Facebook can send a lot of emails, from notifications to marketing messages, and it can feel overwhelming trying to stop them all. The good news is you have control over what emails Facebook sends you. With a few adjustments in your settings, you can minimize the emails you get from Facebook.
Why does Facebook send so many emails?
Facebook sends different types of emails for different purposes:
- Notification emails – These include friend request notifications, notifications when someone tags you, group invitations, etc.
- Security emails – These include login notifications, notices of suspicious activity, etc.
- Marketing emails – These include announcements, newsletters, offers or ads from Facebook.
- Messages – Email notifications when you get new messages on Facebook Messenger.
You likely signed up for many of these notifications when you created your account. Facebook also enables certain types of emails by default, so you may be getting more than you realized.
How to stop Facebook notification emails
If you want to keep using Facebook but stop the influx of notification emails, here’s how:
- Go to your Facebook settings
- Click on “Notifications” in the left sidebar
- Scroll down to “Email”
- Here you can toggle off notifications for:
- Comments on your posts
- Tags on your posts
- Likes and reactions to your posts
- Friend requests
- Video chat requests
- Event reminders
- Page notifications
This will disable emails for all these notification types. You can also click on each category to customize more specifically what emails you receive.
How to stop Facebook marketing emails
To stop non-essential emails from Facebook like promotions, trending stories, and newsletter subscriptions:
- Go to your Facebook settings
- Click “Emails and notifications” in the left sidebar
- Under “Emails from Facebook” click “Edit Preferences”
- This will show all the types of marketing emails Facebook may send you. Click “Unsubscribe” on any categories you don’t want.
Some common marketing email types you can disable include:
- Facebook News Feed emails
- Facebook highlights emails
- Requests to follow new friends
- Trending story digests
- Sales, offers and promotions
Disable any types you no longer wish to get. This will massively cut down on promotional and newsletter emails from Facebook.
How to stop Facebook Messenger emails
If you’re tired of getting an email every time someone messages you on Facebook Messenger, here’s how to stop them:
- Open the Facebook Messenger app
- Tap your profile picture
- Go to “Notifications and sounds”
- Tap “Email notifications”
- Toggle off “Get notifications via Email”
This will stop Messenger from sending you email notifications when you receive new messages. You can also tweak these settings to only get emails for specific people.
How to stop Facebook security emails
Facebook security emails, like login notifications, are sent to help protect your account. It’s usually best to keep receiving them, but you can stop them if needed:
- Go to Facebook Settings
- Click “Security and login”
- Click “Edit” next to “Get alerts about unrecognized logins”
- Toggle off the email notification toggle
This will stop security alert emails. However, this means you won’t know if someone logs into your account from a suspicious location. It’s better to leave these on for safety.
How to stop specific Facebook email types
You can also manage your Facebook email subscriptions at a more granular level:
- Click the downward arrow at the top right of Facebook
- Select “Settings & privacy” > “Settings”
- Click “Notifications”
This will show all your different notification options. Click “Edit preferences” on each category to customize exactly which emails you get.
For example, under Friend Requests you can toggle emails on or off for:
- When you have a new friend request
- When you accept/reject a friend request
- When a friend accepts your friend request
- When someone follows you
The more detailed you get, the fewer irrelevant emails you’ll receive.
Use Facebook email digests
If you don’t want to fully disable email notifications, Facebook offers a “Daily Notification Digest” and “Weekly Notification Digest” option.
This condenses all your notifications into one daily or weekly email, rather than sending them in real time.
To enable digest emails:
- Go to Facebook Settings
- Click “Notifications”
- Toggle “Daily Notification Digest” or “Weekly Notification Digest” on
You can still customize the types of notifications included in the digests. This is a good way to stay updated while limiting emails.
Conclusion
While Facebook sends different types of emails for various purposes, you have full control to customize what you receive. The key steps are:
- Disable marketing emails you don’t need
- Toggle off notification types you don’t want
- Opt out of Messenger and security emails if desired
- Fine tune notifications at a granular level
- Enable digest emails for bundled notifications
With a little time spent adjusting your preferences, you can keep your Facebook email inbox under control. The platform gives you all the settings you need to stop any emails you don’t want or need.
FAQ
Can I stop all Facebook emails permanently?
You can disable almost all Facebook emails, but some critical security-related emails cannot be turned off completely. These include emails about suspicious logins or major account changes.
What’s the difference between disabling emails and deactivating my Facebook account?
Disabling emails keeps your account active but stops non-essential emails. Deactivating your account temporarily closes your account and stops all emails, but you can later reactivate it. Permanently deleting your account closes it forever.
What if I’m still getting Facebook emails after disabling them?
Double check your email notification settings. Some may have re-enabled after an update. Also check your email inbox settings – some emails like Messenger notifications could be going to your Social or Promotions folders.
Can I get notifications on my phone but not via email?
Yes, the email and in-app/push notifications settings are separate. You can disable email notifications only under the Email section of Facebook’s notification settings.
What’s the best way to manage essential Facebook emails?
Use email digests and fine tune notifications to minimize non-essential emails. Enable priority notifications like security alerts and filter Facebook emails into a separate folder to better manage them.
| Notification Type | Purpose | Email Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Comments | When someone comments on your posts | Per comment |
| Likes/Reactions | When someone likes or reacts to your posts | Per interaction |
| Friend Requests | When you get a new friend request | Per request |
| Event Reminders | Reminders about upcoming events you marked “Interested” in | Daily or weekly digests |
| Page Notifications | Updates from pages you follow | Per update |
| Messenger Emails | When you get a new message | Per message |
| Login Notifications | If someone logs into your account from a new location | Per login |
This table summarizes some of the most common Facebook notification emails, why you get them, and how frequently they are sent.
How to manually clean up your Facebook emails
If your Facebook email inbox is already flooded, here are some steps to clean it up manually:
- Select all Facebook emails
- Click “Mark as read” to clear notifications
- Click “Select all” then click “Delete” to mass delete Facebook emails
- Consider adding Facebook emails to your spam list or filtering them into a separate folder
- Unsubscribe from any Facebook mailing lists
- Report any unwanted marketing emails as spam
Doing a mass cleanup of your overloaded Facebook inbox can give you a fresh start before adjusting your email settings.
Use an email organizer tool
An email management tool like Unroll.me can help organize your Facebook notifications.
Features that help keep Facebook emails under control:
- One click unsubscribe from Facebook emails
- Roll up Facebook notifications into a daily Digest
- Sweep Facebook emails into a separate folder
- Easily manage Facebook subscriptions and preferences
- Schedule email cleanups to keep inbox tidy
Email organizer tools streamline controlling your Facebook email notifications and provide customization options.
Outlook rules for Facebook emails
If you use Outlook for email, you can set up inbox rules to automatically filter Facebook notifications:
- In Outlook, go to Home > Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts
- Click New Rule
- Under Step 1 select “Apply rule on messages I receive”
- Under Step 2 select “sent to” and your email address, click next
- Under Step 3 select “where the From line contains” and enter Facebook
- Under Step 1 select desired action like Delete, Archive, Categorize, etc.
- Give rule a name and click Finish
Now Facebook emails will be automatically filtered based on your rule. You can make multiple rules for different types of Facebook mail.
Use Gmail filters
Gmail also lets you auto-filter Facebook emails using filters:
- Open Gmail and click the gear icon
- Select Settings
- Go to Filters and Blocked Addresses
- Click Create a New Filter
- Enter from:facebookmail.com in the From field
- Choose your action like Delete, Archive, Mark as Read, etc.
- Click Create Filter
Now Facebook emails will be automatically handled based on your filter. Add multiple filters to customize sorting.
Adjust Facebook email frequency
Rather than fully disabling Facebook emails, you can adjust the frequency to control the volume:
- Standard email: Sent in real time as notifications occur.
- Daily digest: Get one email per day consolidating notifications.
- Weekly digest: Get a single weekly email summary.
- Periodic emails like monthly security digests.
- Email updates for specific things only like messages, events or friend requests.
Choose the right email frequency to balance staying updated without overload.
Use the Facebook app
The Facebook mobile app allows granular control over notifications. Things you can customize:
- In-app notifications on/off toggle
- Notification sounds
- Pop-up vs hidden notifications
- Vibrate on notifications
- Notifications from people, groups, pages, etc
Get notifications within the app only rather than via email. Mute specific types of notifications.
Re-engage with Facebook intentionally
If you’ve taken a break because of overwhelming notifications, ease back into Facebook mindfully:
- Gradually re-enable notifications that add value
- Limit logins to set times to avoid constant checks
- Install app blockers to restrict access during certain hours
- Snooze friends or groups temporarily if needed
- Schedule a weekly “Facebook catch up” instead of daily use
Being intentional with your time lowers the chance of notification fatigue.
Notify contacts about disabling notifications
If you disable certain notifications like messages or comments, consider posting a status update or story letting your contacts know.
For example: “Hey friends, I’m cutting back on Facebook notifications for a digital detox. I’ll still respond but it may take some time.”
This avoids confusion if you take longer than normal to respond.
Use auto-reply to incoming messages
You can set up automatic replies to messages while email notifications are disabled.
On desktop:
- Go to facebook.com and click on the Messenger icon
- Click your profile photo and select “Turn on Auto-Reply”
- Type your custom auto-reply message
- Choose how long you want auto-reply on for
On mobile:
- Open the Messenger app
- Tap your profile photo
- Tap your name to open your profile
- Scroll down and tap “Auto Reply”
- Type your custom message
- Choose your auto-reply duration
Add an auto-reply to let people know you’re limited notifications.
Troubleshooting tips
- Double check all notification settings if emails persist
- Check your email spam and promotions folders
- Review settings for Pages and Groups you manage
- Make sure email updates from Facebook itself are disabled
- Check that message forwarding to email is disabled in Messenger
- Facebook may re-enable some emails after platform updates
Persistence with settings is key to stopping unwanted Facebook emails long term.