Having too many Facebook notifications can be overwhelming. With hundreds of notifications coming in each day from comments, messages, friend requests, and more, it’s easy to feel bogged down. While you can clear individual notifications, is there a way to clear all Facebook notifications at once?
Managing Facebook Notifications
Facebook provides users with basic options for managing notifications. You can turn off notifications altogether, or choose which types of notifications you want to receive. For example, you can disable notifications about comments, but keep getting notified for messages and event invites.
You can also manage notifications for specific people and pages. Go to a person or page’s profile, click the “Follow” button, and adjust the notification settings. Turn notifications off entirely or select “See First” to always see posts from important people at the top of your feed.
Clearing Individual Notifications
To clear one notification, simply click on it. The notification will disappear once you’ve seen the related content. However, this can be time consuming if you have hundreds of notifications to clear.
You can remove notifications in bulk by holding down the Shift key (or Command key on Mac) and selecting multiple notifications at once. You can then click the “Mark as Read” icon to clear them.
The downside to this method is that you have to scroll through and manually select notifications. Again, for those with hundreds piled up, this takes a lot of time.
Unfollowing Pages and People
One way to cut down on notifications is to unfollow pages and people who are less important. Their notifications will stop showing up in your feed.
To unfollow a page, go to its profile and click “Following.” Then click “Unfollow.” For individual Facebook friends, you can “Unfollow” them in the same way by going to their profile.
While unfollowing may reduce notifications, you have to do it manually for each page or person. And you may not want to fully unfollow some pages that you like to check occasionally.
Is There a “Clear All” Option?
Many Facebook users want a “Clear All” button to instantly get rid of every notification. Unfortunately, this option does not currently exist. Facebook has not provided a one-click way to clear all notifications at once.
Some users wish Facebook would add a “Mark All as Read” button, similar to what email services like Gmail provide. But so far, Facebook has not implemented such a feature.
Why No “Clear All” Option?
Facebook likely has a few reasons for not offering a single clear all button:
- They want you to actually look at each notification. This increased engagement is good for their business.
- It could lead to accidental clearing of important notifications that users want to keep.
- The feature could be abused by bots to automatically clear notifications.
While inconvenient for users, Facebook seems intent on keeping notifications more difficult to clear in bulk.
Workarounds to Clear Many Notifications
While there’s no universal clear all button, you can leverage browser extensions or apps to help bulk clear Facebook notifications:
- Social Book Post Manager – Provides a “Clear All” option for notifications.
- FB Purity – Browser extension allows clearing all notifications at once.
- FBPeeper – Third party app with bulk notification clearing.
However, be aware when using third party tools that they may have access to your data. Use reputable, secure apps to avoid privacy and security issues.
Managing Ongoing Notification Volume
In addition to clearing your current notifications, you can take some steps to manage notification volume going forward:
- Turn off notifications from pages and people who are less important
- Limit how many friends can follow you or see your posts
- Post less frequently if you don’t want a lot of interaction
- Check notifications less frequently, like once a day
- Mute groups and events so you aren’t notified of every comment
- Turn off certain notification types globally
Tweaking your notification settings takes some trial and error. Evaluate what types of notifications are most useful to you and limit the rest.
Third Party Notification Managers
These apps provide more robust preferences for notifications:
- Social Agent – Fine-tuned notification filters
- Swipe for Facebook – Mute Page notifications
- Friendly for Facebook – Snooze or turn off notifications
Research different apps to find one with the right set of preferences to control your notifications.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key points to remember about clearing Facebook notifications:
| Option | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Clear individually | – Precise control | – Time consuming |
| Unfollow pages/people | – Reduces future notifications | – Have to unfollow each one |
| Browser extensions | – Clear all at once | – Security/privacy risks |
| Manage preferences | – Ongoing control | – Trial and error to get right |
While Facebook doesn’t have a native “Clear All” feature, various workarounds can help you clean up and control your notifications. Take time to find the right notification preferences for a less cluttered experience.
Conclusion
Facebook notifications can quickly pile up and feel overwhelming. While Facebook doesn’t provide a single clear all button, you have options to remove notifications in bulk or limit ongoing notifications through settings and third party tools. Striking the right balance for your preferences takes some experimentation. But with a few tweaks, you can stay on top of the notifications that matter without all the clutter.