Facebook restrict and block difference
What is Block?
Block is a way to avoid all kinds of communication on Facebook with the other person. Block is not limited to just communication. Both the parties cannot see anything from each other. In simple words, it’s as if the other person doesn’t exist on Facebook. You can read our detailed explanation on what happens when you block someone on Facebook.
What does restricted mean on Facebook
Facebook doesn’t have a particular feature called ‘restrict’ as present on Instagram. However, a special type of friends list exists known as Restricted list that has exclusive powers. Basically, you have to add people to the Restricted list to restrict them. And when you do so, they cannot see your posts unless the privacy setting is set to Public or you tag them. It’s a toned-down version of blocking people without letting them know.
Example: If you put your boss on the Restricted list and you post something on Facebook with Friends selected as the audience, then your boss will not see it. You don’t have to change the audience at the time of posting; a Restricted list will take care of it. But, if you post something with a privacy setting as Public or tag your boss in an office picture, then your boss will see it.
Does restricting or blocking unfriend you
When you put someone on the Restricted list, you continue to remain friends on Facebook. However, blocking a person unfriends you. Meaning, you both will be removed from each other’s friends list.
Can you see each other’s posts if you restrict or block someone
Things differ a lot for both of them in this area. As mentioned before, blocking makes the other person invisible to you. Since you cannot see the other person on Facebook, there’s no question of being able to view their posts on your feed. And this remains true for both sides. That is neither you nor the blocked person will be able to see the new and the old posts from each other. Also, it doesn’t matter whether the post is Public or set to Friends only — you cannot view it.
Restrict is a one-way street. When you restrict a person, they can’t see your future posts. However, it’s only valid if you are choosing the Friends privacy setting. In case you go with Public as the audience, then everyone, including the people on the Restricted list, will see it. Moreover, if you tag the person, then also they can see that post.
Further, nothing changes for you. That is, you can still see that person’s posts depending on the chosen privacy settings. And when it comes to the old posts, both of you can still view them by visiting the timeline. However, it again depends on the individual post settings.
Can you message each other?
Not in the case of blocking someone. Both lose the right to message each other. There’s an exception, though. You will still see each other in common group chats on Messenger. And the old message thread will stay in Messenger. If the thread is bothering you, archive instead of deleting it.
What happens when you remove a restrict or unblock someone
When you unblock a person, one of you will have to send a friend request to continue being friends on Facebook as block unfriends you. If accepted, things will go back to normal. However, if you don’t add or the person rejects it, then both of you will only see the posts that are set to Public. You won’t be able to post on their wall or view their stories.
Removing someone from the Restricted list gives them the power to view your normal posts and stories again, even if they are set to Friends only. Since other things remain unchanged when you restrict a person, they continue to function normally.
