If you want to curate your Facebook friends list or remove people you haven’t spoken to in years, you can easily unfriend someone using the app or website with a few simple steps. Here’s how to unfriend someone on Facebook.
Read more: How to hide your friends list on your Facebook profile
Use the Facebook app
To unfriend someone using the app, search for their profile page. Tap the Friends bar below their name and select Unfriend in the pop-up menu.
Unfriend someone on Facebook using the website
Ankit Banerjee / Android Authority
To unfriend someone on Facebook using the website, open the person’s profile. Click the Friends bar next to their name and click Unfriend.
What happens when you unfriend someone?
You will not see any posts from them on your timeline and vice versa. They can see posts or photos that you both are tagged in if the post is visible. If you unfriend someone, they will still see your name on them.
How to tell if someone unfriended you
If someone has unfriended you on Facebook, you will no longer see their private posts. If you suspect you have been unfriended, go to the person’s profile. If you see the Add a friend option, it means you have been unfriended. If you cannot find their profile, they may have disabled their account or blocked you.
Read more: How to update your Facebook privacy settings
FAQs
What is the difference between Unfriend, Unfollow, and Take a break?
Instead of unfriending someone, you have the option to Unfollow or Take a break (on the mobile app only). Unfollow ensures that you won’t see the person’s posts on your timeline, but they can still see yours. Taking a break goes two steps further by stopping the person from seeing your posts and letting you choose between keeping or hiding previous interactions.
Do people know when you unfriend or unfollow them on Facebook?
Facebook will not notify a person if you unfriend or unfollow them. However, if they search for your profile, they will notice that you aren’t Facebook friends anymore.
What is the difference between Unfriend and Block?
If you unfriend someone on Facebook, they can still find your profile and send you a direct message. If you block someone, they will not be able to find your profile.
Can I undo it if I unfriend someone?
You will have to send the person a friend request again if you have unfriended them.
Facebook friends generally have the most access to your profile content and are the only people allow to create new content for your Wall. A list of your friends appears on the left side of your profile, along with your total number of friends. From time to time, you may notice that the number of your friends has gone down. When that happens, it is possible that someone unfriended you; however, Facebook never sends notifications about unfriending.
Unfriending
When another user unfriends you, you no longer appear on her friend list. If she has elected to hide her profile content from non-friends, you may be unable to see parts of her profile that you previously had access to. Even if you can still see her profile Wall, you will no longer be permitted to post anything to it once you are no longer her friend on the site. The opposite is also true -- someone who unfriends you may no longer post new content to your Wall.
Notifications
Notifications are a way for Facebook to communicate with a user when there is new activity associated with her account. While you are notified of just about every new action a friend takes regarding your account -- such as sending you a message or posting on your Wall -- unfriending is one of the few exceptions. You will not receive a notification, either on your Facebook Wall or via email, when someone unfriends you.
Reciprocity
When one of your Facebook friends unfriends you, she disappears from your friend list just as you disappear from hers. Because of this reciprocity, you can search your friend list for friends that you suspect may have unfriended you. If someone no longer appears on your friend list but you see that her profile still exists, she has unfriended you.
Considerations
Just because someone disappears from your friend list does not mean she has unfriended you. It is possible that the user has deactivated her account, or that it was disabled by Facebook for some reason. If you were unfriended and want to reconnect with the user, you can still send her a private message or request her friendship again using the appropriate buttons on her profile page.