Sometimes, it’s better to block someone on Facebook and forget rather than engage and regret. Personal disputes, privacy concerns, or simple dislike are all valid reasons to block a Facebook user from your life.
But what if you end up being blocked by a friend on Facebook? You don’t get notified as the blocked person, but you might wonder if (and why) you’ve been blocked by someone. You might not know why, but you can check if you’ve been blocked using a few tried and tested methods below. Depending on their privacy settings, there are also a few ways to view blocked profiles.
How to Check If Someone Blocked You on Facebook
There are a few telltale signs that you can look out for if you think you’ve been blocked on Facebook. Let’s assume that you’re already aware of the person’s profile and you could previously look at it. You can follow these steps to help you determine if another person has blocked you on Facebook or if they’ve just deactivated their account.
First, you should type the person’s name into the search bar on the Facebook website in your web browser or via the Facebook app and a search. Private Facebook accounts should remain reasonably accessible, even if you can’t view much on them, as should locked Facebook profiles. However, the user won’t appear in the search results if you’ve been blocked on Facebook. If they were previously a Facebook friend, you can confirm this by looking at your friend’s list and checking if they still appear or not.
Another way to check is through a third person’s mutual friend list. If the person you believe has blocked you doesn’t appear in their friends list, but you know they’re friends, it’s a good sign that you’ve been blocked.
You could also check shared groups. If any previously made comments from the user are missing in a public group, you might have been blocked. You can also tag people in your comments in those shared groups. If the blocked person doesn’t appear in the drop-down menu, this would be another indicator that you’ve been blocked.
It’s easier to spot if you’ve shared direct messages with the user in the past. In Messenger, you won’t lose the messages you’ve shared in a conversation. Still, you won’t be able to view their profile or any details, including their profile picture or any shared Messenger locations. If those details are hidden or missing, it could mean that you’re blocked. You also won’t be able to send messages to the user again.
If you know the direct URL to their profile, you can also try that. If you’ve been blocked, you won’t be able to access the profile. Facebook won’t tell you that you’ve been blocked, but you will see an error message that tells you that the profile isn’t accessible at the moment.
Finally, you can reach out to shared friends and ask them to check for you if they’re willing to do so. Assuming they’ve not been blocked, they could confirm whether or not the user’s profile is still active and visible. If it is, but their profile page no longer appears for you, then you’ve been blocked.
How to View Blocked Facebook Profile?
You’ve done the legwork and confirmed that someone has blocked you on Facebook. Now what? Well, all’s not lost. While being blocked makes it harder, there are still a few methods to view any blocked Facebook profiles.
You could use a search engine to help you find them. For accounts that are more publicly visible than others, a search on Google (e.g., “name facebook” or “name site:facebook.com”) could help you to locate their profile again and make it visible.
There’s also another method you can try: your friends. If you can’t view the profile yourself, you might be able to employ your network of friends to keep you updated on any changes to the blocked profile. You could also ask to use a friend’s Facebook account directly to view the profile. You can also keep an eye on any interactions your friend might make with that user in shared spaces in your Facebook feed, such as in comments made together in a shared group or on a third person’s profile or profile image.
A stronger option, however, is to create a second Facebook account, unlinked to your existing profile and using a separate email address. You can use it to search for and view the profile, as long as it isn’t locked down enough. However, this might violate Facebook’s terms of service and might be inappropriate, depending on why you’ve been blocked in the first place. You’ll need to use your best judgment to decide whether this is appropriate.
It’s also not a good idea to use third-party apps to help you view information on a Facebook profile, such as viewing profile images. These will violate Facebook’s terms of service and will most likely put your account at risk, so it’s best to give them a miss. Just remember that if an app suggests that it can show blocked accounts, don’t believe it—it’s impossible.
Conclusion
If you think you’ve been blocked on Facebook, remember to do your checks first. Search for the user, check your friend’s lists, and look through your messages and previous comments to see if you can view their profile.
However, if you have been blocked or unfriended, it might be worth taking a quick pause to consider why. Blocking can help maintain healthy social media interactions, and it may just be that the Facebook user doesn’t want to see your profile or interact with you anymore, for good or bad. If that’s the case, you don’t want to push past the block too hard, and Facebook profile stalking may make the situation between you and that person worse.
Remember, any block you have could be temporary or made by mistake. Once the block is confirmed, it’s probably a good idea to sit it out and see if you’re unblocked in the future. You can focus on your Facebook profile in the meantime, making sure to update your privacy settings to configure a private profile that will keep your data safe from other users.