Unblocking someone on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. allows you to view their profile and posts again. A common question many users have is – if I unblock someone, will I see the messages they sent me while blocked? The answer depends on the platform.
When you block someone on social media, it prevents them from viewing your profile, posts, or sending you messages. You essentially make yourself invisible to that person. Unblocking reverses this effect. However, different platforms handle past messages differently when you unblock.
If you block someone on Facebook, that person can no longer tag you, invite you to events or groups, start a conversation, or add you as a friend. Any messages they send you while blocked will not show up in your inbox.
When you unblock someone on Facebook, you will not receive any of the messages they tried sending you during the time they were blocked. Those messages are not saved or recovered.
However, once you unblock them, they can again message you normally and you will see any new messages moving forward. Unblocking does not retroactively deliver their past messages.
So on Facebook, unblocking someone does not result in you receiving their old messages from the blocking period. Only new messages exchanged after unblocking become visible.
Key Takeaways
- Blocking on Facebook makes you invisible to the blocked person.
- Messages sent by a blocked user do not get delivered and are not saved.
- Unblocking will not deliver those old messages.
- Only new messages after unblocking will be received.
Similarly on Instagram, if someone sends you a direct message or comments while you have them blocked, you will not see it in your inbox or under your posts.
When you unblock them, you still will not get those messages or comments retroactively. Their older messages during the block do not get saved or recovered.
However, any new messages or comments they send after you unblock them will now come through to you. Instagram essentially acts as if no communication occurred during the blocking period.
So you do not receive their old Instagram messages/comments when unblocking. Only new exchanges will be visible.
Key Points
- Blocking makes you invisible and blocks messages/comments.
- Older messages are not saved and cannot be recovered.
- Unblocking will not deliver past messages.
- New messages can be received after unblocking.
On Twitter, blocking prevents someone from viewing your tweets, following you, or sending you Direct Messages. Their tweets and comments also become invisible to you.
If someone tweets at you or sends a DM while blocked, you will not see it. When you unblock them on Twitter, you still do not get access to those old tweets or messages sent during the blocking period.
Only completely new interactions from the time of unblocking will now become visible. So unblocking does not retroactively deliver their old tweets/messages that occurred when blocked.
Key Points
- Blocking makes you invisible and blocks tweets/DMs.
- Old tweets/messages do not get saved.
- Unblocking does not reveal past communication.
- Only new tweets/messages appear after unblocking.
Other Platforms
The same general principle applies on other major platforms like WhatsApp, Snapchat, TikTok etc. Blocking makes you invisible and unmutes new communication.
Blocked messages do not get saved or recovered when you unblock someone. You will not see any of their old attempts to contact you from the blocking period.
Unblocking essentially resets the messaging to 0 between you and lifts the messaging ban moving forward. Only new communication will now be allowed.
So across all major platforms, unblocking does not retroactively deliver old blocked messages. It only opens up new communication.
Can Someone Resend Old Messages?
While you do not receive old messages upon unblocking, it is possible for the other person to simply resend the same messages again after being unblocked.
Since unblocking lifts restrictions, they can manually send their old messages as new messages. However, this requires them being aware their messages were not received earlier because of blocking.
If they are not diligent, conversations may end up disjointed or missing context. Unless they proactively resend blocked communication, you are unlikely to see those old messages.
Unable to Retrieve Blocked Messages
To summarize, when you block someone on social media, their messages and comments during that time disappear permanently for you. Unblocking them does not recover or deliver those old blocked messages retrospectively.
Your inbox does not automatically populate with their communication attempts from when they were blocked. Those messages are gone forever.
Unblocking only permits new communication going forward. It essentially resets the messaging between you two. This creates a clean slate opening up future conversation, without recovering past blocked exchanges.
Conclusion
When you unblock someone on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., you do not receive any messages or communication they tried to send you during the blocking period.
Those old messages are not saved or recovered when you unblock. Only completely new messages exchanged after unblocking will be received and visible. Unblocking clears the way for open communication moving ahead, without retrieving previous blocked exchanges.