How to unfriend and unfollow people on Facebook
- You can unfriend someone on Facebook in two clicks, but it can't be undone without your former Facebook friend accepting a new friend request.
- Your Facebook "friend" won't be notified when you unfriend them, but you'll disappear from their friend list.
- Blocking offers a more complete solution to ending all contact on Facebook, while unfollowing is a gentler, less permanent solution than unfriending or blocking.
There are a lot of good reasons to cut ties (in some form) with Facebook friends.
Maybe your sister-in-law just won't stop posting pictures of her dog or your cousin is cluttering up your feed with political screeds. Or maybe you just went through a breakup and you'd like to not see photos of your ex back out on the dating scene.
And in many cases, a quick look through your list of "friends" will reveal dozens of people you hardly know at all and really don't need to stay in touch with.
Whatever reasons you have for wanting to unfriend, unfollow, or block a Facebook friend are your business; fortunately, the actual unfriending process is a lot simpler than the complex weavings of the interpersonal issues behind your motivation to do so.
Unfriend someone on Facebook in just two clicks
A word of warning: it's almost too easy to unfriend someone on Facebook, and while they won't know you did it (until they check their list of friends), if you want to re-establish the connection, they'll realize you unfriended them when they get a new Add Friend request.
So make sure you want to go through with it, then...
1. Go to the person's Facebook page or locate them on your list of friends.
Steven John/Business InsiderScroll through or search your list of friends from your own Facebook page.
2. Locate the gray box that says "Friends" with a checkmark before the word and click on it.
3. At the bottom of the dropdown menu that appears, click "Unfriend."
Steven John/Business InsiderClick "Unfriend."
And just like that, the connection is severed. You will no longer see their posts and yours won't be shared with them.
But do you really need to unfriend someone, or is there a better solution here?
Unfollow someone on Facebook
You automatically "Follow" all of your friends on Facebook, and you can follow other pages, like that of an artist or business, without being friends. The posts made by anyone you follow can pop up in your feed and can often be the source of annoyance that's making you consider unfriending in the first place.
Instead, consider just not following the person anymore by going to their page and finding the box that says "Following" at the top right of the screen. Click it and then hit "Unfollow [Their Name]."
Steven John/Business InsiderClick the "Following" and then "Unfollow [Name]."
You will no longer be served content the person creates or shares, but you will still be friends. You can change back to following any time.
Block someone on Facebook
If unfriending isn't enough, and you don't ever want to have contact with someone on Facebook again (someone you unfriend can still send you messages and new friend requests), it's time to block them.
Click on the three dots in a gray box beside the word "Message" at the top right of the screen on their profile (as pictured above), then hit the word "Block" from the dropdown menu.
Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:
How to delete your Facebook account on a desktop browser or mobile app
How to contact Facebook for problems with your account and other issues
How to change your Facebook password to help keep your account secure