Greatly reduce how many people can friend you on Facebook by following this simple and easy guide

This wikiHow teaches you how to reduce the number of people who can send you a friend request on Facebook by changing the friend request filter from "Everyone" to "Friends of Friends". While you can't turn off friend requests entirely, changing the filter will drastically cut down on the number of people who can friend you.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

On Mobile

  1. 1
    Open Facebook. It's a dark-blue app with a white "f" on it. Doing so will open your News Feed if you're logged into Facebook.
    • If you aren't logged in, first enter your email address (or phone number) and password.
  2. 2
    Tap . It's either in the bottom-right corner of the screen (iPhone) or in the top-right corner of the screen (Android).
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  3. 3
    Scroll down and tap Settings. You'll find this option toward the bottom of the menu.
    • Skip this step for Android.
  4. 4
    Tap Account Settings. It's either at the top of a pop-up menu (iPhone) or toward the bottom of the menu (Android).
  5. 5
    Tap Privacy. This tab is near the top of the screen.
  6. 6
    Tap Who can send you friend requests?. This option is near the bottom of the screen.
  7. 7
    Tap Friends of friends. It's the second option near the top of the page. Doing so will prevent anyone who doesn't belong to any of your friends' friend lists from randomly adding you on Facebook.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

On Your Computer

  1. 1
    Go to Facebook's website. It's at https://www.facebook.com/. If you're already logged into Facebook, doing so will open your News Feed.
    • If you aren't logged into Facebook, you'll first enter your email address (or phone number) and password in the upper-right side of the page.
  2. 2
    Click . It's in the top-right side of the Facebook window.
  3. 3
    Click Settings. This option is near the bottom of the drop-down menu.
  4. 4
    Click Privacy. It's a tab on the left side of the page.
  5. 5
    Click Edit to the right of "Who can contact me?". This section is about halfway down the page.
  6. 6
    Click Everyone. This box is below the "Who can send you friend requests?" heading.
  7. 7
    Click Friends of friends. It's an option in the box's drop-down menu. Doing so will set your Facebook friend requests setting to "Friends of friends", which will prevent people not in your friend group from friending you.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    How can I accept a friend request but stop them from seeing my posts?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    When post, click the 'share settings' button next to the 'post' button. From there, click 'more options' and 'custom.' This pop-up will allow you to share with specific people or prevent certain people from seeing your posts.
  • Question
    How do I block a friend request?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    You can't block a friend request, but you can deny it, which has the same effect.
  • Question
    How do I remove all outgoing friend requests on Facebook?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    You have to go into the outgoing friend request section and cancel them one by one.
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Warnings

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About This Article

Jack Lloyd
Written by:
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 780,026 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 22
Updated: August 14, 2022
Views: 780,026
Categories: Facebook Friends
Article SummaryX

1. Open the Facebook app.
2. Tap the menu.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap Account Settings.
5. Tap Privacy.
6. Tap Who can send you friend requests?
7. Tap Friends of friends.

Did this summary help you?
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