How to Block Someone on Facebook Who Blocked You First

Try Facebook's Blocking settings even if you cannot open the person's profile. On a computer, Meta's documented path is Settings & privacy → Settings → Blocking → Block users. Search for the profile there, select the correct result if it appears, and confirm the block. If the profile does not appear, this method may not let you add it. An empty result is not proof that the person blocked you, and there is no verified universal shortcut that forces an unavailable account into your blocked list.

The distinction matters. Facebook describes blocking as a reciprocal limit on many profile interactions while the block is in place. You might still want a block recorded in your own settings, but you cannot assume that searching an inaccessible profile will succeed. You can also review your own audience and safety settings without finding the other person's account.

Try the Blocking settings search

Meta documents a way to block a profile by name from Facebook's settings rather than by visiting its profile. On the desktop version, try this route:

1. Open Facebook while signed in to the profile whose settings you want to change.
2. Open your profile menu and choose Settings & privacy, then Settings.
3. Under Audience and visibility, open Blocking.
4. In Block users, look for Edit or a similar control to add a profile. Enter the person's name.
5. If the right profile appears, check that you have identified the correct person before confirming Block. A common name alone is not enough to identify an account.
6. Reopen your blocked list to check whether the account was added. A search attempt or a confirmation screen by itself is not the same as a verified list entry.

Those are the computer steps described in Facebook's blocked-list help. Mobile menus can look different. If the wording on your device differs, locate Blocking in Facebook Settings and follow the labels shown there. The help page describes how to search by name; it does not promise that the result will remain available after that account blocks you. Treat the search as an option to try, not a guaranteed fix.

If several profiles appear, do not block the first name match by guesswork. If you cannot tell which one is correct from information that Facebook itself shows you, leave the selection unresolved. This avoids acting against an unrelated account and gives you a clearer answer about what you were able to verify.

What if the account does not appear?

First, distinguish what you observed from why you think it happened. A profile you cannot open, a missing search result, or a chat that no longer connects may be consistent with a block, but these signs alone do not establish who changed what. Meta's public blocking guidance does not give a reliable procedure for proving that another person blocked you from an unavailable search result.

Check the spelling of the name you know and the Facebook profile you are signed into. If the intended profile still does not appear in Blocking settings, stop treating the three-step settings route as certain to work. Do not rely on a third-party “block bypass” service, give another site your Facebook password, or ask someone else to enter your account. None of those actions is needed to review your own Facebook privacy controls.

If you still have a conversation or a piece of content that Facebook lets you open, its own menu may offer reporting or blocking choices. Use only the choices visible to you and read what each one says before confirming; a Messenger-only contact control may differ from blocking a Facebook profile. If the account is inaccessible and Facebook offers no selectable profile, the honest outcome is that you could not verify a new profile block from your side at that time.

What does blocking change, and what can remain visible?

Meta says a Facebook block prevents many direct interactions with that profile. Its Safety Center says blocking prevents the person from starting a conversation with you on Messenger or Facebook chat, seeing things you post on your profile, tagging you, or inviting you to events or groups. Meta also says the block works in both directions and does not send the person a block notification.

That is a useful boundary, but it is not a promise that every trace of either person disappears. In its help about content from a blocked profile, Meta lists situations in which material connected to that profile may still appear: an existing message history, a group conversation, a mutual friend's post or photo, a shared group or event, or an outside app. Marketplace ratings or reviews and additional profiles have their own limits. The exact experience depends on the surface and the content's audience.

The previous version of this article claimed that a blocked person could see only your comments on a mutual friend's post. That is too narrow to use as a privacy rule. Before posting something sensitive, check its actual audience and where it is being shared. A block cannot replace an audience review, and it does not erase copies that another person already saved or information shared outside Facebook.

Review privacy settings you can control now

If the other profile is unavailable, you can still take steps that do not depend on locating it. Open Settings & privacy → Settings → Audience and visibility to review who can see your posts, stories, profile details, and tags. Facebook's privacy-settings help says these controls can differ by profile type, so use the settings actually shown on your account. Check the audience before your next post and review existing posts separately if you need to change their visibility.

If there is a specific abusive post, message, or profile that Facebook still lets you view, use that item's reporting control when appropriate. Meta's Safety Center explains that reports can be made from content and that their status can be checked in Support Inbox. Reporting is a separate choice from blocking; neither proves what happened to the other account. If your concern is immediate personal safety, make a safety plan outside Facebook as well.

Can the person still see your public activity?

Do not infer a complete answer from the block label alone. Meta documents exceptions and shared contexts, while public posts and material reposted by others can have audiences beyond your profile. For a particular post, inspect its audience and where it is published. If the matter is sensitive, the safest practical step is to avoid putting it in a public or shared space while you resolve the setting.

Will the person know you tried to block them?

Meta says it does not notify a person when you block their Facebook profile. That statement concerns an actual block; searching for a name without selecting and confirming the correct result is not proof that a block happened. Verify your own blocked list to know what your account currently shows.

In short: Try the Blocking settings search, confirm the correct profile only if it appears, and check your blocked list afterward. If the profile cannot be selected, say that the attempt was unsuccessful rather than assuming it worked. Review post audiences and reporting options you can control independently of the other account.