Suicide prevention

Resources for people who have suicidal thoughts and those who care about them.


An estimated one million people or more die by suicide each year. Experts say that one of the best ways to help prevent suicide is for those in distress to hear from people who care about them. Facebook is uniquely positioned – we provide people who have expressed suicidal thoughts with a number of support options – to reach out to a friend, contact a helpline or seek positive information. We're also committed to building sophisticated technologies such as machine learning to get timely help to people in need.

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"When I posted on Facebook, I wasn't expecting the huge number of replies I got from my friends. I read every single one, and I took each one to heart. Each comment helped a lot… some people said things that I wanted to hear, others said things that I needed to hear, but they all helped."

– Sheila S.

Resources for people who have suicidal thoughts and those who care about them



We created the experience for suicide and self-injury prevention in collaboration with experts in the field. The safety of Facebook users is of great importance to us.

We have teams working seven days a week around the world, who review reports that come in and prioritise the most serious reports such as suicide. We provide people who have expressed suicidal and self-harm thoughts with a number of support options. For example, we prompt people to contact a friend and even offer pre-populated text to make it easier for people to start a conversation. We also suggest contacting a helpline and offer other tips and resources for people to help themselves in that moment. Cases where we believe there is imminent danger of serious harm, we contact first responders who are trained to conduct wellness checks if necessary.

Last year, we began to use machine learning to expand our ability to offer timely help to people in need. This tool uses signals to identify posts that suggest when someone might be at risk, such as phrases in posts and concerned comments from friends and family. It also helps respond to reports faster and improves how we identify appropriate first responders. Learn more about how Facebook AI helps suicide prevention.

How it works



If you see something concerning on our platform and you believe someone is in imminent danger, you should call your local emergency services immediately.

Report: If you are worried that a friend or family member may cause self-harm or is suicidal, report the content to Facebook.

  • To report a post, click in the top right of the post and choose the option that best describes the issue, then follow the on-screen instructions. Learn more about reporting other types of content.
  • If you've reported something, you have the option to check the status of your report from your Support Inbox. Only you can see your Support Inbox. We don't include any information about the person who filed the report when we contact the person who posted the content.
  • Next time a friend or family member logs in, they will see the suicide prevention flow that encourages them to connect with a mental health expert.

Support: It can be very hard to know what to say to someone who's told you that they're considering suicide, or who seems to be thinking about it but may not have told you directly. We've worked with suicide prevention experts to help you understand some of the best ways to support a person who's having suicidal thoughts.

Additional support



If you see something concerning on our platform and you believe someone is in imminent danger, you should call your local emergency services immediately.

Facebook Suicide Prevention
Facebook Online Well-being
Safety@Facebook
Help A Friend In Need developed with the JED Foundation and Clinton Foundation

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