How do you unblock someone on WhatsApp if they blocked you?

What to do if someone blocked you on WhatsApp

If you find that someone has blocked you on WhatsApp, there are a few things you can try to get back in touch with them:

Wait for them to unblock you – The person who blocked you may decide to unblock you after some time has passed. There’s nothing you can do to force them to unblock you, so you’ll just have to wait and see if they decide to do it on their own.
Ask a mutual friend to intervene – Reach out to any mutual friends you share with the person and see if they’d be willing to talk to the person on your behalf. They may be able to convince the person to unblock you.

Try messaging them from a different number – If you have access to a different phone number that the person doesn’t already have blocked, you could try messaging them from that number and ask them to unblock you.
Send an apology if appropriate – If you said or did something to upset the person, sending a sincere apology explaining yourself may help change their mind about keeping you blocked.

Unfortunately, there is no way to directly override someone blocking you on WhatsApp and force them to unblock you. The app gives users the ability to block anyone at any time for any reason. Your best bet is to wait it out or get a mutual connection to plead your case.

Why you may have been blocked on WhatsApp

There are a few possible reasons why someone may have decided to block you on WhatsApp:

You said something to offend or upset them – Arguments or saying something insensitive can anger the other person and make them not want to communicate with you.
You messaged them too frequently – Constant messaging, especially if unwanted, could cause the person to block you to avoid the unwanted contact.

You shared unwanted or inappropriate content – Sharing offensive, disturbing or excessively boring stuff can motivate someone to block you.
You have the wrong number – It’s possible they meant to block someone else and accidentally blocked you because they had the wrong number saved.
Their account was hacked – If their WhatsApp account was compromised, the hacker may have started blocking their contacts for malicious reasons.

You were inappropriate in your conduct – Flirting excessively, bullying, or other unacceptable behavior could have gotten you blocked.

If you did something clearly inappropriate, sending an apology explaining yourself and promising to refrain from that behavior in the future may help convince the person to stop blocking you. But if you can’t identify anything specific that would have angered them, it may remain a mystery.

How to apologize to someone who blocked you on WhatsApp

If you believe you may have done or said something to offend or upset the person who blocked you, crafting a sincere apology can help mend the relationship and convince them to unblock you. Follow these tips for an effective apology:

Reflect on what happened – Carefully think through the situation and your interactions leading up to them blocking you. Identify what you think you did wrong.
Take responsibility – Admit fault and acknowledge you are responsible for what happened. Don’t make excuses.
Sincerely apologize – Say “I’m sorry” directly and make it clear you regret your actions and are apologizing sincerely.

Explain, but don’t justify – You can briefly explain what led to your poor choices without making excuses for your behavior.
Acknowledge their feelings – Show you understand how your actions made them feel and validate their right to feel upset.
Promise it won’t happen again – Reassure them you have learned from the experience and will refrain from similar conduct going forward.

Give them space – Don’t pressure them to accept your apology. Give them time to process it and decide if they wish to unblock you.
Accept their decision – If they choose not to forgive you, respect their decision and don’t pester them about it.

A thoughtful, sincere apology can go a long way toward healing a damaged relationship. But be prepared to accept it if the person prefers not to reconnect. Harassing them will only confirm that blocking you was the right call.

How to get someone to unblock you on WhatsApp

If your apology doesn’t work, here are a few other tactics you can try to convince someone to stop blocking you on WhatsApp:

Ask a mutual friend to intervene – Have a friend or family member you both trust explain why you want to resolve the conflict and ask them to reconsider unblocking you.
Send a letter – Make a heartfelt apology on paper and mail an actual letter to their address. The extra effort can show you care about making amends.
Make a public apology – Post an apology on social media (without naming them directly) taking responsibility for your actions. They may see your post or hear about it from others.

Apologize in person – Depending on the nature of your relationship, showing up in person to apologize sincerely may demonstrate true remorse for your actions.
Give them an easy way to respond – Tell mutual connections to let you know if the blocked person wants to communicate and provide ways for that to happen.
Wait and periodically retry contacting – After a long cooling off period, try messaging them from a different number after several weeks/months have passed.

Persistence can work, but also risks annoying the person further. Use your best judgement based on the situation whether to keep pursuing contact or accept their wishes.

What to do if someone keeps blocking you on WhatsApp

Getting blocked once could be a misunderstanding. But if someone keeps blocking you after repeated unblocks, take the hint:

Respect their wishes – Continually pestering someone who doesn’t want to talk will only drive them further away.
Move on – Accept that this relationship has run its course. Refocus your energies on other connections.
Examine your own conduct – Think about what in your communication style or behavior keeps pushing them away.

Wait for them to contact you – The ball is in their court now. Wait for them to reach out if they wish to reconnect.
Make amends if needed – If you did something offensive, make a sincere, no-strings-attached apology without demanding to be unblocked.
Change their contact – Input their number under a different contact name so you remember not to message them.

Block them back – To avoid the temptation of messaging, you can preemptively block them as well.

Getting repeatedly blocked could be a sign of harassment or toxicity from one or both people involved. It may be healthiest to have a clean break for both parties.

What happens when you block someone on WhatsApp?

Blocking someone on WhatsApp has the following effects:

They can no longer send you messages – Any texts or calls will not go through.
You stop receiving messages from them – You will no longer get their texts, calls, or status updates.
Your profile photo disappears – They won’t be able to see your profile picture or “last seen” status.

You disappear from their contact list – They won’t find you in their WhatsApp contacts.
Any existing messages remain – Prior chat history is not automatically deleted.
Groups are unaffected – You can both still participate in any shared WhatsApp groups.

They won’t be notified – WhatsApp does not tell users if or when they’ve been blocked.

In effect, blocking removes you from their WhatsApp world entirely unless you’re both in the same groups. They won’t know they’ve been blocked unless they try to message you and get an error.

Should you block someone on WhatsApp?

Here are some situations where blocking a contact on WhatsApp could be appropriate:

They harass you with unwanted messages
They frequently send offensive or disturbing content
You feel unsafe due to their conduct and words

They spread rumors or lies about you to others
Interacting with them negatively impacts your mental health
Seeing their messages and status updates is emotionally painful

They refuse to respect your requests to stop unwanted contact
You need a definitive end to an unhealthy relationship

In general, if someone makes you consistently unhappy, uncomfortable or unsafe, blocking them can be an act of self-care to prevent further harm. However, in some cases an honest conversation may better resolve conflict.

Alternatives to blocking on WhatsApp

If completely blocking the person seems too extreme, some intermediate options include:

Muting notifications – You won’t get sound/vibration alerts for their messages.
Turning off read receipts – They won’t see if you’ve read their texts.

Using Do Not Disturb mode – You can silence their calls.
Deleting chat history – This can create emotional distance from the past issues.
Reporting their account – Alert WhatsApp if they are harassing, threatening, or violating policies.

Restricting access – They will only see limited profile data and message read status.
Ignoring them – Simply don’t respond to unwelcome contact.

Evaluate the specific circumstances to decide what degree of electronic communication boundaries are appropriate. The situation may warrant anything from minor restricting to complete blocking.

What to do if you regret blocking someone on WhatsApp

If you acted rashly blocking someone and later regret it, here are some options to fix the situation:

Unblock them – This instantly reopens communication from their end.
Apologize – Explain you regret blocking them and why it happened.

Be patient – It may take time for them to trust you again after the blocking.
Explain yourself – You can share what was going on for you at the time that made you block them.
Ask for forgiveness – Make a sincere request for their forgiveness.

Give them space – Don’t overwhelm them with messages immediately after unblocking.
Change your habits – Make actual change in how you communicate to avoid repeating this.
Don’t make demands – They may need to unblock you at their own pace.

With an apology, improved behavior going forward, and most importantly – patience, you can potentially rebuild trust and positive communication after regretfully blocking someone.

WhatsApp blocking etiquette

Here are some general etiquette guidelines for blocking or unblocking someone on WhatsApp:

Don’t block randomly or impulsively – Make sure you have a real reason you can articulate.

Tell them first if reasonable – Have a conversation before outright blocking unless you fear harassment.
Don’t flaunt blocking publicly – Resist posting about it on social media or gossiping about it.
Wish them well if ending a relationship – Break ups warrant empathy rather than pettiness or retaliation.

Unblock sincerely when you’re ready – Don’t yo-yo back and forth blocking for drama or manipulation.
Make amends if you mistreated them – Apologize and improve for the future.
Respect their need for space – If recently unblocked, don’t immediately barrage them.

Let go if they decline to reconnect – It’s their prerogative not to resume contact.

Following basic manners and compassion helps blocking to serve its purpose of creating space rather than inflaming drama and hurt feelings further.

Conclusion

Getting blocked on WhatsApp can be painful or confusing, but bombarding the person with messages rarely helps. Give a sincere apology for any offense, use an intermediary if appropriate, and be patient. If they eventually unblock you, treat it as an olive branch for a new start rather than a license to resume poor habits. With mutual respect on both sides, the situation can potentially be resolved. However, continuously pressuring someone who wants distance is never acceptable. Know when to walk away and wish them well from afar.