Group chats are a convenient way to communicate with multiple people at once over messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage. However, you may find yourself in a situation where you want to block a single person in a group chat without removing yourself or shutting down the conversation entirely.
Blocking someone in a group chat is a bit different than a regular one-on-one chat. Here’s a look at what happens when you block a person in a group chat on some of the most popular messaging platforms.
WhatsApp has over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, making it one of the most widely used messaging platforms. If you block someone in a WhatsApp group chat, here is what will happen:
- You will no longer receive any messages from the person you blocked in the group chat.
- The blocked person’s messages will not show up for you, but they will still be visible to all other members of the group.
- You will not be notified with sound or vibration if the blocked person sends a message in the group.
- The blocked person will still be able to see all of your messages in the group unless you’ve also blocked them from viewing your WhatsApp status.
- The blocked person will not be notified that you’ve blocked them specifically in the group chat.
- You can still mention the blocked member in your group messages and they will be visible to other participants apart from you.
So essentially, blocking someone in a WhatsApp group chat simply mutes notifications and hides their messages from your view, while still allowing them to participate in the group as normal from their end.
Unblocking in WhatsApp Groups
If you later decide to unblock a person you’ve blocked in a WhatsApp group chat, here’s what will happen:
- All their past messages in the group chat will become visible to you again.
- You will once again get notifications when they send new messages.
- The unblocked person will not receive any kind of notification that they were unblocked.
- The unblocking action is anonymous and does not notify other group participants either.
Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger also allows you to block an individual member in a group conversation while staying in the chat yourself. Here’s what to expect:
- You won’t be able to see any messages from the blocked person in the group chat.
- The blocked person’s name will still show up in the list of group participants for you.
- You will get a message saying “[Name] removed from conversation” but it will only be visible to you and not anyone else in the group.
- If the blocked person tags you in a group message, you still won’t see their message.
- Messages you send will go through as normal and be visible to everyone else in the chat except the blocked person.
A key difference between blocking on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger is that Messenger actively notifies the blocked person that you removed them from the conversation, even though the chat continues for everyone else. Keep this in mind if you’re trying to block subtly.
Unblocking in Facebook Messenger
If you later change your mind and unblock someone you had blocked in a Messenger group chat, here is what will take place:
- You will once again see messages from the unblocked person in the group chat moving forward.
- The unblocked person will be notified that you added them back to the group conversation.
- Past messages they sent while blocked will not become visible to you.
- Other group members will not receive any notifications about the unblocking action.
iMessage
On iOS devices, you can block an individual sender within an iMessage group conversation. Here is how it works:
- You will stop receiving messages only from the blocked person in that group chat moving forward.
- The group conversation will continue as normal between the remaining participants.
- You will still be able to send and view messages in the group as usual.
- The blocked person will not be notified or removed from the group chat on their end.
- If the blocked person mentions you in the group chat, you will not get any notifications.
- There’s no public notice or indication to the blocked person or other group members that you blocked someone.
So in essence, blocking on iMessage works in a very discreet way, simply removing the blocked person’s messages from your view privately without indicating anything to them or other chat members.
Unblocking in iMessage
If you decide to unblock someone later in an iMessage group chat, here is what will take place:
- You will begin seeing new messages from the unblocked person again.
- Their past messages from when they were blocked will remain hidden from your view.
- The unblocked person will not receive any notifications informing them they were unblocked.
- Other group members also will not be notified about the unblock action.
Google Chat
On Google Chat group conversations, which are integrated into Gmail and Google Workspace accounts, you can block a single participant while remaining in the chat. Here’s what happens:
- You will no longer receive one-on-one or group messages from the blocked person.
- You will get a notification saying “[Name] removed from the chat”.
- The blocked person will still remain as a member of the group from their end.
- Messages you send will go through as normal and be visible to everyone else.
- If the blocked person mentions you, the message will be removed before anyone sees it.
- The chat will proceed as normal between the remaining group members.
So Google Chat takes a middle ground approach, hiding the blocked person’s messages from your view but allowing them to still actively participate in the group chat from their perspective without being notified or removed.
Unblocking in Google Chat
If you unblock a person in a Google Chat group conversation, the following will take place:
- You will once again see new messages from that person moving forward.
- The unblocked person will not receive any notifications about being unblocked.
- Past messages sent by that person while blocked will remain unavailable to you.
- No other group members will be notified about the unblock action.
Slack
On team communication app Slack, you can block an individual user from a channel or group DM conversation. Here’s what to expect:
- You will no longer see messages from the blocked user in that conversation.
- The blocked user can still participate as normal and see everyone else’s messages.
- No public or private indication is given to the blocked user or other members that you blocked someone.
- You can still send messages as usual and they will be visible to others apart from the blocked user.
- Mentions of you by the blocked user will not appear in your view of the conversation.
Overall, blocking on Slack very discretely and privately hides someone’s messages just from your view, with essentially no other changes to the chat functionality.
Unblocking in Slack
Here is what happens if you decide to unblock someone you had blocked in a Slack group chat or channel:
- You will see new messages from the unblocked user moving forward.
- Their past messages from when they were blocked do not become visible to you.
- The unblocked user does not receive any notifications about being unblocked.
- No one else in the conversation gets notified about the unblock.
Key Takeaways
While the specific blocking behavior differs somewhat across platforms, the key effects are mostly similar when you block someone in a group chat:
- You will stop seeing messages only from the blocked person, while the overall chat continues normally.
- Others in the group will not know you blocked someone, unless the platform notifies the blocked user.
- The blocked person may or may not be notified themselves in different apps.
- Messages you send will still be visible to all other non-blocked users.
- Mentions of you by the blocked person may be hidden from your view.
- Unblocking brings back the user’s messages without retroactively showing past missed messages.
So in summary, blocking in group chats is not an outright ban but rather just a personal muting of someone’s messages to provide you some relief without shutting down the conversation for others. Think of it as a private setting that stays between you and the blocked user, depending on the platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the blocked person see my messages?
Yes, the blocked person can still see and interact with all messages in the group chat, including those you send. The only change is your view, where their messages are now hidden from you.
Will the group admin be notified if I block someone?
No, only some platforms like Facebook Messenger will directly notify the blocked user themselves. But group admins will not receive any special notifications about your block action.
Can I find out who blocked me in a group chat?
No, since blocking is designed to be discreet, there is no way to detect if any specific person in a group has blocked you across most messaging platforms.
Does blocking someone remove them from the group?
Blocking does not remove or delete anyone from the group chat. It simply mutes their messages to you personally. The blocked person can still participate in the chat as normal.
Can I undo blocking someone in a group chat?
Yes, you can easily unblock people in group chats at any time. This will cause you to again see their messages moving forward. Past blocked messages usually remain hidden.
Conclusion
Blocking individual members is a handy self-moderation tool for group chats. It allows you to personally ignore someone’s contributions privately without disrupting the conversation flow for others. Specific blocking rules vary slightly for different messaging apps but the overall effect remains similar. Just be mindful of whether or not the blocked person will be notified before taking action.