How to Report Someone on Facebook

Facebook sees a massive 1.3 billion monthly users. With so much traffic, you're bound to run into some unsavory, shady or offensive characters or content. Facebook encourages users to report content such as hate speech, graphic violence, threats and nudity, but you can also report impostor profiles, spam and entire pages or individual posts that don't abide by the site's Statement of Rights and Responsibility. All reports are anonymous.

Sometimes it's wiser to report a specific post than an entire Timeline to show Facebook the content in question. To report a post, hover your cursor over it and select the down-facing arrow in the corner. Select "I Don't Want to See This," followed by the "Why Don't You Want to See This?" link. Answer the questions provided to either report the post or hide it from your news feed. For some posts, you'll see a "This is Spam" option, specifically for reporting spam content.

Facebook's help articles suggest reporting individuals who use fake accounts. If someone uses your pictures as his own, Facebook suggests reporting it. Imitation Timelines are against the Facebook terms of service. To report a person's Timeline, visit it and click the "..." button on the cover photo. Select the "Report" option and "Report This Account" before clicking "Continue." Choose a reason and click "Continue" again.

Facebook pages for groups and businesses can be just as offensive as the pages of individuals. If you come across a page that you think violates Facebook's terms, report the page, just as you would report an individual. Click the "..." button near the page's name and then select the "Report Page" option. Choose a reason you're reporting in the next window and then select "Continue." Options change depending on your choice, so fill out the report information as needed.

You can report photos from directly within Facebook's viewer. While viewing the content, select "Options" and "Report Photo." Choose the "I Think It Shouldn't Be on Facebook" option and click the "Continue" button.

Click the upside-down triangle at the top of every Facebook screen. Select "Report a Problem" and then choose "Abusive Content," which covers anything that is a violation of Facebook policies, spam or harmful to other users of the site.

To view a list of reports you've submitted, click the upside-down triangle at the top of every Facebook screen. Choose "Settings" from the drop-down list. Select "Support Dashboard" to see a list of reports and inquiries, along with their status. Click "Details" to see more information about the report.