Facebook chat popping up can be annoying and disruptive. There are a few main reasons why this happens and some steps you can take to prevent it from occurring.
You Have Notifications Enabled
The most common reason Facebook chat keeps popping up is because you have notifications enabled for Messenger. Facebook’s default setting is to alert you with a pop-up notification each time you receive a new message. This allows you to see and respond to messages in real time, but can also be distracting if you get a lot of messages.
To disable chat pop-ups, go to your Facebook settings and scroll down to the “Notifications” section. Under “Chat app and SMS”, toggle off the option for “New Messages”. You can also customize the notifications to only be sounds or icon badges if you still want to be alerted to new messages without the pop-up.
Use Do Not Disturb Mode
Another option is to use Facebook’s Do Not Disturb mode. This lets you mute all notifications for a set period of time. To enable it, open the Messenger app and tap your profile photo. Then select “Turn On Do Not Disturb” and choose 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, or indefinite.
Do Not Disturb blocks notifications so you will not see any chat pop-ups. You can still open Messenger and view new messages normally. Just keep in mind any messages received during Do Not Disturb will come through as notifications after you turn it off again.
Log Out of Messenger
Logging out of Messenger is another simple way to stop chat pop-ups temporarily. Just open the Messenger app, go to your profile, and select “Log Out”. This keeps you logged into Facebook but signs you out of just Messenger. You can log back in anytime to access your messages again.
You Have Unread Messages
Outside of notifications, the other main reason Facebook chat pops up is due to having unread messages. Messenger wants to remind you to check and respond to conversations with new messages waiting.
Even with notifications disabled, the app will flash up a chat pop-up from time to time if you have not opened recent messages. This is its way of persisting until you view the unread conversations.
Mark All As Read
To stop the unread message pop-ups, you simply need to open the messages. You can click on each chat individually and read new messages, or use the “Mark All As Read” option.
In Messenger, tap your profile photo and select “Mark All As Read”. This clears all unread statuses at once. You can also tap and hold a chat, then select “Mark as read” to clear unread messages from specific conversations.
Mute Conversations
If you do not necessarily want to read all pending messages, muting conversations is a good workaround. Open a chat, tap the name at the top, and select “Mute notifications”. This stops that conversation from triggering any pop-ups until you unmute it again.
You can also mute conversations by swiping left on the chat in your main messages list. Muting chats you are not ready to read prevents the app from reminding you about unread messages.
You Have Unseen Active Status
Facebook also creates chat pop-ups when you have unseen “Active Status” from friends and contacts. Active Status shows when someone was last using Messenger, even if they did not send you a message.
Seeing this pop-up is Facebook’s way of alerting you that a contact is currently online and available to chat. However, it can create unwanted disturbances if you do not actually want to message that person.
Disable Active Status
If you do not want to be notified about other people’s activity on Messenger, you can disable Active Status. Go to your Messenger settings, privacy, and toggle off “Active Status”.
This prevents your real-time activity from being shown to others. It also stops their Active Status from triggering chat pop-ups on your end. As a result, you will no longer get notifications about users simply being online or using Messenger if you have disabled it.
Ignore Active Status
Another option is to leave Active Status on for your contacts, but ignore the pop-ups it creates. When you get an Active Status alert, just close out of it without opening the conversation.
Over time, Facebook’s algorithm will learn you do not engage with these notifications. As a result, you may notice the Active Status pop-ups happen less frequently the more often you dismiss them.
You Have a Browser Extension
If you notice Facebook chat keeps popping up even with notifications disabled, it could be due to having a browser extension installed.
Some third party extensions are designed to override Facebook’s settings and create desktop notifications for messages. Examples include FB Purity, Social Fixer, and Firefox Hello.
Check your browser extensions and remove any you do not want causing chat pop-ups. Disable or uninstall them to stop getting notifications when Facebook chat is closed on your computer.
Adjust Extension Settings
In some cases, you may want to keep the browser extension but disable the notifications. Look for options to toggle off pop-ups, chat message alerts, or Facebook-related notifications specifically.
For example, Social Fixer has a “Disable Toast Notifications” setting under Miscellaneous Options to prevent automated pop-ups. Adjusting extension configurations can allow you to customize what alerts you see.
Use Incognito Mode
As another workaround, try using your browser’s incognito or private mode with Facebook. Extensions are generally disabled by default in incognito windows.
Open an incognito tab whenever you want to check Facebook without distractions from chat pop-ups. Just keep in mind you’ll have to re-enable any desired extensions again when going back to regular browsing.
You Have Multiple Tabs Open
Do you notice chat pop-ups seeming to happen randomly, even when Facebook is minimized or in the background of your desktop? This can occur when you have multiple tabs open.
Facebook sends notifications to whichever browser tab is currently viewing the site. If you have FB open in 2 tabs, it may default to popping up notifications in the background tab you are not actively viewing.
Close Extra Tabs
Try closing out all Facebook tabs except the one you are currently using. Limit it to only a single window to avoid chat boxes appearing in the wrong place at random.
With just one tab open, Facebook has only that singular page to send notifications to. This prevents mixed signals where pop-ups display in the wrong inactive browser tab.
Disable Tab Notifications
Some browsers also have settings to disable tab notifications when a page is not the current focused tab. For example, Chrome has a “Do Not Disturb” setting to block notifications from minimized tabs.
Using this stops Facebook from sending chat pop-ups to tabs that are in the background. The notifications will only come through on your active viewing tab instead.
You Have Notifications Enabled On Mobile
Chat pop-ups can also originate from your mobile notifications and sync across devices. If you get a lot of Facebook notifications on your phone, they may carry over to desktop as well.
Disable Mobile Notifications
Go into the Facebook app settings on your iOS or Android device and turn off notifications for Messenger and any other categories you do not need. This stops them from pushing to your desktop when using Facebook in browser.
You can also put your phone on Do Not Disturb to mute all notifications temporarily. Just be sure to check your messages in the Messenger app directly when ready.
Log Out of Mobile
Similarly, logging out of the Facebook app on mobile prevents any notifications from syncing across platforms. Open mobile settings, manage account, and select “Log Out”.
When logged back in on desktop only, you can avoid most mobile-originated chat pop-ups. Messages will remain in your mobile Messenger, just mute until mobile is enabled again.
You Have Unseen Facebook Alerts
Beyond just Messenger, chat pop-ups can also be triggered by other Facebook notifications you have not viewed. For example, friend requests, event invites, Page notifications, and other alerts.
Facebook tries to catch your attention on these by flashing Messenger chat boxes, even if you do not have unread messages. It essentially hijacks the chat function to remind you to check notifications.
View All Notifications
To stop chat pop-ups from other Facebook alerts, open the notifications menu and catch up on any you’ve missed. On desktop, click the globe icon and on mobile use the bell icon.
Read through and interact with any outstanding notifications. Mark all as read when finished so there are no “unseen” items left that could trigger more chat pop-ups.
Disable Specific Notification Types
If there are certain Facebook notification categories you always want muted, customize those settings. Go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, and click Notifications in the left menu.
Here you can toggle off notification types you do not need cluttering up your feed or causing chat pop-ups. Disable friend requests, event invites, Page notifications, or others based on your preferences.
You Have Unclosed Pop-Ups
Sometimes Facebook chat can seem to popup constantly if you have an existing pop-up that did not close out properly. When a chat box bugs and gets stuck open, it can trigger more pop-ups endlessly.
Hard Refresh the Page
Try doing a hard refresh of the Facebook tab to reset things. In Chrome, hold shift and click the refresh icon to reload the full page. In Firefox, hold shift and press R.
This clears out any glitched chat pop-ups that may be causing new ones to stack. The reset should return Facebook to a clean state without anything stuck.
Clear Cache and Cookies
Check that browser data is not the culprit. In your settings, clear cookies and cached images and files for Facebook. Close browser fully and reopen to reset.
This wiping of Facebook’s temporary data erases any corrupted items that could be循环 msg with glitched chat boxes. A clean cache and new cookies help prevent pop-up issues.
You Have a Virus or Malware
Persistent Facebook chat pop-ups could potentially indicate malware, viruses, or spyware on your computer. Malicious software can create fake chat boxes to try to trick you.
Run Antivirus Scans
Scan your computer with updated antivirus software to check for any infections. Malwarebytes and Spybot are good options. Delete anything harmful detected.
Restart your device after cleaning to clear out any malicious background processes disrupting Facebook. Chat pop-ups caused by viruses should disappear after removing the infection.
Avoid Suspicious Links
Be careful opening links in email, messages, and online ads before verifying they are legitimate. Phishing sites can install Trojans to takeover browser functions, like forcing chat pop-ups.
Stick to trusted, known sources and watch for secure HTTPS sites to help avoid malware. Use common sense browsing to prevent viruses that could cause chat box issues.
You Have Connection Issues
Problems with your internet connectivity can also lead tofrequently recurring chat pop-ups and notifications.
Check Your Network
Make sure you have a stable WiFi or wired ethernet connection. Switch networks or restart your modem and router if needed. Weak signals can disrupt Facebook’s notifications.
Disable VPNs and proxies as they add extra hops that may interfere with Facebook’s real-time communication. Test your internet speed to confirm it is adequate and not throttled.
Reset Browser
With browser closed, delete cookies and cache again as network issues could also corrupt temporary Facebook data. When reopening, ensure other bandwidth-heavy apps are closed.
Try Facebook in a different browser as well. Connection problems may be interfering with chat popup functions in a specific app. See if another works more smoothly.
Facebook Is Having Issues
It is also possible the recurrent chat pop-ups are actually due to bugs or glitches on Facebook’s end.
Check Facebook Status
Go to Facebook’s system status page or check its Twitter account to see if they have reported any known issues. Ongoing outages could disrupt notification functions.
You can also search Facebook Help Community to see if others are recently complaining about similar problems with chat popups. Widespread complaints suggest a platform-side bug.
Wait It Out
If Facebook is having technical difficulties, hang tight until it is resolved. Persistent site errors can cause notifications to repeat until fixed. Just ride it out or use Facebook less until chat works normally again.
You can try the troubleshooting steps above later to see if it was a wider problem vs an isolated issue on your end impacting chat popups.
Conclusion
Facebook’s chat feature popping up unexpectedly can be annoying. But in most cases, it simply means you need to adjust a few settings and notifications to prevent it.
Disable Messenger notifications, mute conversations, check for unseen alerts, close extra tabs, and fix potential malware issues. Tackle connection problems or wait out Facebook glitches.
With the right troubleshooting, you can stop Facebook chat from randomly popping up and stay focused. A few tweaks can quickly mute unwanted distractions from incoming messages so you only see new chats when intended.