Are you feeling overwhelmed by someone on Facebook Messenger, but blocking them seems too harsh? Well, restricting them may be a good middle ground. But before you do that, it’s important to understand what restricting someone on Messenger actually does.
What Happens If You Restrict Someone on Messenger?
When you restrict someone on Messenger, your conversation with them gets removed from the chat list. The other person can still message or call you, but you won’t be notified. However, Messenger will notify you if that person sends a message or calls in a group that you’re also a part of.
Restricting a person on Messenger prevents them from viewing your active status or seeing whether you’ve read their messages. However, they will remain on your friends list and can still see and interact with your Facebook posts as usual.
The good news is that restricting someone on Messenger does not delete any past messages. So, if you unrestrict the person later, all the previous messages, including texts they may have sent while they were restricted, will be restored.
If You Restrict Someone on Messenger, Will They Know?
It’s worth noting that Facebook does not notify the other person when you restrict them. Since the other person can still message you and view your Facebook activity, they are unlikely to know if you’ve restricted them on Messenger.
However, over time, an observant person may begin to notice certain signs indicating they have been restricted. For instance, if you consistently ignore their messages or calls, they may eventually realize they have been restricted.
How to Restrict or Unrestrict Someone on Facebook Messenger
The Messenger app on your Android or iPhone makes it fairly straightforward to restrict an account.
Follow these steps to restrict an account on Facebook Messenger:
- In the Messenger app, head to the Chats tab and locate the conversation with the person you’d like to restrict.
- Tap and hold the conversation and select Restrict from the resulting menu.
Once you restrict a person on Messenger, you won’t be able to find your conversation with them or contact them.
If you want to see everyone you’ve restricted on Messenger or unrestrict someone, you’ll need to access your privacy settings.
To unrestrict someone, follow these steps:
- In the Messenger app, tap your profile icon in the top left corner.
- Tap the gear-shaped icon to open settings.
- Go to Privacy & safety > Restricted accounts.
- Tap the person you want to unrestrict and select Unrestrict button at the bottom.
Restricting someone is a great way to limit people contacting you on Facebook. However, if you’re seeking a more stringent approach, consider blocking someone on Messenger instead. Doing so will prevent the other person from viewing your profile, sending messages, or engaging with your posts.