How to Block, Unfriend, or Restrict Someone on Facebook

Facebook gives you several ways to control your relationship with other people on the platform. The three main options — Unfriend, Restrict, and Block — each do something different. Knowing the difference helps you make the right choice for your situation.

Unfriend: a quiet parting of ways

When you unfriend someone, you remove them from your Friends list. Your profiles are no longer connected. They will stop seeing your posts in their feed. And you will stop seeing theirs. Facebook does not send them a notification when you unfriend them. They will only notice if they come to your profile and see the "Add Friend" button instead of "Friends."

After you unfriend someone, they can still send you a friend request again in the future if they want to. They can also see any posts you have set to "Public" (visible to everyone). If your posts are set to "Friends only," they cannot see them.

Block: a complete cutoff

Blocking is a stronger action. When you block someone, they cannot see your profile at all, cannot find you by searching for your name, cannot send you messages, and cannot tag you in posts or photos. You will also be unable to see their profile. Blocking goes both ways.

The person you blocked will not receive a notification, but if they try to find your profile, they will not be able to. It will appear as if you do not exist on Facebook.

You can unblock someone later. But there is a 48-hour waiting period before you can re-block them again. Also note that unblocking someone does not automatically re-friend them. You would need to send a new friend request if you wanted to reconnect.

Restrict: the quiet middle option

Restrict is a tool that lets you stay friends with someone while limiting what they can see. When you Restrict someone, they remain on your Friends list and your friendship looks the same from the outside. However, they will only see posts you share with "Public" — not posts you share with "Friends." They will not know you have restricted them.

This option works well for situations where unfriending someone might cause awkwardness — a coworker, a distant relative, or an acquaintance — but you do not want them reading your personal updates.

Which one should you choose?

• Someone you no longer want to keep up with, but no hard feelings: Unfriend
• Someone who is harassing you, contacting you when you do not want them to, or making you feel unsafe: Block
• Someone you want to stay connected to officially, but keep at arm's length: Restrict

A note about privacy

For any of these tools to protect your posts fully, make sure your default post audience is set to "Friends" or "Friends except" — not "Public." You can check this in your Facebook settings under Privacy.

Sources: Facebook Help Center (facebook.com/help), AARP Technology (aarp.org/home-family/personal-technology).