When someone sends you a message on Facebook, you may get a notification depending on your notification settings. Facebook allows users to control which notifications they receive through the “Notifications” tab in Settings.
What are Facebook message requests?
Facebook message requests are messages sent to you by people who are not your friends on Facebook. When someone who is not your friend tries to message you, it will go to your Message Requests folder rather than your main inbox.
You can set your messaging privacy settings to control who can message you. The options are:
- Everyone – Anyone on or off Facebook can send you a message.
- Friends of Friends – Your friends and their friends can message you.
- Friends – Only your Facebook friends can message you.
- Custom – You can customize specific people or groups who can message you.
- No One – You will not receive any message requests.
So a message request means someone who is not your Facebook friend has tried to send you a message based on your privacy settings.
Do you get notified of Facebook message requests?
Whether you get notified about a new message request depends on your notification settings:
On Desktop:
- Click on the arrow in the top right corner.
- Go to “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings”.
- Click on “Notifications” on the left menu.
- Under the “Messages” section, turn notifications on or off for “Message Requests”.
If you have notifications turned on for message requests, you will get a notification at the top of your Facebook screen when someone sends you one. You will also get email or text notifications if you have those enabled in Settings.
If you have notifications turned off, you won’t get any alerts and you’ll need to manually check your message requests folder.
On Mobile:
- Tap on the three-line menu icon in the bottom right corner.
- Go to “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings”.
- Tap on “Notifications”.
- Toggle “Message Requests” on or off.
Again, if this is enabled you’ll get notifications for new requests, and if disabled you won’t get notified.
Receiving Message Requests
Here are some additional details on receiving and responding to message requests:
- When you get a new request, the messages icon will show a red notification dot.
- On desktop, the message requests folder is in the left menu under “Messages”.
- On mobile, you can find it by tapping on “Messages” and selecting “Message Requests”.
- You can delete, reply to, or accept message requests. Accepting will move the conversation to your inbox.
- If you ignore the request, the sender will not know you’ve seen it.
- You can turn off message requests completely by restricting messages to Friends or Friends of Friends in your privacy settings.
Do message requests go to your inbox eventually?
No, message requests will not automatically move to your inbox after a certain period of time. They will stay in your requests folder indefinitely unless you take action.
To have the messages show up in your inbox, you will need to accept the message request. Once accepted, the full conversation will be moved to your messages.
Declining or deleting a request will remove it entirely. The sender will not be notified that you declined, but they will be unable to send you any further requests once it’s deleted.
So message requests do not expire and will not appear in your inbox unless you explicitly accept them.
Managing Notifications
Here are some tips for managing your Facebook notifications for message requests and other updates:
- Customize notifications by type – For each notification category like friend requests, messages, posts, comments, and more, you can turn on/off specific notification types like pop-ups, email, text, etc.
- Prioritize important notifications – Choose “High Priority” for notifications you always want to be alerted for.
- Mute conversations – Mute a conversation thread if you don’t want any notifications from it for a period of time.
- Turn off red dots – Disable the red dots that show on the Messages and Notifications icons.
- Adjust volume – For mobile, reduce the notification volume compared to other sounds.
- Set quiet hours – Disable notifications during certain times of day or night.
It’s a good idea to review your notification settings occasionally to make sure you’re getting notified about the things you want, and avoiding notification overload.
For message requests specifically, having them enabled is useful to know when you receive a request from a non-friend. But if the notifications become annoying, you can turn them off and just check requests manually sometimes.
Should I leave message request notifications on?
Here are some pros and cons to consider about keeping message request notifications enabled:
Pros:
- You’ll be promptly alerted when receiving a request, allowing quick review.
- Good for avoiding missing messages from potentially important senders.
- Helpful if you frequently receive requests from non-friends.
Cons:
- You may get notifications from unwanted or irrelevant requests.
- Can increase general notification noise and disruption.
- Requests may expire or become irrelevant if not reviewed quickly.
In general, it’s recommended to keep message request notifications on if:
- You only accept requests from people you know.
- You want to reply promptly to legitimate requests.
- You don’t receive high volumes of message traffic overall.
And consider turning them off if:
- You get lots of requests from strangers or spam accounts.
- You review requests infrequently.
- You are trying to reduce notification overload.
But you can always toggle them on or off at any time based on your preferences. So don’t hesitate to adjust notification settings as needed.
Security and Privacy
Facebook message requests also have some security and privacy implications to be aware of:
Spam and scams
Unfortunately, many message requests may come from spammers, scammers, or other bad actors. Some best practices include:
- Be wary of opening requests from accounts you don’t know.
- Watch for common spam tactics like suspicious links or attachments.
- Never provide personal information or passwords to a suspicious request.
- Report and delete obvious scam requests instead of engaging.
Enabling notifications can help you more quickly identify and shut down scam requests before opening them.
Blocking unwanted requests
If you receive unwanted or harassing requests, take advantage of blocking capabilities:
- Block specific users who send you inappropriate requests.
- Adjust your messaging settings to be more restrictive on who can message you.
- Limit friend requests to reduce potential message requests.
- Report abusive or harassing requests to Facebook for further action.
Strangers and minors
It’s generally safer not to accept requests or engage in conversations with strangers, especially minors. Be very cautious about who you interact with over message requests.
Only accept requests from people you know and trust in real life. And avoid continuing conversations that make you uncomfortable or seem inappropriate.
As a minor, be very careful about who you interact with online and notify parents or authorities if needed.
Conclusion
In summary:
- You will get notifications for Facebook message requests if you have them enabled in your notification settings.
- These requests come from non-friends and go to a separate folder rather than your inbox.
- You can manage notifications for requests and other Facebook updates.
- It’s recommended to keep request notifications on if you want to review them promptly.
- Be cautious about security, spam, and who you interact with over message requests.
Message requests allow you to receive messages from more people, but can also create security risks. Configure your notification settings and privacy options appropriately for your comfort level. Review requests frequently and use common sense when engaging with non-friends. With the right precautions, Facebook message requests can be used safely and effectively.