On Focusmate, you have several options to control who you work with. While both Snooze and Block prevent matching, they serve different purposes:
Use Snooze to curate your personal matching preferences
Use Block for situations where a partner makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable
Both options are discreet: we won't notify people when you Snooze or Block them.
Snooze
Snoozing gives you flexibility over your schedule. If a partner's working style isn't the best fit, or you simply have a tight deadline and need a break from a partner you usually enjoy chatting with, Snooze is the perfect tool.
Flexible durations: You can snooze someone for different durations, like an hour, a month, or indefinitely.
Existing sessions: If you snooze someone before a session starts, we will find you a new partner. If you snooze them during a session, the session will not end automatically.
Unsnoozing people: Go to the People page, select Snoozed from the dropdown in the top left, click the three-dot menu on any list item and click Unsnooze.
Block
Your safety is our top priority. If a partner ever makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, you can Block them.
Complete separation: When you Block someone, they are immediately prevented from booking 1:1 sessions with you or viewing your schedule.
Reporting: If you have a negative experience that requires further review, please submit a report alongside your block. This helps keep the entire community safe and productive.
How to Unblock: You can Unblock users or switch them to a Snooze from your Blocked list (Settings > Preferences > Blocked List).
Managing Snooze and Block in Group Sessions
Group Sessions is a new Labs experiment and is not currently available to all users. Because Group Sessions involve multiple people, Snooze and Block interact a bit differently depending on your role in the room.
Host Actions
Snoozing a participant: They cannot see or join your future sessions. If they have already booked a spot, they can still attend that specific session, but the Snooze will apply going forward.
Blocking a participant: They cannot see or join your sessions. If they have already booked a spot, they will be removed from the session immediately.
Participant Actions
Snoozing a Host: You can still see and join their sessions.
Blocking a Host: You cannot see or join their sessions.
Participant-to-Participant: Snoozing another participant does not play a role in Group Sessions. Blocking another participant also does not apply by default, but you can adjust this via your Blocked People in Group Sessions setting.