Friend request
On Facebook, a friend request is when a person asks another person to become a "friend," generally meaning they can access content on that user's page not granted to others. For example, you often need to be a friend to see other users' posts, pictures, and videos. To become friends, you must send a request to another Facebook user, and they must accept. If the other user declines the friend request, you do not become friends and cannot see each other's posts.
On platforms like Instagram, which use a follower system, this is more appropriately called a follow request. If you accept someone's follow request, they are following you, but you won't follow them back unless you click the "follow" or "follow back" button. Since some accounts are public and others are private, you won't always have to send a follow request to follow someone.
How do I send a friend request on Facebook?
To send a friend request to another user, follow the steps below for the method you access Facebook.
Facebook website
- Log in to your account on the Facebook website.
- Click the Friends option in the left navigation menu.
- Under People You May Know, click the Add Friend button for anyone you want to send a friend request.
- To search for someone specifically, type the person's name in the Search Facebook text field at the top-left of the Facebook site.
- In the search results, click the Add friend
icon to the right of the person's name, or hover your mouse cursor over the person's name and click Add Friend.
Facebook app on smartphone or tablet
- Log in to your account on the Facebook app.
- At the bottom-left corner of the app, tap the hamburger menu.
- On the Menu screen, tap the Friends option.
- Scroll down to the People You May Know section and click the Add Friend button for anyone you want to send a friend request.
- To search for someone specifically, tap the magnifying glass icon at the app's top-right corner. Type the person's name in the Search People text field at the top.
- In the search results, tap the Add friend
icon to the right of the person's name. Alternatively, tap the person's name and then Add Friend button on the user's Facebook page.
How many friend requests can I send on Facebook?
There's no limit to how many friends requests you can send to other users, or how many friends you can have on Facebook. However, some users may not allow you to send them a friend request unless you have at least one friend in common.