friends List

Allowing everyone to meet who yous've friended could cause some people to be jealous and subject your friends to unsolicited friend requests. It'south all-time to restrict who can encounter your Friends list and friend activity.

To hide your Friends listing, caput to How People Detect and Contact You on your Settings page. Discover the option Who can come across your friends list? and click edit.

Here, you lot can further refine your privacy settings past choosing who can see your Friends list.

Choose who can see your Facebook friends list.

Yous tin can also access all friends-related settings from your (existing) Facebook friends page. From your profile page, click See all friends, then click the three-dot menu side by side to Detect Friends and choose Edit Privacy.

Edit your Facebook friends privacy.

Why Can't I Friend Someone on Facebook?

If you can't seem to friend someone on Facebook, here are the most probable reasons...

1. Y'all Sent an Unsuccessful Friend Asking

Yous already sent a friend request, and it'due south either even so pending or the recipient deleted it. Now, the Add Friend button doesn't show upwards, so y'all can't ship a new friend request.

If your request was deleted, Facebook has blocked you from sending that person another friend request for 1 whole year. The simply way to get around this is to inquire the other person to send you lot a friend request.

If your request is still awaiting (follow our instructions under "Review Friend Requests You Have Sent" above), you could transport your friendhoped-for a message and enquire them to corroborate your request.

ii. Y'all Blocked the Other Person

Yous can't friend someone yous've blocked. See if you can unblock them and then try sending a new friend request.

3. They Don't Permit Friend Requests From Strangers

Equally outlined above, Facebook allows y'all to restrict who can send yous a friend asking. If that'southward the reason y'all can't friend someone, ask them to ship y'all a friend request instead.

iv. Someone Has Too Many Friends Already

Neither you, nor your friend-to-be, can have more than 5,000 friends. If one of you has crossed that limit, you can't transport each other friend requests.

If you have besides many friends, consider turning your account into a Facebook Folio.

5. Facebook Blocked Yous From Sending Friend Requests

This tin can happen if you send also many friend requests at once, have many unanswered friend requests, or if several people marked your requests as spam.

According to the Facebook Help Centre, Facebook cannot lift a block early on, but fortunately, it's only temporary and will expire within a few days.

Follow our guidelines above to avoid this from happening once more.

Master Your Facebook Friendships

Friend requests on Facebook remain awkward. Whether yous add your best friend, someone you know from school, your mom, or your boss, as far equally Facebook is concerned anybody is a "friend."

However, Facebook does acknowledge diverse levels of friendship. Afterwards all, you can sort your friends into close friends, family, acquaintances, or any other custom list you create.

How to Come across Friendship and Relationship History on Facebook

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

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