- Removing someone from a Messenger group chat on your phone
- Removing someone from a Messenger group chat on a computer
- Blocking someone on Messenger so they can't contact you
- Softer ways to remove someone from your Messenger without blocking
- Removing someone from Messenger when you run a business or community
- If you can't remove someone from a Messenger group chat
- A quick recap on removing someone from Messenger
- Frequently asked questions
To remove someone from Messenger, a group chat admin opens the chat, taps its name, taps See chat members, taps the person and taps Remove from group chat. To stop someone contacting you, block them from their name at the top of the conversation.
"Remove someone from Messenger" can mean three different jobs, and the right answer depends on which one you're after. You might want to take a person out of a group chat. You might want them to stop contacting you altogether. Or you might just want the conversation out of sight. Messenger's help pages treat these as separate features, so I'll go through each one, with the steps and the consequences, so you pick the one that does what you want and no more.
Removing someone from a Messenger group chat on your phone
This is the most common meaning. Messenger's help centre is clear on one point first: only group chat admins can remove someone from a group chat. If you're not an admin, you won't see the option. Here are the steps for Android and iPhone, which the help pages give identically.
- From Chats, open the group chat.
- Tap the name of the chat at the top.
- Scroll down and tap See chat members.
- Tap the person you'd like to remove.
- Tap Remove from group chat.
Removing someone from a Messenger group chat on a computer
- Open the group chat.
- Find Chat members in the right menu, then click Options next to the person you would like to remove.
- Click Remove member.
- Click Remove from chat to confirm.
These steps are for messenger.com. Messenger's update page says the desktop app for Mac and Windows is no longer available and that facebook.com/messages in a browser is how you use Messenger on a computer.
Blocking someone on Messenger so they can't contact you
If your aim is to stop a person messaging you, removing them from a group won't do it. Blocking is the tool for that. On your phone the help pages say to open a conversation with the person, tap their name at the top, scroll down and tap Block, then confirm. On a computer you open the conversation, click Options and choose Block under Privacy and support, then pick Block messages and calls or Block on Facebook.
Those two choices are very different, and this is the part people miss:
- Block messages and calls: they can no longer message or call you on Messenger or Facebook chat, but you can still see their Facebook profile.
- Block their Facebook profile: it also blocks their profile on Facebook, they can't find your profile on Messenger or Facebook, and if you're friends it unfriends them.
- In both cases, Messenger's help pages say profiles aren't notified when you block them.
The help pages add that if you block someone's profile in a group chat you share, their messages are hidden for you automatically on mobile, but they can still see your messages and can still join a group call. You'll be told before you join a group call or enter a chat with a profile you've blocked.
| What you want | What to use on Messenger |
|---|---|
| Take someone out of a group chat | Remove from group chat (admins only) |
| Stop someone messaging or calling you | Block messages and calls |
| Cut them off across Facebook too | Block their Facebook profile |
| Keep them but stay quiet | Turn off chat notifications |
| Hide a chat from your list | Archive it, or delete the conversation |
Softer ways to remove someone from your Messenger without blocking
If you aren't ready to block, Messenger's help pages list a few lighter options: restrict a profile, turn off chat notifications, or delete a conversation. Muting is the gentlest. My guide to muting someone on Messenger shows how to silence a chat while leaving everything else untouched.
Deleting is a bigger step. Messenger's help pages say deleting messages or chats permanently removes them for you. If you only want to hide a chat from your list, archiving does that, and you can bring it back later. I've covered it in my guide to archiving chats on Messenger.
Removing someone from Messenger when you run a business or community
If you manage a customer group or a community chat, a few rules of thumb help. Warn people about behaviour before you remove them. Keep screenshots or notes of any abuse. If someone is harassing or threatening you or other members, report the conversation to Messenger using the report option in the app, and if you're in danger, contact the police. Removing a person from the group doesn't stop them contacting you privately, so combine it with blocking if that's what you need.
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If you can't remove someone from a Messenger group chat
- Check you're an admin. The help pages say only group chat admins can remove people.
- Make sure it's a group chat. A one-to-one chat has no remove option, so use block or archive instead.
- Scroll right down the chat information screen, because See chat members sits lower than the main options.
- Update the app so your menus match the help pages. My guide to updating Messenger walks through it.
- If you still can't, you can leave a group chat on your own instead, as the help pages note.
A quick recap on removing someone from Messenger
Group chat: See chat members, tap the person, Remove from group chat. Stop contact: Block. Just want peace: mute or archive. Pick the lightest option that solves the problem.
This guide is part of my Facebook Help: 80 Guides to Pages, Groups, Ads, Stories and Fixes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove someone from Messenger?
In a group chat, an admin can open the chat, tap its name, tap See chat members, tap the person and tap Remove from group chat. To stop someone contacting you, block them from their name at the top of your conversation.
Can anyone remove someone from a Messenger group?
No. Messenger's help centre says only group chat admins can remove someone from a group chat.
Does blocking someone on Messenger notify them?
No. The help pages say profiles won't be notified when you block them.
Does blocking someone on Messenger unfriend them?
If you block their Facebook profile and you're friends, yes, it also unfriends them. Blocking only messages and calls is a separate choice.
What if I only want to stop the notifications?
Mute the chat instead. Messenger's help pages list turning off chat notifications as a lighter option than blocking.
