When things go south with someone, they may block you on their phone to cut off communication. If an iPhone user blocks you on iMessage, you can't reach the person via message, call, or FaceTime. Blocking someone is a privacy feature. The system doesn't notify you when someone blocks on iMessage. You must look for signs and clues to confirm your blocked status.
You can check the chat bubble color. You can also look for read receipts and friendship or relationship status on other social media platforms. You'll find other tricks on your iPhone or Android phone to learn your blocked status. There are some exceptions, though. It's not an exact science, but it's a great start. These top steps help you learn everything you can about verifying your blocked status.
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Here are the top signs to tell if the recipient blocked you on iMessage.
Check the chat bubble color
Source: Apple
Typically, you see a blue bubble when you send an iMessage to another iPhone user via the Messages app for iOS and Mac. The delivery status appears under the blue iMessage when you activate Read Receipts in the iMessage settings menu.
If you see a green text bubble, that could indicate someone blocked you, mainly if your chats with this person used to be blue. This is only true if both of you use iMessage on iPhones. This isn't a foolproof method. You may see a green bubble in the following situations:
- If the other person switched to an Android phone, their bubble may have turned green. There's also a chance they didn't turn off iMessage and FaceTime if they switched from iOS to Android, or maybe they changed their phone number.
- If your iPhone has a sketchy network connection, the system may send your iMessage as an SMS and show a green bubble.
- The Messages app delivers your message as SMS when the iMessage servers have an outage. Visit Apple's system status page and confirm a green dot beside iMessage.
Check the read receipts
Source: Apple
If you're an iPhone user and receive a message from another iPhone user, you'll see a delivered notification beneath each message. This is the easiest way to know if someone blocked you, but it isn't the most accurate. If either party is in an area with poor reception or they turned off iMessage, the delivery notification may be delayed or not appear.
While read receipts are relatively new to RCS Messages, they have been an iMessage feature for years. When you use Apple's Messages app, a Delivered receipt appears underneath each sent message. Read tells you that the recipient opened it.
When someone turns off read receipts in the Messages app, you won't receive notifications about your message status. This could mean your contact gets messages but wants to stop providing status updates.
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Look for the moon icon and automated messages in iMessage
Source: Apple
Focus and Do Not Disturb modes (DnD) on iOS allow you to turn off notifications for apps and contacts temporarily. If you send someone a text message or iMessage and they don't respond, they may have turned off delivery notifications. iOS 17, 16, and 15 automatically notify iMessage senders that the mode is turned on when you send a message while Focus mode is active. You'll see a notification that says [Contact] has notifications silenced with a small moon symbol next to it.
You can break through Focus mode and deliver the message if you're part of the receiver's friends and family list. Your texts may be blocked if you don't see any indication that notifications are silenced. If the message isn't urgent, try again later.
Check your relationship status on social media apps
When someone blocks you on iMessage, the system doesn't automatically block you on other social media apps like WhatsApp and Messenger. You can still reach the person via a WhatsApp phone call. You can also reach a person via a different phone and send an SMS message.
There's no better confirmation than checking how a contact treats you on social media. After all, when things turn upside down with someone, the person blocks you on all the other social media platforms to cut off communication permanently. Every social platform has different ways of revealing this information.
Here are some of the signs when someone blocks you on Instagram:
- You can't find their profile or posts.
- You can't send direct messages on the platform.
- You search their URL (instagram.com/username) on the Instagram web and receive a "Sorry, this page isn't available" message.
- You can't view the person's profile when you tap their comment.
Facebook Messenger
You can launch Messenger and send a message to your friend. The app tells you that you can't reply to a person and confirm your blocked status. You can also ask a mutual friend to look for a contact on Messenger. If the person is active on the platform but doesn't show up for you, it verifies your blocked status.
Snapchat
If you have been friends with the person on Snapchat, find their profile on the platform. Their profile doesn't appear in search results if you are blocked. Your previous conversation with the person also vanishes from the Chat tab. Snapchat also removes the person from your friends list. These three signs confirm your blocked status on Snapchat.
Follow the signs below to check your blocked status on WhatsApp:
- Head to the person's conversation. If you were blocked on WhatsApp, you won't see their profile picture, last seen, or online status.
- When you send a few random messages, you may notice only a single checkmark indicating your blocked status on the messaging platform.
- When you create a random group and add your contact to it, WhatsApp shows an error saying Couldn't add person.
If you are blocked on these platforms, there is a strong possibility that your number is blocked on iMessage.
Call the number you're texting
If someone blocks your messages, you probably want to give them space. Call them if you've confirmed the message was delivered with the above procedures and are still unsure. Typically, you can't call someone who blocked you on iMessage. If you try, you'll hear a single ring before the call goes to voicemail. Sometimes, you don't hear a ring, or the voice operator tells you they're unavailable when you call.
If the line rings normally, and you urgently need to speak to the person, it's worth trying to call more than once. With iOS 15, Apple activated a feature that allows incoming calls to ring through even if DnD or Focus mode is active.
FaceTime the person
This is another handy trick to know if someone blocked you on iMessage. You can FaceTime the contact and may receive a message saying, Cannot reach this person right now.
Turn off your caller ID
Show My Caller ID is a nuclear option that could allow your calls to get through depending on how you're being blocked. For example, if someone blocks your messages and refuses your calls, they may answer a number they don't recognize if it isn't associated with your contact ID. But that's deceptive and could make things worse instead of better. Not all carriers offer this option. Here's how to deactivate it:
- Launch Settings on your iPhone and scroll to the Phone section.
- Tap Show My Caller ID and turn off the toggle.
Attempt to call from a different number
If you're worried about the recipient's well-being or ability to receive messages, call them from a friend's phone or use a burner number. When they pick up, tell them you've been trying to get hold of them for an emergency or hash out any misunderstandings. Again, this is a last resort and could make things worse instead of better. Avoid any perception that you're stalking someone, but reaching out with the help of a mutual friend can be effective.
If calling from a different number doesn't work, there are several reasons that have nothing to do with you. Perhaps they're busy or in a poor coverage area.
Knowing when to walk away
Walking away may not be what you want to do, but giving people space to process their feelings is best. If your relationship with the receiver is hard to let go of or you need closure, send a polite message on social media apps as a last resort. You can also reach them via mutual friends to sort out the differences.
If you've tried this approach without success, consider moving on. Use this time to seek an outside perspective from friends and family. It could help you focus on discovering and breaking bad habits you didn't know existed. More importantly, it stops you from turning into a cyberstalker.
