How to Unfriend or Block Someone on Facebook in the App?

How to Unfriend or Block Someone on Facebook in the Facebook App

Last updated: September 2026 · Written by App World Team

Facebook still doesn't have a single "remove this person" button that covers every scenario, and that trips people up more than almost any other feature on the app. If you just want a quieter feed, unfriending is usually the right move. If you want to stop someone from finding you, messaging you, or seeing anything on your profile at all, you need to block them instead. This guide walks through both actions inside the Facebook mobile app (Android and iPhone use the same menus), explains exactly what changes for you and for the other person, and covers the related settings — unfollowing, restricting, and unblocking — that people often confuse with the two main options.

Quick Answer

To unfriend someone in the Facebook app: open their profile, tap the Friends button near their name, and select Unfriend, then confirm. To block someone: open their profile, tap the three-dot More menu, tap Block, and confirm — or go to Menu > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Blocking and search for their name from there. Neither action sends the other person a notification.

Table of Contents

• Unfriend vs. Block vs. Unfollow vs. Restrict
• How to Unfriend Someone in the Facebook App
• What Happens After You Unfriend Someone
• How to Block Someone in the Facebook App
• What Happens After You Block Someone
• Blocking Someone Only on Messenger
• How to Unblock Someone on Facebook
• Troubleshooting: Missing Unfriend or Block Options
• Frequently Asked Questions

Unfriend vs. Block vs. Unfollow vs. Restrict: What's the Difference?

Facebook actually gives you four separate ways to create distance from someone, and each one is designed for a different level of separation. Picking the wrong one is the most common mistake people make, so it's worth understanding what each does before you tap anything.

Action	What it does	Does the person know?	Can you still message?
Unfollow	Hides their posts from your feed. You stay friends.	No	Yes
Restrict	They stay a friend but only see what you share publicly, and their comments/posts about you are limited.	No	Yes
Unfriend	Removes the friend connection on both sides. Public posts and mutual groups/comments still visible.	No direct notice, but discoverable	Yes, on Messenger
Block	Full separation: neither of you can see, search for, tag, or contact the other anywhere on Facebook or Messenger.	No notification sent	No

If you're unsure which one you need: use unfollow for someone who posts too much, restrict for a coworker or relative you don't want to offend but also don't want seeing your personal posts, unfriend for a clean but low-drama break, and block for harassment, an ex, a scammer, or anyone you don't want to be able to reach you at all.

How to Unfriend Someone in the Facebook App

Unfriending removes someone from your friends list without alerting them. It's the same process on Android and iOS since Facebook uses one shared app design across both platforms.

1. Open the Facebook app and log in if needed.
2. Find the person's profile. Tap the search icon and type their name, or open your Friends list from the menu and tap their name there.
3. Tap the "Friends" button on their profile — it usually appears near their cover photo, next to the Message button, and is marked with a small checkmark icon.
4. Select "Unfriend" from the menu that pops up.
5. Confirm when Facebook asks you to verify the action.

That's it — the connection is removed instantly. There's no waiting period and no approval needed from the other person, since unfriending is a one-sided action.

What Happens After You Unfriend Someone

A lot of the anxiety around unfriending comes from not knowing what actually changes afterward. Here's the reality:

• No notification is sent. Facebook does not tell the other person you've unfriended them.
• The removal is mutual. You disappear from their friends list at the same time they disappear from yours.
• Friends-only posts stop showing. Anything either of you shared with "Friends" as the audience is no longer visible to the other person, though public posts can still be seen.
• Messenger is unaffected. Your chat history stays intact and you can still send messages to each other unless you separately block them.
• Mutual groups and comment threads still connect you. If you're both members of the same Facebook group, or you've both commented on the same public post, you can still see each other's names and activity there.
• It can be noticed indirectly. While there's no alert, a sharp-eyed friend might spot the change if they check your friends list or try to see a friends-only post and find it's gone.
• Rebuilding the connection needs a new request. If you change your mind, you'll have to send (or receive) a fresh friend request — Facebook doesn't keep a record that lets you "restore" the old one.

If your goal is simply to see less of someone's content without any risk of an awkward conversation later, unfollowing is a softer alternative that skips all of this — you stay listed as friends, but their posts quietly stop appearing in your feed.

How to Block Someone in the Facebook App

Blocking is the strongest option Facebook offers short of reporting an account. There are two ways to do it from the app, and both work identically on Android and iPhone.

Method 1: Block Directly from Their Profile

1. Open the Facebook app and go to the person's profile, either by searching their name or tapping their name from a post or comment.
2. Tap the three-dot icon (⋯) near their cover photo — this is the "More" menu.
3. Select "Block" from the list of options.
4. Facebook will show a short explainer of what blocking does. Tap "Confirm" or "Block [Name]" to finish.

Method 2: Block from Your Privacy Settings

This method is useful if the person has already blocked you back, deactivated their profile, or you'd rather manage it from one central place rather than hunting down their profile.

1. Open the Facebook app and tap the Menu icon (three horizontal lines).
2. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.
3. Scroll to the "Audience and visibility" section and tap Blocking.
4. Under "Block users," type the person's name or their email/phone number into the search field.
5. Tap Block next to their name, then confirm.

Note that blocking is applied per profile. If someone has created a second or fake account, blocking their main profile won't automatically block the duplicate — you'll need to find and block that account separately.

What Happens After You Block Someone

Blocking closes almost every door between two accounts at once. Once it's confirmed:

• They're automatically removed from your friends list, if you were connected.
• They can't find your profile in search and can't view your timeline, posts, photos, or Stories.
• They can't tag you in posts, photos, or comments, and can't invite you to events or groups.
• They can't message you. Blocking on Facebook also blocks the person on Messenger, so calls and chats are cut off too.
• They stop seeing your activity in mutual friends' comment sections — your name and comments become invisible to them, even on posts you don't control.
• No notification is sent to the blocked person, though they may eventually notice the change themselves — a profile that suddenly can't be found is one of the more obvious signs.
• It only applies going forward from your account. If the person has other shared connections, groups, or pages, blocking doesn't affect those relationships for other people.

One limitation worth knowing: if someone has already blocked you, you generally can't search for or open their profile to block them back. In that case, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Blocking and try adding their name directly, since the search field there can sometimes locate accounts that don't appear in normal search.

Blocking Someone Only on Messenger

Sometimes you want to stay Facebook friends with someone but stop them from messaging you — a common request from people who don't want to fully block a relative or old classmate. Facebook allows this through the Messenger app specifically:

1. Open the Messenger app and open your conversation with the person.
2. Tap their name or profile photo at the top to open chat details.
3. Tap "Block", then choose to block them on Messenger only (rather than on Facebook as well).

This keeps your Facebook friendship intact while stopping messages and calls through Messenger. It's a narrower, more targeted option than a full Facebook block.

How to Unblock Someone on Facebook

If you change your mind, unblocking is just as quick as blocking was:

1. Open the Facebook app and tap the Menu icon.
2. Tap Settings & Privacy > Settings.
3. Tap Blocking under "Audience and visibility."
4. Find the person's name in your list of blocked users and tap Unblock.
5. Confirm the action when prompted.

Keep in mind that unblocking does not automatically re-add someone as a friend. If you were connected before, you'll need to send a new friend request. There's also typically a short waiting period before you can re-block the same person immediately after unblocking them, which is a safeguard Facebook uses to prevent the block feature from being used to repeatedly hide and reveal a profile.

Troubleshooting: Missing Unfriend or Block Options

If you can't find the button you're looking for, check the following before assuming something is broken:

• Confirm you're actually friends — the "Unfriend" option only appears if the profile is a confirmed friend rather than someone you simply follow.
• Update the app. Facebook periodically changes menu layouts, and an outdated app version can hide or move options.
• Try the profile page directly rather than a shared post or group, since some menus differ depending on where you tap from.
• Check your connection. A weak signal can prevent the confirmation step from completing even if the tap registers.
• Restart the app or your device if a menu seems stuck or unresponsive.
• Make sure the account isn't already deactivated or removed — you can't block or unfriend a profile that Facebook has already suspended or that the user has deleted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Facebook notify someone when I unfriend them?

No. Unfriending sends no alert of any kind. The only way someone might notice is by checking their friends list or by no longer being able to see your friends-only posts.

Does Facebook notify someone when I block them?

No. Blocking is also silent. Over time, the person may realize they've been blocked because your profile no longer appears in search and messages stop being delivered.

Can a blocked person still see my public posts?

No. Blocking prevents them from viewing your profile, timeline, or posts at all — including public ones — because the block removes their ability to find or open your profile in the first place.

If I unfriend someone, can they still message me?

Yes. Unfriending only removes the friend connection; it doesn't restrict Messenger. If you also want to stop messages, you'll need to block the person, or block them on Messenger only if you want to keep the Facebook friendship.

Will unblocking someone restore our friendship automatically?

No. Unblocking only removes the restriction. You'll need to send or accept a new friend request afterward if you want to reconnect as friends.

Can I block someone who has already blocked me?

You typically can't search for or visit the profile of someone who has blocked you. Adding their name through Settings & Privacy > Settings > Blocking is the most reliable workaround, though it isn't guaranteed to succeed in every case.

Is there a way to unfriend multiple people at once?

Facebook does not offer a bulk-unfriend feature in the app, and using third-party tools or automation to do this violates Facebook's terms of service. Cleaning up a friends list has to be done one profile at a time, though working directly from your Friends list rather than searching each name individually speeds this up considerably.

What's the difference between blocking someone on Facebook and blocking them on Messenger?

Blocking someone on Facebook automatically blocks them on Messenger too. Blocking them only on Messenger, done from inside the Messenger app, stops chats and calls but leaves your Facebook friendship and visibility to each other's profiles unchanged.

Can a blocked person tell they've been blocked for certain?

Not with total certainty, since Facebook never confirms it directly. However, a profile that suddenly can't be found in search, mutual friends who mention seeing them but you don't, or messages that stop delivering are all strong indirect signs.

Final Thoughts

Facebook's separation tools exist on a scale, from the light touch of unfollowing all the way up to the hard stop of blocking, and picking the right one usually comes down to how much distance you actually want. Unfriending is best treated as tidying up a list rather than a defensive move, since messages and public content still get through. Blocking is the tool built for situations where you genuinely don't want any further contact, and it's the only one of the two that fully closes off messaging, tagging, and profile visibility in both directions. Whichever you choose, remember that neither action sends a notification, so you're free to make the call that fits your situation without worrying about triggering an alert.