Can You Accidentally Delete Someone on Facebook?
By Melly Parker
Purposefully removing an unwanted friend from Facebook cleans up your newsfeed; accidentally unfriending a desired contact makes for a less interesting set of updates and photos when you log in. While it would be very difficult to accidentally remove a Facebook friend, stranger things have happened and distractions while you're on the computer can lead to accidental clicks on websites. If you did remove a contact who you wanted to keep, re-add the person from his Facebook profile page.
Deleting Friends
To delete a friend, you have to go to that person's profile, select the option from a list and then confirm your choice to delete her. Once she's been removed from your friends list, you won't have access to the friends-only parts of her profile. Any comments or photo tags you've made, however, will stay on her profile. The person will not be notified that you've deleted her as a friend.
Accidents
Accidents happen and removing friends on Facebook is no exception. If you're on a friend's profile and looking at your options for that friend, it's entirely possible to accidentally click "Unfriend." From there, you'd have to accidentally click once more to confirm the deletion. Any distraction at the wrong moment, from a conversation to a pet jumping onto your desk, can lead to an accidental deletion.
Adding Friends
To re-add your friend, return to his profile and request to add the person as a Facebook friend. If you accidentally deleted the person, include a message explaining what happened. Otherwise, the person may think that you deleted them on purpose and may refuse to re-add you as a friend.
Timeline
If you have a friend who makes too many posts on your news feed or who posts objectionable content on your timeline, adjust the person's ability to do so without removing the friendship. Facebook enables you to restrict access to your timeline from any of your friends in your account security settings. You can remove the person's status updates and shared pictures from your wall by hovering over the post, clicking the arrow in the top right corner, choosing "Hide" and then selecting to adjust what posts you see from that friend.
References
Writer Bio
Melly Parker has been writing since 2007, focusing on health, business, technology and home improvement. She has also worked as a teacher and a bioassay laboratory technician. Parker now serves as a marketing specialist at one of the largest mobile app developers in the world. She holds a Master of Science in English.