You're sitting there, ready to group up for some Rank matches. You just had a killer game with a random Ana who actually peeled for you, and you think, "Yeah, I need this person on my list." You hit the plus icon. Then, the red text of doom pops up: Overwatch 2 friend request prohibited. It’s annoying. It feels like the game is personally gatekeeping your ability to make friends.
Most players assume it’s a random bug. It isn't. Or at least, it’s rarely just a "glitch." Blizzard has baked several invisible walls into the Battle.net ecosystem and the Overwatch 2 client that stop social interactions dead in their tracks. Sometimes it's a security feature. Other times, it's a weird ghost in the machine caused by cross-platform syncing.
The Battle.net Account Settings Nobody Checks
Honestly, the biggest culprit is usually hiding in your account settings, not the game itself. If you’ve ever messed with your Privacy & Communication tabs on the Battle.net website, you might have accidentally crippled your social features. There is a specific toggle for "Friend Requests." If this is set to off, the game will literally treat every incoming or outgoing request as a prohibited action.
It’s easy to miss. You might have turned it off years ago during a WoW phase to avoid gold-selling spam and completely forgotten about it.
Another layer involves the "Social" settings within the Overwatch 2 menu itself. Go to Options, then Social. Look at your "Friend Request Privacy." If your account is a "Limited Account"—common if you haven't spent any money or verified a phone number—Blizzard might restrict who you can add to prevent botting. This is a massive headache for Free-to-Play users who just want to play with their buddies.
Why Your Outgoing Requests Keep Failing
Sometimes the error isn't about your settings. It’s about the person on the other end. If you see the "prohibited" message, it often means the target player has reached the 600-friend limit. Yes, Battle.net has a cap. While 600 sounds like a lot, for long-time players or streamers, that ceiling hits fast.
There's also the "Pending Request" purgatory.
If you’ve sent a request to someone and they haven't accepted it, that request stays in a "Sent" state. Battle.net has a limit on how many pending requests you can have active. If you’re the type of person who tries to add everyone after every match, you’ll eventually hit a wall where the system simply says "No more." You have to go into the Battle.net desktop app, navigate to the "Sent" tab in your friends list, and start deleting the ones that have been sitting there for weeks. It’s tedious. It's boring. But it works.
The Cross-Play Complexity
Overwatch 2 is a cross-platform beast. You've got PC players, Xbox fans, PlayStation enthusiasts, and Switch users all in the same pool. This creates a nightmare for social features. If you are playing on a console, your platform-level privacy settings (like Xbox Live or PlayStation Network privacy) can override Blizzard’s settings.
If your Xbox profile is set to "Private" or "Friends Only," the game might struggle to bridge the gap between the console's API and the Battle.net server. This often triggers the Overwatch 2 friend request prohibited error because the console is telling the game, "This user isn't allowed to talk to strangers."
Quick tip for console players: Check your "Communication & Multiplayer" settings in your console's system menu. Ensure that "Others can communicate with voice, text, or invites" is set to "Everybody." If it’s restricted to "Friends," you can’t add new people because, technically, they aren't your friends yet. It’s a classic Catch-22.
The Silence of the Squapped
Let’s talk about the "Squelch" and "Silence" system. Blizzard is aggressive with their defense against toxicity. If your account has been flagged for "Abusive Chat" or other social infractions, you might find yourself under a temporary social ban. This doesn't always come with a big "YOU ARE BANNED" banner. Sometimes, it just quietly disables your ability to send invites or friend requests.
If you’ve been a bit... let's say expressive in match chat lately, this might be the reason.
Silence and Account Standing
The "Prohibited" error can also stem from a "Starter" account status. In an effort to curb the endless tide of smurfs and hackers, Blizzard implemented a system where brand-new accounts have limited social capabilities until they complete a certain number of games or verify a phone number. This is part of their "Defense Matrix" initiative.
If you’re on a fresh account, you essentially have to prove you’re a human being before you’re allowed to clutter up the servers with friend requests. Complete your 50-game "First Time User Experience" (FTUE) and ensure your SMS Protect is active.
📖 Related: Pokémon TCG Pocket expansions: Why the slow rollout is actually working
Common Reasons for the Prohibited Message:
- Maximum Friends: You or the recipient hit the 600-player cap.
- Pending Overload: Too many sent requests that were never answered.
- Privacy Toggles: "Allow Friend Requests" is disabled in Battle.net settings.
- Console Restrictions: Xbox or PlayStation privacy settings are too strict.
- Account Silence: You're under a social penalty for behavior.
- Regional Mismatch: Occasionally, trying to add players across vastly different regions (like KR to US) via the in-game UI can glitch out.
How to Actually Fix It
First, stop trying to send the request in-game. The Overwatch 2 UI is notoriously flaky. Close the game. Open the Battle.net desktop launcher. Try to add the person via their full BattleTag (Name#12345) directly in the launcher. If it works there, the issue was just the game client being weird.
If it still says prohibited in the launcher, you know it’s an account-level restriction.
Log in to your Battle.net Account Management page in a web browser. Go to Privacy & Communication. Scroll down to Social Settings. Ensure "Friend Requests" is enabled. While you're there, check if your "Account Status" shows any active penalties. If everything looks green, go to your "Sent" friend requests and clear out the backlog.
If you are on console, do the "hard cycle" trick. Log out of your Battle.net account from the in-game menu, restart the console, and log back in. This forces a fresh handshake between the console servers and Blizzard’s servers, which often clears up those "prohibited" flags that shouldn't be there.
Actionable Steps for a Clean Social Tab
To keep your account from hitting these blocks in the future, you should perform a "social audit" every few months.
- Purge the 600: Go through your friends list and remove people you haven't played with since the original Overwatch 1 launch. If they haven't been online in two years, they probably don't need to be there.
- Clear the Sent Queue: Every month, delete any pending requests that are older than a week. If they haven't accepted by then, they aren't going to.
- Verify SMS Protect: Make sure your phone number is still linked and verified. If Blizzard loses that verification, your account might revert to "Limited" status.
- Check Console Permissions: Ensure your platform privacy settings aren't blocking "Cross-Network Play" or "Communications."
By keeping your Battle.net account "lean," you avoid the weird data-bloat errors that trigger the "prohibited" message. Overwatch 2 is a team game; don't let a mismanaged settings menu keep you from finding a consistent group. Keep your sent-box empty and your privacy settings open, and you'll likely never see that red error text again.
👉 See also: How To Watch A Minecraft Movie For Free Without Getting Scammed
Next Steps for Players: Check your Battle.net desktop app specifically for the "Sent" requests tab. It’s the most common "invisible" reason for this error. If your queue is full, delete them all and try again. If that fails, verify your phone number in Account Settings to ensure your "Defense Matrix" status is fully cleared.