At some point during your use of social media, you may have had to block a user for one reason or the other. Usually, when you block someone, they are unable to contact you or see certain information about you. In some cases, they are unable to find your profile at all.
On Facebook specifically, when you block someone, they will no longer be able to tag your profile, see your posts, invite you in groups, start a conversation with you, or add you as a friend.
Which, probably, are all what you wanted, anyway.
But what happens when you change your mind and unblock them on Facebook? You may not want to message them outright and let them know that you unblocked them, so you may be wondering if there’s a way for them to find that out on their own.
In this article, I will explain to you everything that will happen when you unblock someone on Facebook.
If You Unblock Someone on Facebook, Will They Know?
The immediate answer to this is, maybe. They may find out that you unblocked them, but it does not become immediately apparent. There is no notification sent to them saying that you have unblocked them. And if they have moved on, they may never get to find out that you unblocked them.
However, there are things they could try to do and if they are successful, then they know for sure that you have unblocked them. Here’s a list.
1. They can view your posts and profile information
If the person you blocked searches up your profile or clicks on it from a link, they will be able to see all your profile information and your posts. When they were blocked, they were unable to see your posts. So, now that they can see them again, they know that you have unblocked them.
2. They can now tag you in posts, comments, and photos
Also, when they were blocked, they were unable to tag your profile in posts, comments, and photos. So, if they try to tag you and succeed this time, it becomes immediately obvious to them that you have unblocked them.
3. They can now invite your profile to events and groups
When you block a profile, that profile is unable to invite you to groups and events. When you unblock them, they become able to do this again.
But note that if you are already in the same group as the person that you blocked, they can still interact with you inside the group, even while you blocked them.
4. Their Messages To You Will Deliver
Initially when they were blocked, their messages to you would never deliver. But when you unblock them, new messages will start to deliver. However, messages that they sent to you while they were blocked will not be delivered to you.
In any case, they will know that you have unblocked them when they send new messages, and they get delivered to you.
5. They Can Add You As A Friend
You may be aware that when you block someone on Facebook, you are automatically unfriended. And there is no way for them to add you back as a friend as long as they remain blocked. Unless, of course, they use a different account to send the friend request.
But when you unblock them, that restriction is lifted, and they can add you as a friend again.
At this point, I must point out that unblocking someone that you were previously Facebook friends with does not automatically add the person back as your friend. You or the person would have to send a friend a request again.
Will Someone Receive a Notification If You Unblock Them on Facebook?
No, they will not receive a notification when you unblock them. Just as they did not receive a notification when you blocked them. Blocking and unblocking are never notified on most platforms. And that’s because blocking is considered a private action.
It preserves your privacy and rights to perform certain private actions without the knowledge of the object of the action.
So:
- There will be no notification on the Facebook website or mobile app when you unblock or block someone
- There will be no notification on Facebook Messenger either when you unblock or block someone
- There is no third-party app that they can use to get notification for when you unblock or block them
- The only way they can find out that they have been unblocked by you is when they are able to perform the actions described in the section above, on your profile.
If Someone Unblocks Me, Would I Know?
Again, it is possible for you to find out, but it is not immediately obvious. You will not get notified that they have unblocked you, nor will you automatically become Facebook friends again, nor will the previous messages you sent them during the period when they blocked you, deliver.
So, to find out whether they have unblocked you, you need to perform the following actions:
- Send them new messages. When you send them a new message and the message gets delivered, then you are sure that they have unblocked you on Facebook. Note that previous messages you sent when they blocked you will remain permanently undelivered…unless you resend them after they have unblocked you.
- Check their posts. If you are able to visit their profile page and see the posts they or other people have made on their wall or timeline, then you know that they have unblocked you. You may already know that when you were blocked, you could not see anything on their profile page. So, if you can now, then be sure that they have unblocked you.
- Tag them in a post, comment, or photo. Try tagging the person’s account on a post or comment or photo. It does not matter if the post, comment, or photo is posted by you or someone else. The moment you can successfully tag them on the post, rest assured that they have unblocked you. You would not be able to tag them otherwise.
- Try adding them as a friend. When they blocked you, you were automatically removed as their friend and vice versa. And during this period, you were unable to add them as a friend. But when they unblock you, you can successfully send them a friend request and you will get notification that your request has been sent successfully.
- Invite them to a Facebook group or event. If you are a member of a group and they are not, try inviting them to the group. Or to a Facebook event. If they have unblocked you, you will get notification that your invitation has been sent successfully.
What Happens When You Unblock Someone on Facebook?
- When you unblock someone on Facebook, here’s what will happen:
- They will become able to see your posts again
- They will be able to tag you in photos, comments, and other posts
- They will be able to invite you to groups and events on Facebook
- They will be able to send you messages
- They will be able to send you a friend request which you can accept and become friends with them again
But they will receive no notification on their account that you have unblocked them. And if they do not actively seek you out on Facebook, they may never get to know that you unblocked them.
So, if you’re really interested in renewing communication with them on Facebook, then you may reach out to them via Facebook chat or send them a friend request.
Other Things To Know About Blocking and Unblocking Someone On Facebook
- When you block someone on Facebook, they are also automatically blocked from contacting you on Messenger. So, when you unblock them, they can send you messages on Messenger again.
But if you only blocked them on Messenger, you only stopped them from messaging you on Messenger or Facebook chat. They will be able to perform the other actions described in this article such as seeing your posts, tagging you, and so on. Your Facebook friendship also remains unchanged.
- Being unable to send someone a friend request does not mean on its own that they have blocked you. It may be that Facebook blocked you from sending friend requests altogether. So, you need to try other means to be sure that they have blocked you.
Facebook may block you from sending friend requests if you send too many friend requests at a time, or if your friend requests go answered, or if they are marked as unwelcome.
- To unblock someone on Facebook, follow the steps below:
- Click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook.
- Select Settings and privacy, then click Settings.
- In the right column, click Privacy.
- Click Blocking.
- In the Block users section, click Edit.
- Click See your blocked list.
- Click Unblock next to the profile that you want to unblock.
- Click Confirm to finish unblocking the profile.