Facebook is THE place for all of us to meet friends, have conversations, share news updates and maintain connections, especially with people who do not live close by.
Now, imagine if you suddenly start losing people from your list on Facebook.
If this has happened to you out of the blue, you might have wondered if Facebook can randomly delete friends.
Turns out, Facebook does not randomly delete friends. It’s always something else.
In this article I’ll discuss many ways why your Facebook friends randomly disappear, and what to do if this has happened to you.
Does Facebook Delete Friends?
NO, and that would be the most common (and CORRECT) answer you’ll hear.
Facebook cannot actually delete friends from your list, because they have no control over who is added or removed from your friend list.
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Well, some Facebook employees actually have access from the backend, but they’ll never delete your friends. The access is only for troubleshooting bugs.
But, there are some discussions on certain forums that will tell a different story.
There are INDEED people there who claim they have lost friends from their list suddenly. And no one seems to have done anything on their own for it to happen.
However, there is always a reason for things like this, and I will go over some of the most common reasons next.
How Does Facebook Delete Friends?
Let’s take a look at several reasons as to how Facebook randomly delete friends:
Your Friends Deactivated Their Accounts
Sometimes, people in your friend list can simply delete or deactivate their account.
You will NOT be notified of this change, and they will just stop showing up in your list randomly.
They will not show up on tagged photos either, and this will alarm you sometimes.
If this is the case, don’t worry. Your friend has left the platform at the moment and will be added back to your list once they reactivate their account.
Friend Has Been Suspended By Facebook
If your friend or friends have done certain things on the platform that goes against the rules of Facebook, they might get suspended.
And Facebook has the full rights to do this.
Plus, Facebook will not notify you about this either.
If this happens, their accounts will stop showing up on your lists, and all their tagged / and group posts will be deleted as well.
You Have Mistakenly Removed The Friend
It is certainly possible that you have mistakenly removed a friend of yours from your friend list.
It is NOT uncommon to go through your friend list or profiles, and accidentally tap on the “Friends” button and not even notice it.
The same can be said about your friends. They might have accidentally removed you too.
In such cases, since you have no memory of removing a friend from the list, you will think that Facebook has deleted your friends.
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You Have Been Unfriended
One other, and a bit sad, explanation would be that your friend has unfriended you from their list.
This is ENTIRELY possible, especially if you have had a conflict of some sort.
However, since you are not notified that you have been unfriended, you might start to think Facebook has randomly deleted your friends.
Your Friend Has Blocked You
If you had an argument with a friend on Facebook, don’t like each other, or if someone feels the need to not be seen by your account, they might block you.
If this has happened, unfortunately, you will once again NOT be notified by Facebook.
If that is the case, you will also think that Facebook has deleted your friend – when in reality your friend has just blocked you.
You Might Have Been Hacked
Sometimes, when your security settings are not properly set up, you might actually get hacked.
When this happens, these hackers sometimes delete friends from your lists, or make ALL KINDS of other changes.
They might even change the passwords, and make serious changes to your account afterwards, and you might lose complete control over your account.
How To Fix Facebook Randomly ‘Deleting’ Friends
If you have this feeling that Facebook is randomly ‘DELETING’ your friends, the best move you can make is to just ask them about it – and get more information!
Almost all of the time, it’s the result of the reasons I talked about, and NOT Facebook RANDOMLY deleting your friends from your list.
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Here are some suggestions on what to do:
Ask Your Friends If Their Accounts Are Still Active
Instead of directly suspecting Facebook when friends get randomly ‘deleted’, you can talk to the friends who are missing from your list.
Simply ask if their accounts are still active, or if they have deleted their accounts.
If there are friends of yours who are missing from the list out of the blue, and you are sure there has been no conflict or sensitive exchange between you, it is best to reach out and check.
Most of the time, it could be a mistake on your end, or their end, and Facebook has nothing to do with it at all!
Update Your Facebook App
Sometimes, app glitches can also affect certain parts of the Facebook experience.
If your app has not been updated, there might be certain bugs that could be affecting the friend list, and randomly removing people.
So always keep your app updated with the NEWEST bug fixes, to have a smooth experience!
Change Your Password And Update Security Settings
Since getting hacked could also lead to getting friends being removed from your list, make sure that you use the NEWEST security settings, and update your password and security options so ONLY you can access your account.
Do NOT use simple passwords that anyone can guess, and use a multiple-step authentication process as well.
Resend A Friend Request
If you have randomly deleted friends, just send them a request again on Facebook (if their account is still visible)
Try to connect with them in other ways, and check other social media platforms and see if you have lost them there as well.
If you haven’t, you can be sure that it has been a mistake either made by you or them on the app.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is that Facebook CANNOT randomly remove friends from your list.
Only a very few Facebook employees have access to user accounts and that is for troubleshooting bug reports and not messing with your personal stuff.
Always contact the other person and check if they have made a mistake, but NOT if it is obvious that they have removed you, or blocked you.
If it has something to do with app malfunctioning, it would only be because you have not updated the app.
So make sure your app is updated.
