Facebook sends various types of email notifications to keep users engaged with the platform. While some of these emails can be useful, the constant influx of notifications from Facebook can quickly become overwhelming and clutter up your inbox.
If you use Gmail and want to turn off Facebook notifications, there are a few simple steps you can take. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through the various options for disabling Facebook emails in Gmail on both desktop and mobile.
Types of Facebook Email Notifications
Before diving into how to turn them off, let’s briefly go over some of the main notification emails Facebook may send to your Gmail account:
- New friend request notifications
- Notifications when you are tagged in a post or photo
- Group invitations and updates from groups you’ve joined
- Page recommendation emails
- Notifications about content you’ve engaged with on Facebook
- Messages from people on Messenger
- Security and login alerts
- Facebook News Feed digests and recaps
- Facebook events and reminders
- Notifications about Facebook features and products
As you can see, the notifications cover a wide range of Facebook activities. While some are useful reminders, the overall volume of emails can quickly become overwhelming.
How to Turn Off Facebook Notifications on Desktop
If you primarily use Gmail on your desktop, here are the steps to turn off Facebook email notifications:
- Open Gmail on your desktop and log into your account.
- Open any email from Facebook.
- Click the dropdown arrow next to the reply button.
- Select “Block [sender].”
- Confirm that you want to block all emails from [email protected].
Blocking this main Facebook notification email address will disable most notification emails from going to your Gmail inbox. However, you may still receive some emails from individual Facebook accounts or pages you’ve interacted with.
Customize Email Notifications in Facebook
For more granular control, you can also customize which types of Facebook notifications you receive:
- Go to Facebook.com and click on the down arrow at the top right.
- Select “Settings & Privacy” then click “Settings.”
- Click “Notifications” on the left side.
- Go through the various notification options and disable any types of emails you don’t want to receive.
Make sure to click “Save Changes” at the bottom when you are done customizing your notification settings.
How to Turn Off Facebook Notifications on Mobile
If you mainly use Gmail through the mobile app, here are steps to block Facebook notifications:
- Open the Gmail app and view any email from Facebook.
- Tap and hold the Facebook email.
- Tap the trash can icon to delete the email.
- Tap “Block [sender]” when prompted.
This will prevent additional notification emails from reaching your mobile Gmail inbox. You can also open Gmail in a mobile web browser to access the same blocking options available on desktop.
Other Ways to Control Facebook Notification Emails
In addition to blocking the Facebook notification sender, here are a couple other options for reducing Facebook emails in Gmail:
Mute Conversations
If you receive a lot of email threads from Facebook comments or messages, you can mute the conversations:
- Open the conversation thread in Gmail.
- Click the “More” drop down menu.
- Select “Mute” to stop receiving emails from that conversation.
Filter Facebook Emails
You can create filters in Gmail to automatically delete or archive Facebook notification emails:
- In Gmail search settings, click “Create new filter.”
- Enter “Facebook” in the From field.
- Choose “Delete it” or “Archive it.”
- Confirm the filter and it will auto-apply.
Unsubscribe
Look for an unsubscribe link at the bottom of Facebook emails and click it to opt-out of that specific type of notification.
Important Considerations
Here are a few important things to keep in mind when turning off Facebook’s email notifications:
- Blocking [email protected] will disable most emails but not all of them.
- It may take up to 10 days for Facebook to process unsubscribes and blocking.
- Facebook may still send messages about important account activity or security despite disabling notifications.
- Blocking emails won’t remove Facebook notifications from your actual Facebook account.
- Review your Facebook notification settings periodically in case new options are added.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you are still receiving Facebook notification emails after attempting to block them, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Double check that you blocked [email protected] and not just a single email.
- Try unsubscribing again from any new notification emails you receive.
- Ensure your Facebook notification settings are configured to disable emails.
- Wait a full 10 days for changes to take effect across Facebook’s systems.
- Consider deleting your Facebook account if you want to stop all emails.
Other Facebook Emails You Can’t Disable
There are a couple categories of “essential” Facebook emails that can’t be turned off:
- Password reset emails
- Account security notices
- Payments receipts (for purchases made on Facebook)
These emails are considered critical account communications that Facebook will continue sending as needed. However, you can reduce their frequency by enabling stronger login security features.
Using Third-Party Email Tools
If Facebook’s native options don’t fully disable notifications, another option is using third-party email management tools.
For example, tools like Unroll.me and Mixmax can unsubscribe you from Facebook notifications, and cleaner inboxes like Sanebox can automatically filter them out.
However, keep in mind you will have to grant access to your Gmail account when using third-party services.
Conclusion
We’ve covered the main techniques for turning off Facebook’s email notifications through Gmail on both desktop and mobile. The key steps include:
- Blocking [email protected]
- Customizing notification settings in Facebook
- Unsubscribing from specific notification types
- Muting notification conversations in Gmail
- Deleting and filtering Facebook emails
While Facebook’s notifications can be overwhelming, they occasionally include important account alerts. Consider selectively disabling notification types first before blocking emails entirely.
Implementing the recommendations in this guide will help you take control of distracting Facebook emails and keep your Gmail inbox clean!