How to Cancel a Pending Friend Request on Facebook

It's your worst nightmare. You've sent a Facebook friend request to someone from your past- maybe an ex lover or a long lost friend- that you realize afterwards, you really don't want to hear from. What to do? Follow these tips to make that pending friend request nothing more than a bad memory!

Things You'll Need

• Computer with internet access
• Facebook account
• A clear mind

Instructions

1. Log on to your account at www.facebook.com

2. Do a search for the name of the person you inadvertently Friend Requested by typing their name in the Search box.

3. If your friend request is still pending, it should say Awaiting Friend Confirmation under their name on their profile page. Or, if their profile page is private, it will say Friend Requested next to their name on the main search page

4. Unfortunately, Facebook does not have a button to cancel a friend request-- but there is a way around it! Go to Settings at the top of your homepage.

5. Click on Privacy Settings.

6. Click on Manage under the Privacy tab.

7. At the bottom, find the Block People option.

8. Type in the name of the person that you do not want to be friends with.

9. Click "Block". The person is now blocked from your account.

10. Now go back and type their name in the box again to unblock them.

11. The pending friend request will disappear from their profile page and they will never know that you temporarily "blocked" them.

12. Also, you can opt to keep the person blocked from your account permanently by omitting the Unblock step. They will have no access to your profile and no option to ever send you a friend request!

13. Whew! Disaster averted!

Tips & Warnings

• Note: This does not mean that the person never saw your friend request. They may have seen it days ago and chose to ignore it. But you can use this method to prevent them from letting it dangle out there in oblivion. It sort of puts you back in the driver's seat!

Resources

• Facebook