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You might assume your acquaintances’ social media maneuvers are invisible to everyone but Mark Zuckerberg. In reality, though, there are ways to check who exactly has unfriended you on Facebook.
Be warned, though: Your feelings might be hurt, and your sleuthing could create more questions than answers about what you did to deter your Facebook friend.
Inside a Facebook friendship
First, some clarifications, since the various statuses on Facebook can be quite a lot to handle.
You can be unfollowed, unfriended or blocked. Each limits your relationship with another Facebook subscriber, but some distinctions among them should be explained.
Facebook blocking
If you are blocked, that means somebody has completely eliminated your access to their profile. You cannot see their posts, start a conversation with them, tag them in comments or photos, or friend them. They want nothing to do with you.
Bottom line: If you can’t view someone’s profile, find them in a search, or send them any messages — you, my friend, have been blocked.
Now it’s also possible they have fled for the higher ground of a Facebook-free life and deactivated their account entirely. To check, you can look for an old conversation with that person; if their profile picture is still there but you can’t engage in a chat with them, send them a message, or even click on their profile then you’ve been blocked.
If there is no longer a profile picture of them, they have deactivated their account.
Facebook unfriending
Unfriending happens when someone removes you from their friend list. While losing some access to that person, you can still view their public profile, and even respond to their public posts.
Unless they’ve made their reasons clear, don’t jump to conclusions about why someone unfriended you. Maybe they’re indeed mad at you, or maybe you just don’t interact on Facebook and they’re looking to pare down their friend list.
How do you know when someone unfriends you on Facebook?
On Facebook, there is no explicit indication that someone has unfriended you. Facebook does not send notifications when someone removes you from their friends list. However, there are a few ways you might infer that someone has unfriended you:
- Friends List: If you notice that a particular person’s profile no longer appears on your friends list, it could be an indication that they have unfriended you. However, keep in mind that there are other reasons for a profile to be missing from your friends list, such as deactivating their account or adjusting their privacy settings.
- Search for their Profile: You can manually search for the person’s name in the Facebook search bar. If their profile does not show up in the search results, it might suggest that they have unfriended you or deactivated their account.
- Mutual Friends: If you have mutual friends with the person, you can check their friends list to see if the person in question is still listed. If the person’s profile is no longer visible in your mutual friends’ friends list, it could indicate that they have unfriended you.
How to see who unfriended you on Facebook?
While it’s never obvious that you’ve been unfriended, it’s also not actually difficult to check. Deleted notifies you whenever your Facebook account has lost a friend. When you click on the link, you will see whether you were indeed deleted from their friend list or if they deactivated their account instead.
Facebook unfollowing
Unfollowing is a distinct way of creating distance between Facebook friends: When you unfollow a person they remain on your friends list but their posts no longer appear on your news feed.
To check and see who is currently following you go to the “More” tab located on your profile page and click on “Followers.” If you don’t see someone who’s still on your friends list, it means they’ve unfollowed you. You can still view their profile and their posts — and they can drop in when they feel inclined — but your posts no longer show up in their feed.
In this scenario, it’s most likely the person doesn’t want to hurt your feelings or create any drama (by blocking or unfriending you) but also doesn’t want to participate in your political views or simply see another kitten meme or pictures of your lunch.
Who unfollowed you on Instagram?
Want to know who’s ducking you on Instagram? Try Unfollowgram, a service that helps you check on your followers list.
Who unfollowed you on Twitter?
If you’re concerned about who’s ducking your tweets on Twitter, check out Who Unfollowed Me.
