How Do I Stop Facebook From Automatically Sending Friend Requests?

If you keep receiving friend requests from people who have no connection with you, then you may be wondering if it’s possible to switch off this feature and restrict the amount of friend requests that Facebook sends you on a regular basis.

Well, while Facebook friend requests and indeed suggested friends can both be irritating features on the platform, they are in fact integral for the consistent and sustainable growth of profiles and communities. Having said that, there are things that you can do to limit the number of profiles that can add you, and that limit the users who see your profile as a suggested friend.

How to Switch off Suggested Friends

To remove yourself from suggested friends lists on Facebook, you need to dive into your account settings and change the way that Facebook uses your information to share your profile on other users’ feeds.

While there is no way to turn off the friend suggestions box that appears on your feed, owing to its integral role in Facebook community growth and expansion, you can change how visible you are to others.

1. Click on the menu button and navigate to your ‘Settings’ menu – via the cog icon or the ‘Setting and Privacy’ button
2. Scroll down to the ‘Audience and Visibility’ heading and then select ‘How People Can Find and Contact You’
3. Under the heading ‘Who Can Facebook suggest your profile to…’ change the options to ‘No one’ and turn off the search engines permission

This will limit the visibility of your profile and prevent Facebook from using your personal details to search for you on Facebook.

How to Limit Friend Requests

There is no way of completely turning off friend requests – after all, friend requests are an integral part of Facebook’s community set-up.

But what you can do is stop those with no connection to you from adding you as a friend, therefore limiting the requests you receive to only those with a direct link to you on Facebook.

To do this, follow these simple steps…

1. Click on the menu button in the bottom right hand corner of your screen and navigate to ‘Settings and Privacy’ then ‘Settings’
2. Under the ‘Audience and Visibility’ heading, select ‘How People Can Find and Contact You’
3. Next to the option for ‘Who Can Send You Friend Requests?’ change the option from ‘Everyone’ to ‘Friends of Friends’

This means that only those who are friends of users on your existing friends list will be able to add you on Facebook.

We hope this helps you to feel more in control of your Facebook experience and your visibility across the platform!