How to Know When Facebook Friends Secretly Delete or Block You
By Carolyn Luck
If political ranting, excessive link sharing and mundane posting every hour on the hour describe a typical day in the life of your Facebook Timeline, chances are you’re annoying at least some of your friends. Luckily for them, the unfriend and block features enable them to cut virtually all Facebook ties with you in a few simple clicks. If you’ve noticed your News Feed getting a bit light or you’ve lost visibility of certain friends’ Timelines, chances are you’ve been blocked or deleted. Although you won't be notified, you can tell if you've been blocked or deleted if this is the case.
Blocking Vs. Deleting
Blocking and deleting, the latter of which offers more restriction, are different Facebook features members use to safeguard privacy and manage friends. Once blocked, you won’t be able to see any content belonging to a former friend with the possible exception of photos on which you're both tagged and certain types of group and app activity. Blocking is mutual, offering the same level of protection to both the member doing the blocking and the member being blocked. Deleting, also referred to as “unfriending,” eliminates the connection between two friends, leaving it open to be re-established. You may be able to see some types of content that belong to a friend who deletes you, such as that which involves mutual friends, tagged photos and certain group activity.
News Feed Absence
You may have been deleted or blocked if you no longer see stories related to a member who was, at one time, a friend. Your News Feed displays friends’ activity, such as photos and status updates. When a friend blocks or deletes you, his content will not appear in your News Feed. However, this may also occur when a friend adjusts his privacy settings, uses the audience selector tool to share selectively or adds you to a friend list that does not have permissions to view his content. If you can still search for a friend, or his name still appears in your Friends List, you haven’t been deleted or blocked.
Add As Friend
If, after clicking on a member’s name, the resulting page displays his profile picture and the “Add As Friend” button, you have been unfriended, but not blocked. If you click this button, your former friend will receive a notification from Facebook that you wish to become friends. He can then choose to accept or ignore your request.
Unsearchable
If you’re unable to find the name of a former friend using the Facebook search feature, it’s possible you’ve been blocked by him. However, this may also mean that he no longer has an active Facebook account. Blocking does not prevent all communication and, if you still see his name in another friend’s photo or story, he is still an active Facebook member, and he has indeed blocked you. You won’t have the ability to add him as a friend, although he can unblock you and add you again.
References
Writer Bio
Carolyn Luck has developed an extensive technical background in social media, online marketing, event planning, business development and small business management while serving as editor of "iMarketing Magazine." She has been published in "IPTV Magazine" and has contributed to many websites. Luck holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.