How to Cancel Facebook Friend Request 2024

There are times when you mistakenly send a friend request to someone you would rather not send a friend request.

At other times, you may receive a friend request from someone you do not know or are not comfortable with becoming friends with.

What do you do?

A simple solution is to cancel the friend request you sent before the recipient gets to accept it.

You can equally cancel a friend request someone else sent to you if you do not wish to accept it and you do not want it pending.

In this guide, how to do all the above suggestions irrespective of your device will be provided for you.

Take a few minutes and read through to find out to cancel Facebook friend requests.

Contents show

What is Facebook Friend Request

One of the high points of being on Facebook is connecting with people. The way to do this is to make friends on the platform.

The official way of increasing your network if you are operating a regular account on Facebook is to ask people to become your friend and accept people’s friendship proposals.

You do this by sending out Friend Requests and accepting Friend Requests.

So, Friend Request is a tool on Facebook that helps you to connect with people on the platform.

How to Cancel Friend Requests on iPhone and Android

If you make use of a mobile device whether it is an Android or an iOS device to navigate through the Facebook platform, the steps provided below will guide you.

Here’s how to cancel both an incoming Friend Request and an outgoing/sent Friend Request.

Cancel an Outgoing Facebook Friend Request on Android

Go to the apps section on your mobile device and select the Facebook app.
Press and launch the app to become active on Facebook.

Provide your sign-in details and log into the platform if you are not logged in automatically.
Next, find the menu icon at the top right part of the displayed page and tap on it.
Locate an icon of two silhouetted people. That is the Friends icon. Press the icon.

At the upper part of the page displayed, select the Requests option.
Find the incoming Friend Request you wish to cancel; you will find a Delete option close to the request.
Tap on it to cancel the request sent to you.

That is how to cancel outgoing Facebook friend requests on android.

Cancel an Outgoing Facebook Friend Request on iPhone

Navigate to the apps section on your mobile device and select the Facebook app.

Press and launch the app to become active on Facebook.
Provide your sign-in details and log into the platform if you are not logged in automatically.
You will find the menu icon at the bottom right part of the displayed page, tap on it to open the menu page. The menu icon is three horizontal lines that are vertically arranged.

Locate an icon of two silhouetted people. That is the Friends icon. Press the icon.
At the upper part of the page displayed, select the Requests option.
Find the incoming Friend Request you wish to cancel; you will find a Delete option close to the request.

Tap on it to cancel the request sent to you.

That is how to cancel outgoing Facebook friend requests on iPhone.

How to Cancel Sent Facebook Friend Request on Android and iPhone

Open the Facebook mobile app using your mobile device.
Launch the menu page by tapping the Menu icon.
Press the Friends option to open the Friends page.

Select the See All button at the upper part of the incoming Friend request page.
Press the three dots icon at the top right.
Scroll down and choose the View Sent Request option at the bottom of the page.

Search for the Friend request you wish to cancel and select Cancel below the name of the user.
Another option is to head to the profile page of the person you sent the request.
In the “Add friend” column, you will find “Friend request sent” and an “Undo” option close to the update.

Select the Undo option to cancel the request sent.

How to Cancel Friend Requests on PC

For a Facebook user who uses a PC to access the Facebook platform, below is how to cancel a Friend request received and the ones sent as well.

Cancel Friend Request Received Using a PC

Launch the Facebook website @ facebook.com using your favourite browser.
You will have to enter your login details and sign in if you are not automatically logged in.

At the top-right corner of the window, click on the Friends icon which is an icon of a silhouette of two people.
Locate the friend request you wish to cancel and click on the Delete option that is beside the friend request.

Cancel Friend Requests Sent Using a PC

Login to your Facebook page.
Making use of the search bar, enter the name of the person you sent a friend request to and wish to cancel.
From the results that will appear, select the name of the user in question to launch the profile of the user.

At the top of their profile page, locate the “Friend Request Sent” notification and click on the Cancel Request option that is available.
Confirm the action by clicking on the Cancel Request option, again.

Note: You can only cancel a friend request if the recipient of the request is yet to accept the request.

If the person has, the best you can do is to unfriend the person or block the person.

How to Reduce Facebook Friend Requests

You can alter the settings of your Facebook account to reduce the number of persons who can send friend requests to you.

This way, you will not have to stress yourself with cancelling friend requests from persons that you do not know.

You can do this on the mobile application and the desktop version of the app.

How to Reduce Facebook Friend Request via the Desktop

Go to facebook.com to launch the Facebook website.
At the top-right end of the window that is displayed, select the inverted triangle icon.
Click on Settings found under Settings & Privacy.

From the drop-down window, select Privacy.
Choose the Edit option for the Who Can Contact section under Privacy.
Choose your preferred contact option.

Then, choose the Friends of friends option for the Who Can Send You Friend Requests section.

How to Reduce Facebook Friend Requests on App

Launch your Facebook mobile application.

Go to the Menu page by pressing the menu icon at the top right part of the page.
Select Settings & Privacy.
Tap on Settings.

Scroll down and select the How People Find and Contact You option under Audience and Visibility.
Choose the first option on the page that will be opened which is the Who Can Send You Friend Requests option.
Change from Everyone which is the default setting to Friends of friends.

How to Cancel Facebook Friend Request FAQs

If I cancel a friend request on Facebook, will the person know?

No alert is sent to the user to notify the person of your action.

However, from your profile page, they can tell that you have cancelled their friend request as the Request Pending update will be changed to Add Friend.

Why can’t I cancel a friend request on Facebook?

Several reasons why you cannot cancel a friend request on Facebook exist.

It can be a result of a poor internet connection.

Your app or device may be having issues making it hard to carry out activities on Facebook.

Conclusion

You do not have to be in the bad position of sending a friend request to someone you do not want to be a part of your circle of friends on Facebook by mistake if you discover the mistake before the person accepts the friend request.

You can cancel the request by pressing the Cancel request option close to the friend request you sent.

In the same vein, you can cancel a friend request you received if you do not want it to be pending.

Also Read:

What Can Acquaintances See on Facebook

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Harrison Acha

Harrison Acha is a Seasoned Blogger, Facebook Marketing Expert, Writer, SEO Expert, and Digital Content Creator. Have been in the IT industry for more than a decade, and helping both tech and non-tech professionals become more productive and less frustrated with technology.