FB Help GuideIndependent guides · not affiliated with Meta

How to Unblock Someone on Facebook

Unblock someone on Facebook from the blocking list, what changes when you do, the 48-hour re-block wait, and why unblocking does not restore the friendship.

Updated

Quick answer

Where to click

Desktop
  1. Settings & privacy
  2. Settings
  3. Blocking
  4. Block users
Mobile app
  1. Menu
  2. Settings & privacy
  3. Settings
  4. Blocking

Facebook renames these menus periodically. If a label does not match, read the screen you are on rather than forcing this exact wording.

Find the name in the list and select Unblock, then confirm. It takes effect immediately.

What unblocking does and does not do

People expect unblocking to undo the block completely. It does not.

It does:

  • Let them find your profile and see content you share publicly or with friends of friends.
  • Let both of you message each other again.
  • Let them tag you and invite you to things.

It does not:

  • Restore the friendship. Blocking removed it permanently. Someone has to send a new request.
  • Notify either of you.
  • Change who can see your posts. If your audience is set to Friends and you are no longer friends, they still see nothing.
  • Undo blocking on Messenger, WhatsApp, or Instagram, which are separate lists.

The 48-hour wait

Once you unblock someone, Facebook stops you from blocking them again for about 48 hours. There is no way to shorten it and no support channel that can override it.

This matters if you are unblocking to check something. During that window they can see everything your current privacy settings allow. If that is a concern, tighten the settings *before* you unblock rather than unblocking to look and re-blocking after.

If they are not in the list

  • They deactivated their account. Deactivated profiles disappear from the blocked list but stay blocked, and they reappear if the account comes back.
  • You blocked their message, not their profile. Messenger keeps a separate list — check inside Messenger's own privacy settings.
  • You restricted rather than blocked. Restricted people are not on the blocking list; they are in your friends list with a Restricted tag, and they only see your public posts.
  • You unfriended rather than blocked. Unfriending leaves no trace in settings at all.

Consider restricting instead of blocking

If the reason you blocked someone was that you did not want them seeing your posts — rather than not wanting contact at all — Restricted is usually the better tool. They stay a friend, they see only what you post publicly, and nothing about it is visible to them.

That avoids the whole block/unblock cycle, including the 48-hour lockout.

Before you unblock, check what becomes visible

Unblocking hands someone the same access any other non-friend has. That is worth knowing precisely.

What Facebook privacy controls do and do not coverFour controls compared. Locking a profile and setting posts to Friends both limit strangers but not existing friends. Blocking stops one specific person. None of these remove screenshots or copies other people already saved, and none apply to Marketplace listings or group posts, which follow their own visibility rules.Lock profileLimits past public posts, hides most of the profile from strangersAudience = FriendsApplies per post; old posts need a separate bulk changeBlock someoneStops one person only; they can still see group and Page contentNone of these reachScreenshots and copies already saved • Marketplace listings • Posts you made in groups• Anything a friend reshares • Search engine caches of formerly public content
What each privacy control actually covers. Nothing on Facebook reaches copies other people already saved.

If you want to unblock but limit exposure, do it in this order: set old posts to Friends only, review what your public profile shows, then unblock. Working through the privacy settings checklist first takes a few minutes and is easier than reversing it afterwards.

If the person is someone you blocked for safety reasons, unblocking is not the only option — locking your profile or reporting the account may fit better than restoring their access.

Official source

Meta's blocking documentation covers current behaviour and the waiting period. The settings shown on your own account are the final authority.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does unblocking make us friends again?
No. Blocking removes the friendship, and unblocking does not restore it. One of you has to send a new friend request.
Will they be notified that I unblocked them?
No. There is no notification for blocking or unblocking. What they may notice is that your profile becomes findable again.
Why can I not re-block them straight away?
Facebook enforces a waiting period of about 48 hours after you unblock someone before you can block them again. It exists to prevent block-unblock cycling.
I cannot find the person in my blocked list.
Either they were never blocked, or they deactivated their account, which hides them from the list. They reappear if the account is reactivated.
Does unblocking restore old messages?
Message history was not deleted by blocking, so previous conversations are still in Messenger. Blocking on Messenger is a separate setting from blocking on Facebook.

See also