Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 2.85 billion monthly active users as of the fourth quarter of 2021. With so many people using Facebook, it can be hard to keep up with all the posts and updates from your friends. Fortunately, Facebook provides options to get notifications when your friends post updates, so you don’t miss anything important.
What are notifications on Facebook?
Notifications on Facebook are alerts that let you know when certain activity happens on the platform related to your account. There are several types of Facebook notifications you may receive:
- Friend requests
- When someone likes or comments on your posts
- When someone tags you in a post or photo
- Birthday reminders for friends
- Updates from groups you’ve joined
- Live videos from friends
Notifications appear in the notifications tab on Facebook, which is represented by a globe icon on desktop or a bell icon on mobile. You can click on the notifications icon to view all of your latest notifications.
Why enable notifications from friends’ posts?
Here are some key reasons why you may want to enable notifications for your friends’ posts on Facebook:
- Stay connected – Notifications allow you to stay up-to-date with what your friends are sharing and posting on Facebook. You’ll be among the first to know about major life updates and day-to-day moments.
- Join the conversation – Getting notifications means you can quickly like, comment on, and engage with your friends’ posts while the conversation is still active.
- Discover relevant content – Chances are your Facebook friends share content relevant to your own interests. Notifications help surface posts you may care about.
- Rekindle relationships – People you’ve lost touch with may post updates that notifications expose you to, helping you reconnect.
Overall, enabling notifications for friends’ posts makes it easier to stay in the loop on Facebook and get the most value from your news feed.
How to get notifications when friends post on Facebook
If you want to make sure you never miss a post from your Facebook friends, here are instructions on how to enable notifications:
On Desktop
- Log into your Facebook account on a desktop browser and click on the arrow in the top right corner to access the dropdown menu.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” from the dropdown menu.
- Click on the “Settings” tab at the top of the left sidebar.
- Select “Notifications” on the left sidebar.
- Under the “Posts” section, turn on notifications for “Friends’ posts.”
- You can also customize notifications by clicking on “Customize notifications from friends” and choosing specific friends to get notifications for.
- Be sure to click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page.
On Mobile
- Open the Facebook app on your iPhone or Android device.
- Tap on the three-line “hamburger” menu icon in the top right corner.
- Scroll down and choose “Settings & Privacy” from the menu options.
- Select “Settings.”
- Tap on “Notifications.”
- Turn on notifications for “Friends’ posts” under the Posts section.
- You can pick specific friends to get notifications from by tapping “Customize notifications from friends.”
- Hit “Save Changes” to confirm your notification settings.
Once you’ve enabled notifications for friends’ posts, you’ll start getting alerts on your chosen device anytime one of your Facebook friends shares a new post. The notifications will appear in your notifications tab so you can quickly view them.
How to customize notifications from friends
While having notifications turned on for all friends’ posts can keep you informed, you may find it overwhelming if you have hundreds of Facebook friends. Fortunately, you can customize and fine-tune notifications from friends:
- Pick specific friends – Toggle notifications on or off for individual friends under “Customize notifications from friends” in your settings.
- Prioritize close friends – Choose “Favorites” to only get notifications from friends you interact with most.
- Mute friends temporarily – Remove certain friends’ posts from your notifications without unfollowing them.
- Follow posts you’ve interacted with – Get notified about additional activity on posts you’ve already liked or commented on.
- Turn off live video notifications – Disable notifications about friends going live if they clutter your notifications.
Taking the time to customize your notifications from friends ensures you get relevant updates without constant barrage of notifications. Adjust settings until you find your ideal notification configuration.
Manage notifications from the news feed
In addition to posts from friends, you may see notifications for trending stories, videos and posts popular across Facebook. To manage these types of notifications:
- Go to “Settings & Privacy” then “Settings.”
- Click on “Notifications.”
- Under the “Posts” section, adjust notifications settings for “Posts, photos and videos in News Feed.”
- Turn notifications off for “Most Talked About Today” and other sections you don’t need alerts for.
This will prevent non-essential notifications from cluttering up your notifications tab and streamline it to posts you really care about.
Other notification settings to check
In addition to notifications from friends’ posts, here are some other Facebook notification settings you may want to review and adjust:
Facebook Live notifications
Control settings for when friends go live,when videos are posted, and other Facebook Live notifications under the “Live Videos” section in Settings.
Groups
Choose which groups you want notifications for when new posts are shared in the group under the Groups section.
Pages
Enable or disable notifications from Pages you follow so you’re updated on new posts and videos.
Events
Tweak whether you get notified about event invites, schedule changes, cancelations, and other event activity.
Sales and promotions
Opt out of getting notifications about sales, deals, product releases, and other promotions from Pages and advertisers.
Comment and engagement notifications
Control notifications you get when someone engages with your posts through comments, reactions, shares, etc.
Facebook app notifications
Enable/disable notifications from Facebook apps like Messenger, Dating, Marketplace, and more under the “Apps and Websites” section.
How to mute Facebook notifications
Need a break from Facebook notifications? You have a couple options to mute or temporarily turn off all notifications:
- Mute notifications – Access quick settings by swiping down from the top of the screen on mobile or clicking the down arrow at the top right on desktop. Select “Mute Notifications” for up to 8 hours of peace and quiet.
- Turn off notifications – Dive into the settings menu and toggle off all notification sections. Just remember to turn them back on when ready.
- Unfollow friends – Stop seeing certain friends’ posts in your feed or notifications by unfollowing them.
Muting or turning off notifications can help you take a break from the social networking barrage.
Conclusion
Staying on top of your friends’ updates on Facebook is easy with post notifications enabled. Just turn on notifications for “Friends’ posts” in your settings and you’ll never miss another life update, funny video, or viral post from your social circle.
But be sure to customize notifications to suit your needs – it’s easy to get overwhelmed! Follow tips to mute friends, prioritize close connections, and manage news feed notifications. With the right notification settings, Facebook can keep you connected without the constant distraction.
| Notification Type | How to Customize |
|---|---|
| Friends’ posts | Pick specific friends or “Favorites” only |
| News feed posts | Turn off notifications from “Most Talked About Today” etc. |
| Facebook Live | Adjust notifications for live videos from friends |
| Groups | Choose which groups to get notifications for |
| Pages | Turn Page notifications on or off as desired |
| Events | Manage event invitation and update notifications |
| Promotions | Opt out of sales, deals, ads, etc. |
| Comment notifications | Control notifications when people engage with your posts |
With the right notification settings, you’ll stay up-to-date on Facebook without information overload. Follow these tips and you’ll never miss an exciting update from your friends again!