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How to cancel a friend request on Facebook
Looking back, it felt right. You met someone, they seemed nice, so you wanted to add them as a friend on Facebook. But then, doubts arise. If you find yourself hesitating, considering canceling the request is like reconsidering deleting a strange photo. Here’s how to cancel a friend request on Facebook, ensuring you keep your social media free of creeps.
QUICK ANSWER
To cancel a friend request on the desktop Facebook site, go to the Friends section on the left side of Facebook. Then, click Friend requests > View sent requests > Cancel Request.
On the Facebook mobile app, visit the person's Facebook profile and tapping the Cancel Request button.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
How to cancel a friend request on the desktop Facebook site
If you’re looking to cancel a Facebook friend request on the desktop site, you can follow these steps:
- On the left side of the Facebook feed, click Friends.
- At the right of the next screen, select Friend requests.
- Click the small blue View sent requests link.
- Find the one you want to cancel and click Cancel Request.
How to cancel a friend request on the Facebook mobile app
To cancel a friend request on the Facebook mobile app, follow these steps:
- Simply go to the person’s profile.
- Tap Cancel Request, and confirm by clicking the pop-up window. That’s it.
How to see all the friend requests I have sent on Facebook
You might accidentally add someone on Facebook due to the friend suggestions provided by Facebook, but you can’t remember their name or their account. Additionally, you might have added someone a long time ago and forgotten about it, and now you want to see the list of people you have added as friends on Facebook. Here is how to do so:
On mobile:
- Open the Facebook app and log in to your account.
- Select the Friends tab at the bottom, then tap on the three dots button.
- Choose View Sent Requests, and there you will find the list of your sent requests.
On desktop:
- Go to Facebook.com and log in to your account.
- From the options on the left side, click on Friends.
- Select Friend Requests.
- Click on View Sent Requests, and there you have it.
FAQs
This means that the person has already accepted your request. At this point, the only action you can take is to unfriend them and, if you believe it’s necessary, add them to your restricted list. To add someone to your restricted list, open Facebook, navigate to Friends > Custom Lists > Restricted, then select Add/Remove. Add the people you want to the list and click Save.
No, the other person is not notified. Your friend request will quietly disappear from their pending requests page. Of course, if they had already seen that you had previously sent them a friend request and it was no longer there, they might wonder what changed your mind.
If someone has declined your friend request, you will not receive a notification. However, the Add Friend button will disappear from their profile. You’ll still have the option to send them a message.
The Add Friend button may be missing on a Facebook profile for several reasons. One reason could be that the person has strict privacy settings that prevent friend requests from non-friends. Additionally, some users require mutual friends before accepting friend requests. The most challenging scenario is when you are blocked by them on Facebook, which prevents you from sending them a friend request or interacting with them on the platform.
To control who can send you friend requests on Facebook, tap on Menu > Settings & Privacy > Settings > How people find and contact you and next to Who can send me friend requests, choose between Everyone or Friends of friends according to your preference.