Facebook doesn't like it when you lot make too many friend requests at one time. Trying to expand your network besides quickly could get you blocked from adding more than Facebook friends. Maybe information technology 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 like these. But with our tips on how to manage Facebook friend requests, you can avoid facing unintentional punishment or lift an existing cake and keep making many new friends.

How to Add Friends on Facebook

Here is a little refresher on the basics of adding friends for those of you lot not too familiar with Facebook. Anybody else, please skip alee.

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

On your Facebook Friends folio, y'all'll run across a summary of awaiting friend requests and a list of people you may know in the left-hand sidebar. Click a person's name on the left to see their full contour on the right.

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

How to Send and Cancel a Friend Request on Facebook

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

To abolish a friend request, go dorsum to their contour, click that same button, which now readsCancel Asking.

You can besides remove a friend via your Friends list. Facebook does not notify people if you remove them. However, it is possible to track your Facebook friends with 3rd-political 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 light-headed posts, try unfollowing them instead. That style y'all can maintain your sanity, without risking the loss of a friendship. For more than information, read our primer on post-obit and unfollowing on Facebook.

From your News Feed (Abode) observe a mail service from your overactive friend, click the arrowhead in the top right to expand the post menu, and click Unfollow. If you call back the hyperactivity is only temporary, you can also snooze their messages for thirty days.

Alternatively, caput to your friend'due south profile, expand the menu correct next to your friendship status, and select Unfollow from the bottom.

Unwritten Facebook Friend Asking Rules

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

1. Only Add People You Know

Facebook merely wants you to add together people you know in real life. If your friend requests frequently remain unanswered or even if but one person reports your friend request every bit 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 avert being blocked from calculation friends, make it easy for people to recognize you. Here are some guidelines:

  • Employ your existent name and set a genuine contour photo.
  • Attempt to add together but people with whom you have mutual Facebook friends.
  • Send your desired contact a bulletin introducing yourself earlier yous 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 volition often want to add a new friend immediately, even though yous don't take mutual friends on Facebook. And information technology might be more bad-mannered to send a message first than to add them directly. That's cool.

Just exist certain you don't add too many people without mutual friends at once simply to aggrandize your Facebook reach.

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

3. Study Spammy Friend Requests

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

Use the first pick to report faux accounts, strangers, or people who harass yous.

Go along in mind that if yous practice this, the person may exist penalized.

iv. Review Friend Requests You Have Sent

Feeling cocky-conscious about possibly having sent too many friend requests yourself? Become ahead and double-bank check.

Become to Friends > See All > View Sent Requests. From here you can cancel pending requests.

v. Block Friend Requests From Strangers

Facebook allows you to restrict who can send you a friend request. Not setting that limit is an open invitation for anyone to request your friendship.

If y'all're receiving as well many friend requests from strangers, here'southward how you tin cease information technology.

Expand the Business relationship menu (arrowhead icon) in the pinnacle right and click through to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy. Under How People Notice and Contact Yous find the Who can transport you friend requests? pick and click Edit. Your choices are Everyone or Friends of friends.

6. Hide Your Friends List

Assuasive everyone to see who yous've friended could cause some people to be jealous and bailiwick your friends to unsolicited friend requests. Information technology's best to restrict who can see your Friends list and friend action.

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

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

You can also access all friends-related settings from your (existing) Facebook friends page. From your contour folio, click Come across All Friends, then click the 3-dot menu next to Find Friends and cull Edit Privacy.

Why Tin can't I Friend Someone on Facebook?

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

1. You Sent an Unsuccessful Friend Request

Yous already sent a friend request, and it'southward either even so pending or the recipient deleted it. Now the Add Friend push doesn't prove up, and so yous can't send a new friend request.

If your request was deleted, Facebook has blocked y'all from sending that person another friend request for one whole year. The merely style to become around this is to ask the other person to send you a friend request.

If your request is still pending (follow our instructions under "Review Friend Requests You Have Sent" above), you could send your friend-to-exist a bulletin and ask them to approve your request.

two. Y'all Blocked the Other Person

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

3. They Don't Permit Friend Requests From Strangers

As outlined above, Facebook allows you to restrict who can transport y'all a friend request. If that'south the reason you can't friend someone, ask them to ship y'all a friend request instead.

4. Someone Has Besides Many Friends Already

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

If you lot accept too many friends, consider turning your account into a Facebook Folio.

five. Facebook Blocked You From Sending Friend Requests

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

According to the Facebook Aid Center, Facebook cannot lift a block early, only fortunately, it'south only temporary and will expire inside a few days.

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

Main Your Facebook Friendships

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

Withal, Facebook does admit various levels of friendship. Subsequently all, you tin can sort your friends into shut friends, family, acquaintances, or any other custom list yous create.

Epitome Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

How to Come across Friendship and Relationship History on Facebook

You can use a unproblematic URL to see the friendship and relationship history between y'all and others on Facebook.

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About The Author

Tina Sieber (842 Articles Published)

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

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