There are several reasons why you can’t add someone on Facebook. This could mean whether you’re not getting the Add Friend button at all or you somehow can’t make friends with someone even after sending a request.
In a general sense, if you can’t add someone on Facebook, this could mean their privacy setting isn’t allowing you to become friends or your request isn’t being processed properly.
In this guide, I’ve summed up all issues you might face not being able to add someone on Facebook as a friend.
Let’s look into those reasons and see how you can fix them.
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9 Reasons Why You Can’t Add Someone On Facebook
In total, there could be 9 reasons why you’re not being able to add someone on Facebook. Some of these reasons can be fixed from your account, while the other may be privacy issues where you can’t be friends with someone because they have restricted the option to be friends with you or generally anyone.
Your Facebook request is pending
The most common reason people face issues adding each other on Facebook is if their friend request is still pending.
On Facebook, to add someone as a friend, you have to request the other person to accept your friend request after sending them one.
It may be, that you have sent a friend request from your side but the other person couldn’t accept it from their Facebook notifications.
This mostly happens when someone has a lot of pending requests and sometimes, due to ignorance, a friend request may get lost in the pile of pending requests.
You can easily see if this is the reason for your problem by checking your pending requests by clicking here.
If you see your request here, ask the other person to check the list of requests (from here) they have received to find yours and click Accept on it.
Or, you could cancel your initial request and re-send a friend request to them to have their notification box pop up with your request again.
You or they have reached their Facebook friends limit
Facebook limits every user to have a maximum of 5000 friends. If you or the person you’re trying to add as a friend on Facebook has 5000 friends, the friend request can not be accepted.
Whoever has 5000 friends could either make their Facebook account a page then (which would still only let you get more followers, not friends), or you can delete your existing friends to make space for the new friend (in the 5000 friends limit).
To remove a friend, go to Freinds?> All Friends> click the three dots beside the friend you want to remove, and then Unfriend [Friend name].
They can only receive requests from friends of friends
Many people want to feel confident and safe on social media platforms, which is why they could have their privacy settings set in a way that helps them not be approached by strangers.
If the other person has enabled the option of only receiving requests from friends of friends, and you don’t have a mutual friend currently, your request will not be sent to the other person.
To bypass this, ask the other person to send you a friend request instead, or ask them to change their privacy settings to enable getting friend requests from strangers by heading to Facebook Settings> Privacy > and changing the Who can send your friend requests setting to Everyone.
Your request was deleted
If you had sent a friend request to someone and they’re still not your friends, they may have deleted your friend request.
You can either ask them to send you a request this time or send them a friend request again.
You have been blocked or you have blocked them
Another common reason for not being able to add someone on Facebook as a friend is if you’re blocked by the person or you have blocked the other person.
Being blocked means there is no way of you being able to connect with the other person now unless they unblock you.
After being unblocked, you can be friends with them again.
If you think you may have the other person blocked, view the list of people you have blocked by going to Settings and Privacy> Settings> Blocking> click Edit beside Block Users> If their name is in the list, press Unblock.
You’ve been blocked from sending friend requests
Facebook can block users from sending friend requests for several reasons. Here is how you can get restricted from sending friend requests on Facebook.
- You have recently sent a lot of friend requests in a short amount of time (try again after 48 hours).
- Your previous friend requests to this person have all been ignored.
- Your previous friend requests to this person were marked as unwelcome by them.
If any of the latter points are the case, ask the other person to send you a friend request instead if you feel they will feel comfortable now.
Their Account Is Deactivated
The person you’re trying to add as a Facebook friend may have their account deactivated.
Facebook gives its users an option to take a break from the app and disable their Facebook profile without needing to completely delete their account i.e. deactivating the account.
This prevents any other Facebook user to send you requests as well.
If this is the case, you can ask the other person to reactivate their Facebook account by simply logging back into Facebook.
Their Facebook Account Is Restricted
Much like how you can be restricted from sending Facebook requests, the person you’re trying to approach may have their Facebook account restricted as well.
This can happen if their profile was reported multiple times recently for misconduct on the application or if they failed to comply with the Facebook Community Guidelines.
Facebook restrictions can take from a ban of using Facebook from a few hours to a few weeks, depending on the penalty that fits the misconducting crime.
You can try to send a request again once their Facebook account is back up and running.
You’re already friends
If you haven’t been seeing your friend’s posts on your wall for a while, this does not necessarily mean that you’re not friends with them anymore.
Click here and search for their name in your friend’s list. If it’s there, you’re already friends!
If you want to see more posts from them, you can head to their profile by clicking on their name from the Friends List, pressing the Friends button on their profile, and selecting them as Favourites.
FAQ – Can’t Add Friends On Facebook
The above-mentioned fixes work for any problem you might be having that prevents you from adding someone on Facebook.
However, if you still have miscellaneous questions unanswered, this FAQ might help.
Why Is There No Add Friend Button On Facebook?
If there is no Add Friend button on someone’s profile, this could mean:
- Their Facebook account is a page that can only be followed, not added as a Friend
- They may have their privacy settings enabled only to allow friends of friends to be able to send them a request
- They may have marked your previous friend requests as deleted or spam.
Why Can’t I Add Someone On Facebook After Unblocking?
Suppose you were friends with someone before blocking them, and after unblocking you can’t see the add friend button anymore. In that case, this could mean that while you had them blocked, the person may have changed their Facebook privacy settings only to allow friends of friends to send them a request, or they may have stopped you in return.
Why Can’t I Add Someone But Only Message?
If you are connected with someone on Messenger but can’t add them on Facebook, this could mean your previous friend request to that person may have been deleted or marked as spam by them.
This could also mean their Facebook account is restricted and they can only use Messenger temporarily.
Or, it could be that their privacy settings don’t allow you to be friends with them (if you’re not a friend of a friend).
How To Check Pending Facebook Requests?
To check the Facebook requests you have sent to other Facebook users that are still pending (not accepted or deleted), go to Facebook friends> Friend Requests, and then Sent Requests.
Or click here.
How Many Friends Can I Have On Facebook?
You can have a maximum of 5000 friends on Facebook.
After this, you will have to label your Facebook account as a page to connect with more people (as a follower).
You can check how many friends you have by clicking here.