Tip: find tons of messages you didn’t know existed inside Messenger’s secret folder

Facebook Messenger teaser 001

What if I told you that you most likely have tons of messages you didn’t even know existed, stowed away in a little-known folder on Facebook?

While messages from your Facebook friends and Messenger contacts are delivered straight to your inbox, the system filters out those it deems spam and tucks them away into a hidden vault.

Some of those filtered messages could be from a distant family member trying to re-connect with you. Others might be vitally important. If you suspect Facebook is hiding messages you should’ve been aware of, this tutorial will teach you how to access a treasure trove of messages that you never knew you had.

About Message Requests

They are calling this feature Message Requests.

“Message requests tell you when someone you’re not friends with on Facebook has sent you a message,” says the feature’s description. Message Requests from people you’re not connected to appear at the top of your inbox when you receive them on Messenger and Facebook. Message Requests which are classed as spam are buried in the Spam folder.

Facebook Messenger for iOS Filtered Requests iPhone screenshot 003

After opening a Message Request, you can choose Ignore to hide the conversation or select Accept to move the conversation to your inbox.

Sadly, you cannot disable this feature or elect to have each and every received message, even spammy ones, delivered straight to your inbox.

It’s solely your responsibility to check out Filtered Requests on a regular basis. You don’t want risk loosing a business over an important message that Facebook classed as spam or missing a message from a long lost friend, or many others you weren’t aware existed but might care about nonetheless.

Facebook Messenger for iOS Filtered Requests iPhone screenshot 004

For those wondering, before Facebook launched Message Requests, there was a very similar feature named the Other Inbox though very few people were aware of it because Facebook did a lousy job communicating it to users.

After Message Requests were introduced, Facebook simply migrated any unread messages in the Other Inbox to the Filtered section of Message Requests. But as spammy messages end up in a Spam folder, so it’s a small wonder users never find out about those past messages.

How to see Message Requests on Messenger for iPhone and iPad

1) Open Facebook Messenger on your iOS device.

2) Within the app, tap your profile at the top.

3) Select Message Requests.

If you want to see every message Facebook has filtered out on the grounds that they might be spam or you might not be interested in them, tap Spam.

Facebook Messenger for iOS Filtered Requests iPhone screenshot 005

You can now browse the treasure trove of hidden messages spanning years.

How to see Message Requests on Messenger.com

1) In your web browser, sign in at messenger.com.

2) Click Settings (the gear icon) in the upper left, then select Message Requests.

Facebook Messenger for web Filtered Requests screenshot 001

To see the entire archive of filtered messages, click See Spam.

How to see Message Requests on Facebook.com

1) In a web browser on your computer, sign in at Facebook.com.

2) Click the Messenger icon on the toolbar at the top.

3) Click Options (three dots) Message Requests next to New Message in the sidebar.

4) Now click the See Spam  to browse a full history of messages from people who aren’t connected to you on Facebook, but who Facebook thinks you might know.

Keep in mind that Message Requests are not available on the mobile Facebook app. That’s because Facebook has disabled messaging features on its mobile client, nudging users to download Messenger instead.

Mission: let your friends know about Message Requests

Message Requests uses Facebook’s spam detection algorithm.

“You’ll get messages in your inbox from people who you’re friends with on Facebook,” explains the company. “If you get a message from someone who we think you might know, you’ll get a message request. Spam messages are filtered out of your requests.”

Like many spam detection systems, it’s far from perfect. If the algorithm wrongly classes a Message Request as spam, it will be buried in the Filtered Requests section where it’s likely to end up unseen.

Facebook Messenger teaser 002

Having said that, we’re asking you to please help us spread the word and let your friends and support folks know about the existence of Filtered Requests.

By doing this together, we can push people to open their Filtered Requests and hopefully find long overdue or otherwise important messages received over the years.

If you this article was useful to you, check out our full tutorials archive.

Need help? Ask iDB!

Not sure how to do something on your Apple device?

Let us know at help@iDownloadBlog.com and our future tutorials might cover your specific problem and hopefully provide a solution.

You can submit your how-to suggestions at tips@iDownloadBlog.com.