Facebook notifications are an important part of the Facebook experience, allowing users to stay up-to-date on activity from their friends, Pages they follow, and groups they are members of. Notifications appear in the notifications tab on Facebook and can also be configured to send push notifications to a user’s mobile device. Understanding how Facebook notifications work can help users better manage their notifications and customize their Facebook experience.
What Triggers a Facebook Notification?
There are a variety of actions on Facebook that can trigger a notification for a user. Some of the most common notification triggers include:
- When someone tags you in a post or comment
- When someone likes or comments on your post
- When someone accepts your friend request
- When you are invited to an event
- When it is your Facebook friend’s birthday
- When someone sends you a private message
- When someone adds you to a group
- When a Page you follow posts an update
- When someone starts following you
- When a group you are a member of has new activity
Essentially any interaction that directly involves your profile or content has the potential to trigger a notification. This helps ensure you don’t miss important activity that relates to you on Facebook.
Notification Settings
Facebook allows you to customize your notification settings so you only receive notifications about the type of activities you want to be notified about. To customize your settings:
- Click the arrow icon in the top right corner
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Settings”
- Select “Notifications” on the left side menu
From here you can toggle notifications on or off for the different notification triggers. For example, you can turn off notifications about event invites but keep notifications about messages and tags on. You can also choose whether you want push notifications sent to your mobile device for each notification type.
Notification Display
When you receive a notification, there are a couple different places it can be displayed:
- Notifications tab – A red number over the notifications icon at the top shows the number of new notifications you have. You can click this icon to view a drop down list of your latest notifications.
- Activity Log – Your notifications are also compiled in your activity log, which can be accessed by clicking the notifications icon then selecting “View All.”
- Mobile push notifications – If you have push notifications enabled, you will receive a mobile alert for certain notification types.
Notifications will stay in your notifications tab and activity log until you click on them. Once clicked, they will no longer appear as new/unread notifications.
Notification Types
Facebook separates notifications into a few different categories based on the type of interaction:
- Interactions – Likes, comments, shares on your posts
- Mentions – Being tagged, messages, and other mentions of your name
- Connections – Friend requests, new followers, event invites, etc.
- Groups and Pages – Updates from groups and Pages you follow
- Other Activity – Game requests, recommender notifications, fundraisers, Weather notifications, etc.
Being able to categorize notifications makes it easier to manage different types of notifications based on your preferences.
Common Notification Questions
How do I turn off a specific notification?
Go to Settings > Notifications and toggle off the notification triggers you don’t want. You can be very granular in your choices.
Why am I not getting notifications from a Page I followed?
Double check that you have notifications from Pages enabled in your Settings. Also make sure you hit “Follow” on the Page and not just “Like.” Pages can only send notifications to followers.
Can I get notifications by text?
Facebook doesn’t have an official way to get text notifications. However, there are third-party apps like IFTTT that can link your Facebook notifications to SMS text messages.
Why do I only see notifications from a certain period of time?
If you haven’t clicked on notifications in a while, Facebook will only show you notifications from the past 30 days in your Activity Log. Interactions older than that won’t show up.
Can I get notifications about someone else’s activity?
No, you can only get notifications about content and interactions that directly involve you or pages/groups you are a part of. You cannot subscribe to notifications from other users.
Managing Notifications
Here are some tips for managing notifications:
- Turn off push notifications for low priority updates
- Check notifications frequently so they don’t pile up
- Consider muting conversations instead of turning off notifications entirely
- Designate specific times to check notifications
- Use filters to view only certain notification types
- Limit notifications from Groups you aren’t very active in
Staying on top of your notifications takes some work, but curating them can greatly improve your Facebook experience. The customization settings give you granular control to show only what matters most to you.
Conclusion
Facebook notifications allow users to monitor activity and conversations across Facebook. Notifications are triggered by interactions that involve your profile, posts, or friends. You can customize notification settings to control which types of activities generate notifications. Notifications appear in the notifications tab, activity log, and optionally as push notifications on mobile. Keeping notifications relevant and turning off unwanted ones helps optimize your Facebook notification experience.