Who can send me a friend request?

You choose between two options: Everyone or Friends of friends. The setting is in Settings → Audience and visibility → How people find and contact you → Who can send you friend requests?

3 steps
3 Facebook Help sources
Sources verified November 2026

Who can send you friend requests? → Everyone or Friends of friends

Example people

Someone with no friends in commonCan send
A friend of your friendCan send
Someone you blockedCan’t send
Someone whose request you deletedNot for 1 year

Everyone: anyone can send you a request — except people you blocked, and, for a year, people whose request you deleted.

Illustration — example people, not your account.

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settings path

Change who can send you friend requests

1
Profile picture Settings and privacy SettingsOpen your Facebook settings.
2
Audience and visibility How people find and contact youScroll down the left menu to find it.
3
Who can send you friend requests? Everyone or Friends of friendsPick the option you want from the drop-down menu.

What happens to a request — accept, delete, ignore or block

Your choice — what Facebook Help says happens next

Accept

You become friends, and they automatically start following you.

Delete

They aren’t notified and can’t send you another request for one year. They start following you.

Ignore

They start following you.

Block

They can’t send you more friend requests.

Requests and followers

Following is separate from friending. When someone follows you, your posts may appear in their Feed.

Friends automatically follow you.
People whose requests you ignore or delete automatically start following you.
With pro mode on your profile, people who aren’t your friends can follow you.

If your profile privacy is set to Public, you can see the followers who aren’t your friends: Profile → More → Friends → Followers. If you don’t want someone to follow you, you can block them at any time.

Facebook is removing the Public follower option from default profiles; Help says this will happen gradually. If you currently let friends and the public follow you, you can keep anyone following you with pro mode, or use a regular profile and let only friends follow. If you don’t choose, Facebook turns pro mode on automatically to keep your followers — and you can turn pro mode off at any time.

Illustration — not the real app. The people are made up.

What this setting won’t do

There are only 2 options, and neither makes your profile private:

It doesn’t change who can see your profile or posts — that’s the audience of each post and profile detail.
It doesn’t decide whether Facebook suggests your profile to people who have your phone number or email address — that’s a separate setting in How people find and contact you.
It doesn’t stop followers: people you ignore or delete still follow you, and your posts may appear in their Feed.

Deleting a request keeps that person from sending another for 1 year; blocking stops new requests altogether.

Make it easier for the right people to find you

Limiting requests to Friends of friends works best when the people you do want can still recognise you. Facebook Help suggests:

Use the first name and surname you use in everyday life.
If people know you by another name — a nickname or a maiden name — add it to your account as another name.
Add your basic info, and choose who can see it.

If you’re in pro mode and have followers, three more settings control them: Public Post Comments (who can comment on your public posts), Public Post Notifications (whether you’re notified when people who aren’t your friends follow you or react to your public posts) and Public Profile Info (who can like or comment on changes to your Intro). If you allow following on Marketplace, anyone there can follow you.

A notification, but no request?

If Facebook told you about a friend request you can’t find, Help gives three reasons: the person may have deleted it, you may already have denied it, or they deactivated their account after sending it. If their account is active, Help says you can send them a request or ask them to send another — unless you deleted their request, in which case they can’t send a new one for a year.

Questions

01Will someone know I deleted their request?

No. The person who sent it isn’t notified.

02Can they send me another request?

Not for one year after you delete it. If you block them, they can’t send any more.

03Why does someone follow me after I deleted their request?

People whose requests you ignore or delete automatically start following you. You can block them if you don’t want that.

04What are the options for who can send requests?

Everyone or Friends of friends.

05How do I see who follows me?

If your profile privacy is set to Public: Profile → More → Friends → Followers.

06Does this stop suggestions based on my phone number?

No. Who Facebook can suggest your profile to based on your phone number or email address is a separate setting.

Continue with your account

Sources for this guide

Control who can friend and follow youfacebook.com/help Privacy Checkupfacebook.com/help Select your audiencefacebook.com/help

Facts on this page come from the Facebook Help pages listed here, checked on 4 November 2026.