Can I delete someone from Facebook Messenger?

We are all used to using the Messenger app to talk to our friends and it has even become more common to message them there than to ring them or send them a text. However, it is not uncommon to be approached by people that you don’t know, for example, if you’re selling something on Facebook’s marketplace app someone interested could message you to receive more information on the item you’re offering. Or you might have received annoying messages from someone that you don’t know, and you’d like to stop this person from contacting you. So, here’s what you can do to remove them from your Messenger app.

The first step you can take is to simply delete your conversation with them. Here’s how to do that:

• Right click, or tap and hold on mobile, to open the submenu for a specific conversation. There’s two choices:
• Click “Archive”, to archive the conversation so you won’t see it but can access it later
• Click “Delete”, to permanently delete your copy of the conversation. Keep in mind, the other person will still have their copy if the hadn’t deleted it as well.

However, deleting the conversation doesn’t necessarily remove a contact who is not in your list of Facebook friends. They would still be able to contact you, so if you want to make sure they don’t, you’d need to block them:

• Go to the contact in Messenger and select the ‘Settings’ icon (usually a circle with the letter “i” in the top right corner)
• Select Block Messages from {their name}
• And voilà! This person can no longer send you messages on Messenger, however, they will be able to interact with you via Facebook.

It’s important to understand that there are two types of messages from people that you don’t know. The first one is the message request. If someone that has a mutual Facebook friend with you contacts you, their message goes into your Message Requests box. Then you can decide whether you want to receive that message or not by accepting or declining it. If you accept, the message goes into your inbox, otherwise, it disappears. The second type of messages are the filtered ones. If you receive a message from someone you don’t know, and you don’t have a mutual friend, their message goes into your Filtered Messages box.

Following these steps, you would be able to remove anyone you don’t know from you Messenger app. Any questions – just leave us a comment below.