When you block someone on Facebook Messenger, you prevent them from being able to contact you via Meta’s direct messaging platform.
But before we share the process of blocking someone, there are a couple of things you need to know.
The most important thing to note is that blocking someone on Facebook Messenger does not automatically block them on Facebook as a platform. In fact, when you tap the ‘Block’ button on Messenger, the first option simply blocks them on the messaging app whereas the second is a blanket block across the whole of Facebook.
The second thing to note is that blocking someone on Messenger does not translate across to any other Meta-owned platforms – and so the user will still be able to message you on WhatsApp and Instagram.
3 Steps to Block Someone on Messenger
- Head to the Messenger app and click on the conversation you have with the person you want to block (you can use the search bar at the top of your inbox if you don’t have a recent conversation and cannot easily find them by scrolling)
- Click on their name at the top of your conversation history and select ‘Block’ from the menu that appears
- Click on the top option which invites you to ‘Block Messages and Calls’
NOTE: If you click on the second option which reads ‘Block on Facebook’, this will block them across the entire platform. This essentially means that not only will they be unable to message you directly, but they will also be unable to visit your profile and engage with any of your posts or updates.
And there you have it! Despite the incredibly ease and efficiency of the process, blocking someone on Messenger is a big step and will stop them from being able to contact you via direct message. If you want to follow through with this same action across Instagram and other platforms owned by Meta, you can do so directly within each app.
