Facebook doesn't like it when you make besides many friend requests at once. Trying to expand your network besides speedily could become you lot blocked from adding more than Facebook friends. Peradventure it already happened to you, and you can't friend someone on Facebook?

On Facebook, innocent mistakes and ignorance of essential Facebook etiquette can lead to consequences similar these. Just with our tips on how to manage Facebook friend requests, you tin avoid facing unintentional punishment or lift an existing cake and keep making many new friends.

How to Add together Friends on Facebook

Here is a piffling refresher on the basics of adding friends for those of you not also familiar with Facebook. Everyone else, please skip ahead.

When logged into Facebook, you lot can find your pending friend requests nether Menu (3x3 dots icon) > Friends. Facebook no longer highlights awaiting friend requests, but yous volition run into a notation in your Facebook notifications.

On your Facebook Friends folio, you lot'll see a summary of pending friend requests and a listing of people you may know in the left-hand sidebar. Click a person's proper name on the left to encounter their total profile on the correct.

Select Confirm to add a friend or Delete Request to deny the request. The sender won't exist notified.

How to Send and Cancel a Friend Request on Facebook

Yous can besides search for people you lot know, open up their profiles, and, if they have friend requests from the public or friends of friends, add them by clicking the Add Friend button located right next to the Message button.

To cancel a friend request, go back to their profile, click that same button, which now readsAbolish Asking.

You can also remove a friend via your Friends listing. Facebook does not notify people if you remove them. However, it is possible to rail your Facebook friends with third-political party tools and receive alerts when people remove yous. An example of such a tool is Who Deleted Me.

Unfollowing vs. Unfriending

Rather than unfriending people who are flooding your News Feed with silly posts, try unfollowing them instead. That manner y'all can maintain your sanity, without risking the loss of a friendship. For more data, read our primer on following and unfollowing on Facebook.

From your News Feed (Home) find a mail from your overactive friend, click the arrowhead in the superlative correct to expand the mail service menu, and click Unfollow. If you recollect the hyperactivity is only temporary, you lot can also snooze their messages for xxx days.

Alternatively, head to your friend's profile, expand the bill of fare right next to your friendship status, and select Unfollow from the lesser.

Unwritten Facebook Friend Request Rules

Now that you understand the basics of how to add friends on Facebook, allow's review some effectively details of managing Facebook friend requests.

1. Only Add People Yous Know

Facebook only wants you to add people you know in real life. If your friend requests ofttimes remain unanswered or even if just 1 person reports your friend request as unwanted, Facebook may conclude that you have sent friend requests that violate its Customs Standards.

Consequently, Facebook might block yous from sending friend requests for some fourth dimension.

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

  • Use your real name and set a genuine profile photo.
  • Attempt to add only people with whom you take mutual Facebook friends.
  • Send your desired contact a bulletin introducing yourself before you add them.

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

2. Add Friends Conservatively

You will ofttimes want to add a new friend immediately, even though you don't take mutual friends on Facebook. And it might be more than awkward to send a bulletin start than to add them directly. That'southward cool.

Just be sure you don't add too many people without mutual friends at once merely to expand your Facebook reach.

If you don't know someone, but just want to know what they post to Facebook, and if there is an pick to follow them, rather choose the follow option. This allows yous to see what they are upward to, but your timeline is not shared with them.

3. Report Spammy Friend Requests

When yous delete a friend request, Facebook promises that the sender won't exist notified. But they might send you a new request. If you can't get rid of them, you can apply either the Notice back up or study offline orCake options, available from the three-dot card, to prevent further friend requests from that person.

Apply the beginning option to report fake accounts, strangers, or people who harass yous.

Go on in mind that if you practice this, the person may exist penalized.

4. Review Friend Requests You Have Sent

Feeling self-conscious about maybe having sent as well many friend requests yourself? Go ahead and double-check.

Go to Friends > See All > View Sent Requests. From hither you can cancel pending requests.

5. Block Friend Requests From Strangers

Facebook allows you to restrict who can send you lot a friend request. 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, here'south how you can terminate information technology.

Expand the Account carte du jour (arrowhead icon) in the top right and click through to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy. Under How People Find and Contact Y'all find the Who can send you friend requests? option and click Edit. Your choices are Everyone or Friends of friends.

6. Hide Your Friends Listing

Allowing everyone to encounter who yous've friended could cause some people to be jealous and subject your friends to unsolicited friend requests. Information technology's best to restrict who tin run across your Friends list and friend activity.

To hide your Friends list, caput to How People Find and Contact You on your Settings page. Find the selection Who can meet your friends list? and click edit.

Here, you can further refine your privacy settings by choosing who tin see your Friends list.

You can also admission all friends-related settings from your (existing) Facebook friends page. From your contour page, click Run across All Friends, then click the 3-dot bill of fare next to Find Friends and choose Edit Privacy.

Why Can't I Friend Someone on Facebook?

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

one. You Sent an Unsuccessful Friend Request

You already sent a friend request, and it's either all the same pending or the recipient deleted it. Now the Add together Friend push button doesn't show up, then y'all tin can't send a new friend asking.

If your asking was deleted, Facebook has blocked you from sending that person some other friend request for i whole year. The only fashion to get around this is to inquire the other person to ship you a friend asking.

If your asking is even so pending (follow our instructions under "Review Friend Requests Y'all Accept Sent" above), you lot could send your friend-to-be a bulletin and ask them to approve your request.

2. You Blocked the Other Person

You can't friend someone you lot've blocked. See if you can unblock them so endeavor sending a new friend asking.

3. They Don't Permit Friend Requests From Strangers

As outlined higher up, Facebook allows you to restrict who can send you a friend request. If that'due south the reason you can't friend someone, ask them to send you a friend request instead.

4. Someone Has Too Many Friends Already

Neither you, nor your friend-to-be, tin accept more than 5,000 friends. If 1 of yous has crossed that limit, y'all can't transport each other friend requests.

If yous take besides many friends, consider turning your account into a Facebook Page.

5. Facebook Blocked You lot From Sending Friend Requests

This can happen if y'all send too many friend requests at once, have many unanswered friend requests, or if several people marked your requests equally spam.

According to the Facebook Aid Center, Facebook cannot lift a block early, just fortunately, it's simply temporary and will expire within a few days.

Follow our guidelines above to avoid this from happening again.

Master Your Facebook Friendships

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

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

Prototype Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

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About The Author

Tina Sieber (842 Manufactures Published)

While completing a PhD, Tina started writing about consumer technology in 2006 and never stopped. At present besides an editor and SEO, you can detect her on Twitter or hiking a nearby trail.

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