What Happens When You Report Someone on Facebook Messenger

Being the largest social media platform worldwide, Facebook comes with several privacy tools to report harassment, restrict the recipient, and prevent others from peeking at your account. Anyone can become a target for cyberbullying, scammers, and impersonators. If you are among those, report such accounts on Facebook Messenger.

Sometimes, your unhappy employees or customers may abuse or harass you on the platform. While blocking an account solves the problem, we recommend reporting such abusers to Facebook. You may wonder what happens when you report someone on Facebook Messenger. Let’s discuss the implications of reporting someone on Messenger.

How to Report Someone on Facebook Messenger

If you frequently encounter nasty comments and abusive messages on Facebook Messenger, follow the steps below to report such accounts. Here’s what you need to do.

Note: Facebook Messenger for iOS and Android use an identical interface. We will show Messenger for iPhone in the screenshots below. You can follow the same steps on the Android version to report someone.

Step 1: Open the Messenger app on your Android or iPhone.

Step 2: Select a conversation and tap the recipient’s name at the top.

Step 3: Scroll to ‘Privacy and support’ and select ‘Report.’

Step 4: Select a problem to report. Here are the possible reasons:

  • Harassment
  • Self-injury
  • Pretending to be someone
  • Sharing inappropriate things in chat
  • Hate speech
  • Unauthorized sales
  • Scams
  • Other

Step 5: Select a relevant reason and hit ‘Submit report’ at the bottom.

If someone is in immediate danger, call your local authorities and emergency services. You needn’t wait for Facebook to take action.

Report Someone on Facebook Messenger for Web

The ability to report someone on Messenger isn’t limited to mobile apps. You can do the same on Messenger for web too. Here’s how.

Step 1: Head to Facebook Messenger on the web. Login with your Facebook account details.

Step 2: Select a conversation.

Step 3: Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.

Step 4: Expand the ‘Privacy and support’ menu from the left sidebar.

Step 5: Select Report.

Step 6: Click the relevant reason from the following menu.

After you report someone on Messenger, you have several options to choose from.

  • Mute conversation: The option turns off notifications for a specific time.
  • Ignore conversation: The Messenger will move the conversation to Spam, and you won’t receive any alerts.
  • Block: Messenger blocks the person on the platform. You can read our dedicated post to learn more about blocking someone on Messenger.
  • Report conversation: The option will send your conversation to Facebook for review.

Implications of Reporting Someone on Facebook Messenger

When you report someone on Messenger, a member of Facebook’s support team will review your complaint. It usually takes up to 48 hours to determine if the recipient has violated Facebook guidelines or not.

Does the Person Know When You Report an Account on Messenger

Reporting someone is a privacy add-on in Messenger. All the submitted reports stay anonymous. Facebook doesn’t reveal your identity to the recipient. The option doesn’t even notify the recipient.

What Happens When You Report a Message for Harassment on Facebook?

When you report someone for harassment, Facebook asks you to share specific messages to review your claim. If the support team finds a relevant issue, the company takes the necessary steps to limit the account.

Can I Undo Reporting Someone on Facebook Messenger?

Did you accidentally report someone on Messenger? There is no way to undo the action. In this case, Facebook won’t find your claim relevant or take any action against the reported account. You won’t face any consequences for submitting fake reports, either. But you need not make a habit of reporting irrelevant conversations for personal vendetta.

Do I Remain Friends With Reported Accounts?

Reporting someone on Facebook Messages doesn’t change your friendship status. You remain friends with the affected account. The person can easily reach you with messages and calls. If you want to stop receiving messages, mute the conversation, ignore it, or block the person.

What About Existing Messages?

Your existing messages and chat history remain unaffected when you report someone on Facebook Messenger. It’s a sensible move, as Facebook or the local authorities may need to review your chat history to check your claims.

Remove Spam From Facebook

You may wonder how many reports it takes to delete someone’s Facebook account. Sometimes, even one relevant report can make Facebook delete an account within 24 hours. How’s your experience with reporting someone on Messenger? Did you notice Facebook taking quick action? Share your experience in the comments below.

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Last updated on 14 December, 2022

3 Comments

  1. The only thing I want to know is if I will get a notification or something, letting me know that something is being done to the person I reported. I will block them, but only if I know the person is being dealt with for sending inappropriate photos to me.

  2. I’d like to know the same thing. Does Facebook notify the person who reported with a status update? How does the person who does the reporting know the findings?

  3. Any reports I’ve ever made come back saying the person has not breached any Facebook rules

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