If You Block a Person on Facebook, Can They See Your Photo Albums?

When you block someone on Facebook, you’re restricting the visibility of your activity. Blocked people cannot see your timeline, photo albums or other content you post on the social network. Blocking eliminates friendship connections, prevents chat and inbox messaging and essentially makes you invisible to those you block. Blocking is mutual, so if one member initiates a block against another, neither one can see the activities of the other.

There are some instances in which blocked members can see your presence on Facebook. Certain features, such as applications and groups, may maintain a link between two people who are blocked. Photo visibility is not always prohibited between blocked members. For example, if you block someone and then tag a mutual friend in your photo album, the blocked person may see that story in his News Feed and be able to see your photo, assuming the mutual friend’s privacy settings allow. The blocked person would not be able to see the entire album; he would see only the photos in which the mutual friend is tagged.

Edit the privacy settings for your photo albums using the audience selector tool. Click the “Photos” tab below the cover photo on your timeline and click the “Albums” tab at the top of the resulting page. Select the album you wish to work with from the list. Click the “Edit” button in the upper-right corner of the album’s main page. Select the desired audience from the audience selector in the upper-right corner of the page. Note that for your “Mobile Uploads” and “Timeline” photo albums, you can set privacy for each individual photo using the audience selector for that photo.

To block someone, click the lock-shaped icon in the upper-right corner of any Facebook page and select the “How Do I Stop Someone From Bothering Me?” link from the resulting drop-down menu. Type the name or email address of the person you wish to block in the space provided and select “Block.” Blocking is confidential, so members do not receive notification when you block them. You can also use the “Report/Block This Person” link from the gear-shaped drop-down menu below the cover photo on the member’s timeline.

Blocking is not permanent. You can remove a block using the lock-shaped icon in the upper-right corner of any page and selecting the “How Do I Stop Someone From Bothering Me?” link. Click the “View All Blocked Users” option to see a list of all members you’ve blocked. Click the “Unblock” link that appears next to the person you wish to unblock. Then send a friend request to that member to restore the connection and resume Facebook interaction. If you’re tagged in someone else’s photo, that person must change the photo privacy to prevent anyone from viewing it. You can remove the tag from that photo, which will remove the connection to your timeline, but your face will still appear in the photo.