How to Block or Unblock Someone on WeChat

WeChat supposedly has more than a billion users, which makes it one of the biggest social networks out there.

With such a large social network comes a range of typical social network problems. One of them is preventing certain people from contacting you for whatever reason.

Like any other messaging app, WeChat allows you to block and unblock contacts of your preference. In this article, we are going to dig deeper into the world of WeChat, explain how blocking and unblocking works, and talk more about this popular messaging and networking app.

How to Block an Account on WeChat on iOS and Android

The WeChat app looks and works the same across iOS and Android phones and tablets. Here’s how to block/unblock an account on WeChat on iOS or Android.

1. Run the WeChat app.
   
2. Inside the app, tap Contacts (second icon from the left in the lower part of the screen).
   
3. Tap the entry of the person that you wish to block. This will open their profile.
   
4. In the upper-right corner of the screen, you will see the three-dot icon. Tap it. In the list of options, you will see the Block entry. Slide the switch to activate it.
   
5. Confirm blocking.
   

To unblock the person in question, you are going to have to use a different approach. Seeing as how you have blocked the contact in question, they will not appear in your contacts list. You are going to have to access the Blocked List to see them. Here is how to do it.

1. Inside WeChat, navigate to the Me menu, located at the bottom-right of the main screen.
   
2. From here, go to Settings.
   
3. In the Settings screen, select Privacy.
   
4. You will be able to access the Blocked List from this menu.
   
5. Find the blocked contact on the list and select it.
   
6. From their profile page, you will be able to navigate to the three-dot icon.
   
7. Then, select Unblock and confirm.

How to Block an Account on WeChat from Other Devices

Whether you are using a PC, a Mac, or a Chromebook, it works the same across the board. There are dedicated PC and Mac apps, while you can use the web desktop version on Chromebook. In any case, the apps are made to reflect the looks of the native (phone/tablet) app.

Both blocking and unblocking a WeChat account on non-mobile devices work the same way as on mobile devices (see above).

The Difference Between Blocking and Deleting

Naturally, WeChat offers the option of completely deleting a contact. Although the two overlap in many respects, blocking and deleting do not work the same. Here are the aspects that are different between the two.

Finding the Contact

When you block a contact, you are able to find them again, in the Blocked List, as explained earlier.

However, if you delete a contact, they will not appear on your contacts list on WeChat. To contact them again and add them to your list, you will first need to find them. You might be able to find them through a mutual group. If you find them and send them a message, WeChat will prompt you to add them to your contacts list.

If you do not share a group with the contact in question, you will have to go through more trouble to find them. Either reach out to them on a different messaging service/social media platform or ask a mutual friend.

Sending Messages

Although the contacts that you have deleted or blocked can not send you direct messages, things are a bit different between the two. Confused? Let us elaborate.

A contact that you have deleted will turn into a contact outside of your circle. They are essentially a random WeChat user. If they try to send you a message, one of two things will happen, depending on your privacy settings. Go to Me, followed by Settings, and tap Privacy.

If the Friend Confirmation slider is turned on, the person trying to send you a message will get this type of a notification “[user] has requested friend verification. Please send a friend request to chat.”

If the Friend Confirmation slider is turned off, the deleted contact (as well as any other WeChat contact that isn’t blocked) will be able to send you a message on WeChat, without you having to confirm.

On the other hand, the contacts you’ve blocked will instantly receive this message, “The message is successfully sent but rejected by the receiver.” In other words, their message will be automatically rejected and they will know that you have blocked them.

To summarize, deleting a contact doesn’t prevent them from sending you a message while blocking a contact does.

Moments

If you happen to delete a WeChat contact from your list, naturally they will not appear in your Moments feed any longer. However, if you stumble upon a group where the deleted contact is, you will still be able to access their Moments from the group, provided that they have made their Moments public. Oh, and they will only be able to see your 10 most recent Moments posts.

With blocked contacts, however, you will not be able to see their Moments, even if you try accessing their profile from a mutual group. Alternatively, the user that you have blocked will be able to see your 10 most recent Moments created before blocking them.

Chat History

If you happen to delete a WeChat contact, the chat history will be permanently deleted but only on your end. On their end, they will still have access to the full chat history.

With blocked contacts, no chat histories are going to be deleted. So, be careful what you type on WeChat as you are not in control of the chat history.

Joining Groups

If a contact is no longer in your contacts list, you will not be able to ask them to join a group. If you are still in their contacts list, though, the contact that you’ve deleted will be able to request you to join a group. If your Friend Confirmation setting is on, they will get notified that they should add you as a contact before adding you to a group. This can lead to awkward situations but it does not have to.

Blocked contacts are not able to add you to groups. If they try to do so, they will receive a message saying, “[contact] declined group invitation.” Naturally, you will not be able to add them to a group, either.

Have You Been Blocked/Deleted

You might want to check whether you have been blocked or deleted by someone. There is a neat trick that can help you do this. Here it is, step by step.

1. Create a group rounding up to 39 contacts in your WeChat contacts list.
2. Keep an eye out for automatic messages that read “[contact] requires friend requests. Send a request first. You two can connect when it is accepted.” This is a clear sign that said contact doesn’t have you in their contacts list.
3. Make sure that you do not send any messages to the group. Just delete it. No, nobody will be notified of a group creation until a message is sent.

To find out whether you have been blocked, try sending them a message. If the sending fails immediately, chances are that they have blocked you.

Additional FAQ

Will blocking someone delete our existing chat?

No. As mentioned earlier, blocked contacts won’t be able to communicate until the “blocker” has unblocked the “blockee.” However, the chat histories will remain present on both ends. As soon as the contacts are unblocked, they’ll be able to resume communication normally.

Can someone tell if I block them on WeChat?

WeChat has gone out of its way to allow you to block someone without them knowing. However, if a blocked contact tries messaging you, they’ll instantly receive the message that you’ve rejected it. This is a clear telltale sign that you’ve blocked them. However, they’ll still be able to see the Moments that you’ve made prior to blocking them. This might be enough to keep the “blocking” under the radar.

What does blocking an account do?

Well, everything mentioned above. Essentially, a blocked account won’t appear on your contacts list but will be added to your Blocked List. On their end, if they try sending you a message, they’ll receive a notification that the message has been rejected. Moments-wise, they’ll be able to see the last 10 that you’ve posted before blocking them.

Another important thing that blocking an account does, is allowing you to unblock it and get things back to normal.

Blocking/Unblocking on WeChat

Blocking and unblocking on WeChat works in the same way on all available devices. It allows you to stop receiving messages from the blocked person, but without notifying them that they are blocked. Still, there are ways for them to check whether you have blocked them. Make sure that you’ve understood everything about blocking and deleting contacts on WeChat before proceeding to do so.

Have you successfully blocked/unblocked a contact on WeChat? Did you try deleting it? If you have encountered any problems or have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below. Oh, and go ahead and add anything that you think we might have missed.