Facebook Account Blocked? Here’s What To Do

Facebook scrolling is undoubtedly a part of people’s daily routines. According to Statista, there are more than three billion monthly global users, making it the world’s largest social media platform. 

Facebook regularly blocks accounts for various reasons, and it can be a surprise if you’re blocked. This may be because of a violation of community standards or activities that are harmful to users, such as Facebook scams. According to recent data, the social media platform disabled 691 million fake accounts in Q3 2023.

Key Insights

• Facebook deactivates accounts that don’t meet community standards. If this happens, you have the right to appeal.
• You can appeal against a blocked account in the first 30 days. If you don’t appeal within this period, the account could be permanently disabled. 
• In most cases, blocks are temporary, and you can wait the suspension out. You should check the details of your suspension in full. 

Why Facebook Might Block Your Account

If Facebook disables your account, you’ll see a message when you try to log in. There are a range of reasons why Facebook may block an account, including:

• Using a fake name or fake identity.
• Posting content that doesn’t align with Facebook terms.
• Behavior that goes against Facebook’s Community Standards.
• Contacting people to advertise, promote or harass.

Source: Facebook Help Center

Facebook’s Community Standards cover a range of topics, including guidelines around violence, fraud, bullying, and misinformation. If a user breaches these standards, Facebook can suspend their account for good. 

In order to gain understanding around your account suspension, it makes sense to contact Facebook customer service to discover if your profile can be unblocked for future use. We have uncovered the best ways and details on how to contact Facebook support in our article.

How to See Who Blocked You on Facebook

When a friend blocks you on Facebook, you might not know about it straight away. If you suspect you have been blocked, try these steps. 

• Not in search results

If you suspect someone has blocked you, try inputting their name into the search bar. If it doesn’t appear, they may have blocked you or their Facebook account is no longer active. 

• Can’t find them on Messenger

You try to send a friend a message over Facebook Messenger and it won’t work. In this scenario, it’s likely that this friend has potentially blocked or unfriended you.

• Not in your friend list

If a friend doesn’t appear on your friend list, it’s possible they have blocked you, or they are no longer active on Facebook. 

• No recent posts in your feed

It’s been a while since you saw your friend’s posts on Facebook and you wonder why. This may be either because they aren’t on Facebook anymore, or because they have blocked your account. 

If your Facebook account has been suspended by the platform, you may receive an email giving you the option to make an appeal. 

Not everyone who successfully appeals a block decision gets back into their account, as this user described in review #5602363. It’s often helpful to monitor your account status and report any further issues:

I have successfully appealed a decision to have my account unblocked but I am still not able to log on. Can you please check my account and unblock it.

Steps to Unblock Your Facebook Account

A blocked account can be daunting. It may take some time to work out the reasons why, but being proactive could help resolve the situation. You may never know the reason why, but it may be simply down to putting in your email or password too many times. To get back into your account, log into Facebook and choose an option to verify your identity, such as:

1. Identifying friends from tagged photos.
2. Contacting a friend you have chosen before to help.
3. Answering a security question you selected when you set up the account.
4. Giving your date of birth or other identity-related option.
5. Uploading photo ID - prompting an email with a clickable link that reactivates your account.

Unblocking by Facebook

Contact the Facebook support team within 30 days of your suspension. You might not know that Facebook can block part or the whole of an account, depending on your situation. If you provide the requested information, you may find you are reinstated quite quickly. 

There are a number of different ways that you can contact Facebook support, with phone numbers for different regions, such as the US, Canada or Australia. You can also contact the Help Center where you can search for solutions in the FAQs or information sections. 

Source: Facebook Help Center

Meta's official Privacy Center page offers a contact link for online assistance. After clicking on it, you will be directed to an online form where you should select the topic of the inquiry. Opting for "I need help accessing my account" provides links to the relevant sections on the Facebook Help Center. 

Source: Facebook Help Center

Facebook also has various social media channels you can use to contact them, including the main company page (@facebook) on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. However, it is not currently known if they are responsive to these messages or how long a response may take. 

Unblocking by another user

When a Facebook friend blocks you, it’s a good idea to think about why. Errors do occur, so this might be easily fixed with a conversation, but do be aware that your friend may be setting a boundary and you should respect that. 

First of all, confirm it is definitely them that have blocked you. If they have, it’s probably best to give them space and time to resolve any issues, show kindness and hope they change their mind. 

How to submit an appeal to Facebook

For the most part, the majority of Facebook account suspensions are temporary and it is often sensible to simply wait out the suspension. Depending on the type of violation, you may be suspended for anything from 24 hours to 30 days. 

Head over to the Facebook Help Center and fill in the appeal form.

Source: Facebook Help Center

If you want to submit an appeal, follow these simple steps:

• Go to the Facebook Help Center page and click on the appeal form button.
• The first box asks you to give your contact email address, fill this in with the relevant email.
• Fill in your full name as it appears on your Facebook account in the second box.
• You can then submit JPEG images of your chosen identity documents or ID. These will be stored securely and are not visible to anyone on Facebook. 
• Click the blue SEND button once you have uploaded your forms of ID. 
• The team will review your appeal and let you know once they have reached a decision. 

The Facebook appeal team will reinstate your account if they accept your appeal. 

Be cautious about Facebook recovery account scammers

There’s so much advice out there, but not all of it is useful. Online advertising and social media forums featuring experts may sound great, but are often places where fraudsters are looking for people to scam. 

In addition, you’ll notice that many people leave comments offering advice and their help below posts, not just about Facebook but about lots of different online platforms. It’s always best to stay safe and consult official channels to avoid being scammed. 

Source: Reddit

Despite testimonials from other users, engaging with these individuals on forums may be risky and increase your susceptibility to scams, especially if you don’t know people personally. Your desire to unblock Facebook accounts may be strong; don't lose your head, stay calm, and proceed with caution. 

How to Prevent Future Facebook Account Blocks

Get ahead by familiarizing yourself with Facebook platform standards. Here are some tips to help you avoid a disabled Facebook account. 

1. Review Facebook community standards: understanding the guidelines helps to avoid future blocking. There are five categories: violence, safety, objectionable content, authenticity and respecting intellectual property. Each category guides users to respect other users’ views and dignity, not to incite hate or violence and to only post authentic and true content that is their own. Users must not incite hate or violence towards other people or groups and must not threaten or intimidate others. 
2. Browse with care: don’t click on any suspicious links or content and double check URLs. URLs that Facebook considers safe appear at the top of the page with a green lock sign. If they are gray with no symbol, it’s likely they are suspicious and you should avoid them. 
3. Never share: don’t give your password to anyone else - this increases the chance of someone getting into your account without your knowledge. 
4. Be wary of scammers: they create fake websites that look like Facebook and ask you to log in. Always check the website URL before putting in your email and password. To be on the safe side, www.facebook.com is the correct URL.
5. Improve account security: using strong passwords could stop hackers from exploiting your account. Don’t use names, addresses or birthdays in your password as these can be easily guessed. It makes sense to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your account - this means that you will be sent a unique code by SMS or email to log in using two different methods, making it more difficult for a hacker to access your account. 
6. Read Facebook reviews posted on online review sites: you can learn so much about how to stay safe online.

Stay Unblocked on Facebook

Being blocked on Facebook can be frustrating and cost you time or money. Understanding the standards Facebook applies will likely help you to avoid future complications and to enjoy your time on social media. 

If you have a blocked Facebook account, it may help others to share your experience. You can leave a review to connect with people who have been blocked before and help others to avoid this problem.