You’re trying to block that annoying person on Facebook and the button just WON’T work 🙁
What the hell is happening?!
Maybe you click Block and nothing happens, or you get some vague error message, or worst of all – you get that stupid “you must wait 48 hours” notification even though you NEED to block this person RIGHT NOW. I’m not gonna lie, Facebook’s blocking system is broken in so many frustrating ways, deadass…
The 48-Hour Block Rule (Facebook’s Dumbest Policy)
If you recently unblocked someone and now you’re trying to block them again, Facebook makes you WAIT 48 hours before you can reblock them.
This is hands down the most infuriating “security feature” they’ve ever implemented!
So let’s say you unblocked someone to report their profile or to check if they’re still harassing you, and now you want to block them again immediately? TOO BAD. Facebook says you gotta wait two whole days, no cap.
Why This Rule Exists (According To Facebook)
Facebook claims this 48-hour cooldown prevents people from “abusing” the block feature.
Like somehow rapidly blocking and unblocking someone is worse than letting harassers and creeps have access to your profile for two extra days?! The logic is completely backwards…
And here’s the kicker – there’s NO workaround. You can’t bypass it, you can’t contact support to remove it early, you just have to sit there for 48 hours while this person can still see your stuff.
It’s absolute BULLSHIT if you ask me, fr fr!
The only solution? Wait it out or ask a friend to report the profile for you in the meantime. But if you’re dealing with harassment or threats, those 48 hours feel like FOREVER, IYKYK…
They’ve Been Blocked Too Many Times Already
Sometimes you literally CAN’T block certain accounts because Facebook won’t let you. You click the block button and you get an error like “Block failed” or “General block error” – what kind of helpful message is that?!
This happens when too many people have blocked the same account in a short period of time. Once someone hits a certain threshold of blocks, Facebook temporarily prevents NEW people from blocking them.
Yeah, you read that right – the more problematic someone is, the HARDER it becomes to block them!
Facebook says this is to prevent “coordinated harassment campaigns” where groups of people mass-block innocent accounts. But in reality? It mostly just protects spammers, trolls, and harassers from facing consequences, deadass.
What To Do Instead
Report the profile – Go to their profile, click the three dots, select Find Support or Report Profile. Choose the appropriate category like harassment, fake account, or spam.
Restrict them – If you can’t block them, at least restrict them! Go to their profile, click the three dots, and select Restrict. This limits what they can see and do on your profile without them knowing.
Hide from your feed – You can prevent their posts from showing up in your news feed by clicking the three dots on their posts and selecting Hide or Snooze.
And if you’re also having trouble with removing tags from photos, that’s another Facebook glitch people deal with constantly…
You Already Blocked Each Other
Here’s a weird one – if someone blocked YOU first, you can’t block them back!
You can’t even find their profile to try blocking them because Facebook hides blocked profiles from both sides…
So if you’re searching for someone’s profile to block them and they’re just… not showing up? They probably already blocked you first. Which honestly might be fine if you wanted to block them anyway, but it’s still annoying not knowing for sure!
The Account Is Deactivated Or Deleted
You can’t block accounts that don’t exist anymore! If someone deactivated or deleted their Facebook account, the block button won’t work because there’s nothing to block, no cap.
How to tell the difference: If you can still see old comments or tags from them but their name appears as “Facebook User” in black text, their account is probably deleted.
If their profile just doesn’t show up AT ALL when you search, they either blocked you first or deactivated temporarily.
App Glitches And Technical Issues
Sometimes the block button literally just doesn’t work because Facebook’s app is being a piece of shit…
Try These Quick Fixes
Use desktop instead of mobile – The Facebook app is notoriously glitchy. Try blocking them from a computer browser at facebook.com instead.
Clear your cache – Go to your phone settings, find the Facebook app, and clear the cache. Then restart the app and try again.
Update the app – Make sure you’re running the latest version of Facebook. Old versions have bugs that prevent blocking from working properly.
Log out and back in – Sometimes Facebook just needs a reset. Log out completely, close the app, then log back in and try blocking again.
Try incognito/private browsing – If you’re on desktop, open an incognito window, log into Facebook, and try blocking from there. Sometimes browser extensions or cookies interfere with blocking, IYKYK.
Still not working? You might need to wait a few hours and try again… Facebook’s servers can be temperamental as hell, fr fr.
Blocking Someone From A Group (The Workaround)
If you need to block someone from seeing your Facebook GROUP specifically, there’s actually a sneaky workaround – but it ONLY works if you’re a group admin and you’re using a desktop computer!
You have to manually create a URL using the group ID and the person’s user ID, then paste it into your browser.
It’s complicated and honestly Facebook must think we’re all some kind of assholes for not making this easier…
But it works when you need it. And the regular “block from group” option only shows up for current group members, so this workaround lets you preemptively block troublemakers before they even join!
What Blocking Actually Does (And Doesn’t Do)
Let’s be real about what happens when you successfully block someone on Facebook…
They CAN’T: See your profile, posts, or timeline. Send you friend requests or messages. Tag you in posts or photos. See things you post in groups (mostly).
They CAN still: See your comments on PUBLIC posts and pages you both follow. See your activity in mutual groups if the posts are public. See old tagged photos if the photos are still on someone else’s profile.
So blocking isn’t a perfect invisibility cloak. If you REALLY need to disappear from someone, you might also need to adjust your privacy settings to “Friends Only” for everything and avoid commenting on public posts they can see.
When You Need More Than Just Blocking
If someone is harassing you, threatening you, or making you feel unsafe, blocking them on Facebook isn’t enough!
Report them to Facebook – Use the Find Support or Report Profile option on Facebook’s reporting system. Facebook’s moderation sucks but sometimes they actually remove threatening accounts.
Document everything – Take screenshots of threatening messages, posts, or comments BEFORE you block them. You might need this evidence later.
Contact authorities if needed – If someone is making credible threats, stalking you, or engaging in criminal harassment, file a police report. Facebook drama can escalate to real-world danger.
Adjust your privacy settings – Go to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Privacy and lock down who can see your posts, send you friend requests, and look you up. Make everything “Friends Only” if you need to!
Alternatives When Blocking Fails
If you absolutely CANNOT get the block button to work, here are your backup options:
Unfriend and restrict – Remove them as a friend, then use the Restrict feature. This makes it so they can only see your public posts and their comments on your stuff go to a filtered folder you don’t have to see.
Take a break from them – Facebook has a “Take a Break” option specifically for exes and people you want distance from. It limits what they see without fully blocking them.
Deactivate temporarily – If the situation is really bad and Facebook won’t let you block them, deactivate your account for a few days. It’s drastic but sometimes you just need a break from the platform entirely…
Change your username and URL – Make it harder for them to find you by changing your Facebook URL and using a different display name. Not foolproof but it adds a layer of difficulty.
Facebook Support Is Useless (But Try Anyway)
If you’ve tried everything and still can’t block someone, you CAN contact Facebook support… but I’m not playing, don’t expect much.
Go to Menu → Help & Support → Report a Problem and explain the situation. Attach screenshots if possible. They MIGHT respond in 3-5 days, or they might never respond at all.
Facebook support is notoriously terrible…
So in the meantime, use the workarounds I mentioned – restrict them, hide their posts, lock down your privacy settings. Do whatever you can to protect yourself while Facebook takes their sweet time figuring out their broken blocking system…
What You Need To Know
Facebook’s blocking system is fundamentally broken in multiple ways. The 48-hour reblock rule is stupid, the “too many blocks” protection helps the wrong people, and the technical glitches make it unreliable when you need it most!
But here’s what you CAN do: Use desktop instead of mobile when blocking, never unblock someone unless absolutely necessary, report problematic accounts in addition to blocking, and lock down your privacy settings as backup protection.
Most blocking issues CAN be fixed with the troubleshooting steps I covered. And if Facebook literally won’t let you block someone because they’ve been mass-blocked already? That’s when you lean hard on the restrict feature and reporting…
Don’t let Facebook’s broken systems stop you from protecting yourself online 😉
If this helped you finally block that annoying person, share it with someone else who’s fighting with Facebook’s garbage blocking system right now!
