Facebook is a social network that many users enjoy using to stay in touch with family, friends, and loved ones. Within Facebook, we have Facebook Messenger, its own messaging service. And, just like on WhatsApp, we all have that one friend who basically uses us to spam us. That friend you see twice a year who keeps sending you messages about an event they've organized or some lame chain message accompanied by the latest rumor. And of course, you don't want to receive their messages—because you've never spoken to them, obviously—but you also don't want to block them, because if you do, they'll get angry. Is there anything you can do about it? Yes. Facebook Messenger offers this option, so you can stop receiving constant messages through Facebook Messenger without having to block or unfriend any user on this social network. Today we'll explain how you can do it in a few simple steps.
How to silence notifications in Messenger?
Before explaining how you can stop receiving any message through a conversation with said person via Facebook chat, we want to give you a less drastic and equally functional option.
If you're worried that you might miss something important amidst all the messages from this user, you can choose to mute their notifications . This will keep the chat with them in your conversation list, and you'll continue to receive these messages, which will accumulate, but you won't receive any notifications from this conversation. This is especially useful when you have a friend who bombards you with messages you're not interested in, but occasionally asks you a question. And of course, when that person sees that they're asking you questions and you never answer them, they'll realize you've muted them. And on the internet, muting is almost as bad as blocking. If this is your situation, follow these steps:
How to mute Facebook Messenger notifications: on Android and iOS
We start with the place where the most users probably use the Facebook Messenger service: the mobile phone.
- Open the Facebook Messenger app on your phone and find the conversation with the person you want to remove notifications from.
- Swipe this chat from right to left. Here you will see 3 options that are displayed. Click on the bell.
- In this panel that has appeared, it gives us the option to silence notifications for a certain time or, if you wish, in the form uninterrupted.
From now on, this person will be able to send you all the messages they want without them bothering you with the typical Messenger sound or with a floating window. From time to time, you can open his chat, look at what he has sent you and reply if you feel like it.
How to mute Facebook Messenger notifications from the browser
If you want to do this from the web version on your computer, it will be as simple as following these steps:
- Find the conversation with that user.
- Click on their name to display the chat settings.
- Select the option of 'mute conversation' to achieve the same result in the web version of Facebook Messenger.
How to ignore a conversation in Messenger
If you're determined to completely stop receiving messages from this user, you should know that they won't be able to tell they're being ignored, and you won't see any of their constant messages in your usual contact list . However, if this person sends you message after message without receiving a response, they should obviously understand that something is wrong. On the other hand, the chat with this "annoying" friend won't disappear; it will simply be stored in a location out of your view, but we'll talk about that later.
How to ignore messages on Facebook Messenger: on Android and iOS
To ignore a conversation with a specific person within the Facebook Messenger app , simply follow these steps:
- Access the conversation with said user from your mobile.
- Once inside, click on the username of this person to display the settings of this conversation.
- Now, from this new menu, you will be able to see the option to "Ignore messages". Tap it to activate this feature.
- Finally, in the pop-up text, confirms your decision by clicking on "Ignore".
How to ignore messages on Facebook Messenger from the browser
However, you may be more of using this social network through the browser. Therefore, if you want to ignore a conversation from a specific person, you just have to follow these steps:
- Log into your Facebook account as you normally would.
- Now go to the sidebar and access the messenger conversation of said person. You can do this by clicking on the messenger icon in the top bar, or by locating the name of said person in this list and clicking on their name, redirect you to the conversation.
- With said chat open, now you only have to go to the settings of this conversation. These are activated by clicking on the “i” icon.
- Then access the “Privacy and help” menu, and enter the “Ignore messages” section.
- The popup window informs you what will happen from now on. You just have to confirm your decision by clicking on “Ignore messages”.
From now on, any messages you receive from this person will not only stop bothering you with sounds or pop-ups, but you won't even see them in your Messenger conversation list. The process on the desktop version is identical to muting, but in this case, you must click on "Ignore messages ." It's that easy to ignore that annoying friend we all have on this social network.
How to turn off 'ignore messages' on Facebook
If after some time you regret ignoring this person and want to disable this option , you should know that it's incredibly easy. Just follow these steps using the Messenger app on your mobile phone :
- Click on the chat browser as you normally would to start a new chat.
- Write the username of that person who, at the time, you "blocked". Click on his profile to access the conversation.
- Once here, and on the writing box to send messages, you will see that Facebook itself tells us that if we want to stop ignoring this person, we will only have to send them a message.
If you do it through the browser , the process is quite similar:
- Go into Messenger.
- Within this section, instead of looking for the name of the person in the search engine, click on the icon to create a new message (the pencil with the paper).
- In the "To:" line where you must choose who to send said message to is where you will have to write the name of said person.
- Being inside the conversation, on the writing bar, Facebook itself tells us that if we talk to this person, the ignored messages will end. Write him anything.
And that's it, we'll be able to receive messages from our friend on this social network again and everything will be like it was at the beginning, although we will once again be subject to his constant messages through Facebook Messenger.
Frequent questions and doubts
At this point, some extra questions may arise. Let's try to solve them one by one.
Can it be applied to groups?
Very good question. If you have a very active group in which you never participate and the notifications bother you, you can also silence it by doing the same process from both the smartphone and the browser. The ideal would be to leave that group, but again, that may annoy some user. By following the same steps, you can apply this setting to a group of users.
Can you see my status?
If you ignore a user on Facebook Messenger, they'll see your status the same as if they didn't have the ignored status. This is both positive and negative. By being able to see your activity, they won't feel left out. However, if he sees that you are online and talks to you and you never respond, he will become suspicious.
Can you call me?
Another very good question. What happens if a user who is ignored calls me through the application? Well, they will call you and you will hear the typical ringtones. After a few seconds, the notification that you did not pick up the call will appear. And you will not receive any type of notification. So the answer is a bit ambiguous: they can call you, but they won't be able to bother you with the call, as you will never be notified.