On Facebook, you have two options for processing friend requests — confirm or ignore. Today, we’re learning that Facebook is replacing the “Ignore” button with a “Not Now” button, that when clicked, will place the friend request in a separate section called “Hidden Requests.”

Inside Facebook was first to report on the new “Not Now” option, and Facebook has since confirmed that it is indeed replacing the current “Ignore” option for all members and will be rolling it out to everyone in the next few days.

The “Not Now” alternation will change how you process friend requests moving forward. You can continue to confirm requests as usual, but if you’re not interested in friending a wannabe connection, you’ll now need to click the “Not Now” button. That action will not ignore the request, but hide it, relegating it instead to a new “Hidden Requests” menu for future processing.

“If you choose ‘Not Now’, the other person will never be notified that you have hidden their request and you’ll have the option to take action on it at some time in the future if you want to. Their request will remain in a pending state, meaning they won’t see the option to add you as a friend. They will just see the ‘Awaiting Friend Confirmation’ text as if you hadn’t taken any action on the request at all,” says a spokesperson for the company.

You can return to the “Hidden Requests” menu to revisit all requests you previously marked “Not Now,” and can then either choose “Confirm” or “Delete Request.” Should you delete the request, you can also optionally mark that you don’t know the person in question, and that behavior will block the individual from requesting your friendship in the future.

Facebook wants members to take advantage of the latter option to prevent friend request abuse. “This helps our systems get better at detecting unwanted behavior on the site and we can use that information to prevent abuse from that person in the future,” says the Facebook representative.

For most of us, the new “Not Now” option will be a welcome change that should go a long way in helping us process requests a bit faster. Removing requests completely, however, is a tad more complicated and now takes two additional steps.

Will you be welcoming the “Not Now” button with open arms or were you happy with the “Ignore” option? Share your thoughts on the pending change in the comments.

[via mashable]

Posted in: Facebook