Have you received a Facebook poke notification? How did you react when you received a poke from a stranger, Friends, Family, or Relatives on your Facebook account? What is the meaning of poke on Facebook in actuality?
To answer this question we have done a review exercise to understand what Facebook Poke means in actuality and how the audience is reacting.
Facebook’s mission is to provide the best user experience in connecting people together globally just with an internet connection.
They keep on updating its features based on the user experience be it GIFs, the Facebook marketplace, verified pages, relationship status, and everything which people can share with their Facebook friends in order to connect better with friends, real people, and real business.
Overview of Facebook Poke Feature
Poke is an old feature on Facebook and poking on Facebook means saying hello or showing interest as per the urban dictionary but unfortunately, it was not among the most used feature.
Poke gained popularity because it was a new feature in the back time. And when a person wants to message you but doesn’t have anything to say they use the poke feature. There is no specific meaning to this poke, it is simply like you poke someone in real life.
The intentions of poking could be anything when someone pokes you they are just trying to get your attention. Think of it as a real-life poke by that person and you will know the intention behind it.
In actuality poke on Facebook feature was introduced back in 2007 and attracted a huge audience when it was new and later most user stops using the poke feature.
But I am still confused why poke is still a thing on Facebook. Because it is no longer useful and outdated.
What does poke mean to different people?
Our group of friends did an exercise in the public area to understand what poking on Facebook means to different people. And we found different perceptions of different people.
1. A flirt intention
John use to poke to grab attention from my Facebook friends and use to flirt with girls by poking. He used it as his first move.
2. Grab attention
Riya poked her fellow classmate just to grab attention. All she wanted to do is start a conversation with her classmate.
3. Irritate your friend
Rehana and her friend sandy used to poke each other, it was fun what we were doing. Most of the time they just use to poke each other to irritate them and have fun with friends.
Usage History of Facebook Poke Feature
The statistics show that the number of people using poke features has been significantly reduced.
Earlier Poke icon was used to locate on the top page just beside the message button or add friend button and now it is a hidden feature someone might feel difficult to find.
In this 21st century who will use virtual language If I want to grab the attention of the opposite person then I simply send GIFs, emojis, words, etc instead of staying in a virtual language called poke. Sometimes it sounds creepy too.
There are chances that developers may remove this feature permanently because it has not grabbed much attention and positive response from the audience.
This feature use to be exciting when it started but it is of no use now.
How to poke on Facebook now?
I am sure one question that you will be having in your mind is: “ Can I still poke someone on Facebook?” Well, the answer is YES!
You can poke your friends on Facebook to grab attention or say “hello” virtually or make fun with your friends or flirt with your crush or girlfriend by sending a virtual message called poke.

Nowadays Facebook users finding difficult to find poke features in their accounts and people are wondering where to find Facebook poke. So here we gonna show you how to poke your friends on Facebook step by step:
- Open the browser and visit https://www.facebook.com/pokes
- Log into your account.
- Search the friend name you want to poke, keep in mind the searched friend must be your Facebook friend to say hello or flirt virtually.
This way you can poke anyone on your friend list. You may not find someone to poke who is already on your friend list. That user may have turned off the poke feature for their account.
How to view pokes and turn on or turn off the poke feature?
If you are among the people to whom it sounds creepy when someone pokes you or you don’t want the send or receive pokes from one or more people then you simply dismiss the poke button for one or a group of friends.
Facebook has given us complete access to our account to select the best feature to use or to block. According to this, you will be able to use or receive a notification from other Facebook users.
Steps to see the pokes:
- Go to Your favorite browser.
- Visit pokes pages www.facebook.com/pokes.
- Log in to your Facebook account.
- Now you will be able to see pokes and suggested pokes.
Pokes mean your Facebook friends have poked you if you want to poke back simply click on the “Poke Back” button.
Suggested pokes mean Facebook is suggesting you poke your Facebook friends who have not sent the poke to you ever.
Steps to block the poke access:
- After visiting the pokes pages from your browser.
- Login into your account
- Once you logged in successfully you will see two categories. One is poking and the other one is suggested poking and also a search bar to find your friends.
- Now you can see who poked you to poke back you can click on the poke back button to dismiss the poke feature to that person simply click anywhere besides to user name or poke button.
- Then a pop-up will appear with more features called “View Profile”, “Poke Back”, “Message”, and “Dismiss Poke”. To block the user click on dismiss poke.
- Now you have successfully blocked sending poke or receiving poke from that person.
- In another way, you can simply search for your friend’s name. And then tap anywhere besides the friend’s name to get a pop-up and to dismiss poke for that particular person.
This way you can poke or block poke within your Facebook friends. Now it completely depends on you how you take poke on Facebook as per your comforts.
You may also like:
- How Does Facebook Suggest Friends You May Know
- Block or Unblock Someone on Facebook Messenger
- How To Check “Who Viewed My Facebook Profile?
Summary
We thought of writing this topic because there was not much information on the Facebook help center about poke and what it means.
So we have simply walked out and gathered information to understand what it means to people and what poke is in actuality as per the dictionary.
And we found interesting facts behind it and thought of sharing with you everything about it.
FAQs
Can you poke someone who is not your Facebook friend?
No, you can only poke someone who is already your Facebook friend.
Do pokes expire on Facebook?
No, it does not expire on Facebook. However, after a while, the poke may no longer be visible on the user’s timeline or notification.
Can you undo or delete a poke on Facebook?
Yes, you can undo or delete a poke on Facebook by clicking the “Remove Poke” option that appears when you hover over the poke.