Find someone's list and follow or unfollow them

Ask the person for their list link, or search for their name or username in Friends → People. Following keeps their available lists handy; it does not unlock a hidden or password-protected list.

Find the right person

1. Sign in and open Friends, then the People tab. (Friends has three tabs: Activity, People and Groups.)
2. Type at least 3 letters of their first name, last name or username in the search bar. For a short name, add the last name. People you already follow show first; other GiftList members appear under Discover new friends. Email addresses are not a supported people-search field. Without an account, Find friends on giftlist.com searches people the same way.
3. Open the matching profile. Check the name and picture before choosing Follow.
4. Open a list they show on their profile. To find them later, open Friends → People, where you can switch between Following and Followers.

If several people have the same name, ask for their profile or list link. A direct list link is usually the quickest route when you only want to buy one gift. Shared-list shoppers normally do not need an account.

Understand what following changes

Following can add a person's birthday to your reminders, when they share it, and makes their lists easier to revisit. Someone who keeps their birthday private doesn't show it, and following them brings no birthday reminders. Reminder delivery still depends on the dates and notification settings. Following someone is different from joining their family group or being invited to edit a list.

An owner controls which lists appear on their profile. A list that is not shown there may still open through its direct link. If it asks for a password, get the password from the owner; following or signing in does not substitute for it.

Someone I don't know follows me

GiftList profiles are public, so anyone with an account can follow you. A follower can see lists you set to Friends only → All friends, and lists set to Everyone. To limit a list, choose Friends only → Only certain people, Don't show it, or add Password protect; a password-protected list still needs its password.

To stop a particular person, open their profile, choose More options (the ⋮ button) and choose Block user. Blocking removes the follow in both directions. To undo it, open the same menu and choose Unblock user. Blocking does not stop someone who already has a direct link to a list from opening it, so add a list password or change your list's visibility if that matters. See list privacy and passwords.

Stop following or find a missing list

Open the person's profile and use its following control to unfollow. Read any confirmation before saving. Check Friends → People → Following afterward. Group membership can also create connections, so review the group if a connection remains relevant there.

If a list disappears, clear search filters, check the correct profile and ask for a fresh link. Do not create another account to recover someone else's list. For a persistent problem, contact support with the profile/list link and the message you see.

Related: Share a list, privacy and passwords, manage a family group, occasion reminders.