Can’t Find or Add Someone on Facebook – What To Do? Updated 2023

Facebook has become one of the most popular social media sites and currently has the most users. Many applications are able to add friends who can follow and see what you post and vice versa. So you may face a situation where you go to add someone, but the option to do so has mysteriously disappeared.

There are many reasons why you can't add someone to Facebook, and that doesn't mean someone has automatically blocked you. If you are wondering which of these other factors might happen, check out the list below to find out which one might happen to you.

Can’t Find or Add Someone on Facebook – What To Do?

1. Their privacy settings

A common reason you're unable to add someone to Facebook is how they've changed their privacy settings. There are several options in Facebook's privacy settings that prevent you from adding anyone. If this person's friend request privacy is set to "friend buddy" and you don't have any mutual friends, you probably won't be able to send them a request.

If you still want to send them a request, you can send them a message and ask them to send you a request. Just know that since you're not a friend, your message will reach the person's message request page. So they may actually be a little earlier to see your message.

2. Account has been deactivated

You also can't add anyone if their account is deactivated. When someone does this, it will usually remain in some form until their account is completely deleted. However, no one will be able to send them a friend request until their account is inactive.

3. You have been blocked

On Facebook, a person can prevent someone else from viewing their profile or interacting with them in any way. In addition to being unable to view their profiles, you will not be able to view their posts, photos, comments or messages. You will see if someone has blocked you trying to message you. If you are not able to message them at all, you are probably blocked.

4. You blocked them

If you try to add someone but can't access their profile, you may want to see if you've actually blocked them. If you've been doing this for a while now, you've forgotten.

Because Facebook has a block list, you can check who you have blocked. To view it, go to Settings & Privacy> Settings> Blocking. On this page you will see a list of blocked people and see if the person you are trying to add is there. To unblock them, simply select the Unblock button next to their name.

5. They've reached their friend's limit

There is actually a cap on how many friends you can have on Facebook. If someone reaches the limit of these 5000 friends, you can no longer send them friend requests. If you try, Facebook will notify you that the person has reached 5000 friends.

If someone who has reached the limit sends you a friend request, you still can't add them that way. If you try to accept requests, Facebook will not add them to your friends list or add you to their list. However, you can still message someone who has 5000 or more friends.

6. You have already sent a request

It is possible that you may want to check if you have already sent a request to someone, as this will remove the option to add that person until they accept the request. If it's been a while since you sent the request and they still haven't added you, it's easy to forget.

If you want to remind someone that you have sent a request or ask you to add, you will still be able to send them a message. It is possible that they have forgotten the request or that the person has lost it among other friendship requests received.

7. They have denied your request

Another possibility is that the person has already denied your request. If you've already sent a request and aren't sure why you're still seeing the Add Friend button, it's probably because they've denied your friend's request. You can try sending another request if you want, until the Add Friend button is still there.

Also, if they've already sent you a friend request and you reject it, but you want to add them now, you won't see the Add Friend button if they have certain privacy settings. They will send you a friend request again.

8. Facebook has restricted their accounts

Sometimes, if someone is reported enough times on Facebook or they are proven to be going against the Facebook guidelines, they will actually restrict the person's account for a certain period of time. Duration can range from a few hours to weeks. During this time, the person will no longer be allowed to perform certain activities.

This could be because you are unable to add a person. You can try to wait a while and then check again to see if you are able to do it. Sometimes Facebook can limit a person's ability to use Messenger, so you may not be able to communicate with them in this way.

Adding friends on Facebook

Since one of the main things about Facebook is to connect and interact with others, it can be frustrating when you have trouble doing so. If you notice that this problem is happening to everyone you are trying to add, or you have an error adding people and do not understand why, you can always try to contact Facebook support to see if there is anything else.

Hope you found your answer through one of these reasons, and keep in touch with friends and enjoy the social media platform.

About Debmalya Datta

Welcome to our blog “CYBER SUGGEST“. Debmalya Datta is a professional Blogger, Developer, Social Media Influencer, Digital Marketer and Entrepreneur. He loves doing work which makes him happy, that’s why he choose Blogging and Educate people. You will love exploring educational stuff on our blog. Live your dreams as much as you can. Be a SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTER