Where to find email notification settings on Facebook

Facebook sends you emails about messages, friend requests, comments, and activity on your posts. You can turn off any or all of these emails without affecting the notifications that appear on Facebook itself — the bell icon alerts stay on if you want them to.

On desktop, go to the down arrow in the top right corner of Facebook, then select Settings and privacy, then Settings. On the left sidebar, click Notifications. You'll see a section called Email with a list of notification types. On mobile, the path is the same: tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), scroll to Settings and privacy, tap Settings, then Notifications, then Email.

The email notification settings page shows every type of message Facebook can email you about. Each one has a toggle or dropdown menu next to it. You control each type separately, so you can keep emails about messages from close friends while turning off emails about likes on old posts.

Key Takeaways

  • Email notifications are separate from on-site notifications — turning off emails does not silence the bell icon alerts on Facebook itself.
  • You can turn off all email notifications at once using the Unsubscribe from all option at the bottom of the Email section, or control each type individually.
  • Common email notification types include messages, friend requests, comments, likes, event invitations, and group activity — each has its own toggle.
  • If you turn off an email notification type, Facebook will not send you that email, but you can still see the activity when you log into Facebook.

Turning off specific types of email notifications

The most common email notifications are Messages, Friend Requests, Comments, Likes and Reactions, Event Invitations, and Group Activity. Each one appears as a separate line in your Email notification settings.

To turn off one type, click the toggle next to it or select Off from the dropdown menu if there is one. For example, if you want to stop receiving emails when someone comments on your posts but still get emails about messages, toggle Comments to off and leave Messages on. The change takes effect immediately — you won't receive that type of email going forward.

Some notification types have more than two options. For instance, Messages might let you choose between All messages, Messages from close friends, or Off. Read the options for each notification type to see if Facebook offers a middle ground instead of a simple on-or-off choice.

Turning off all email notifications at once

If you want to stop receiving all Facebook emails without going through each type individually, scroll to the bottom of the Email section and look for Unsubscribe from all or a similar option. Clicking this will turn off every email notification type at once.

Be aware that this is a broad action — you will not receive emails about messages, friend requests, comments, likes, events, or group activity. If you change your mind later, you can come back to this same page and turn specific notification types back on one at a time.

What happens after you turn off email notifications

When you turn off an email notification, Facebook stops sending you that type of email. You will not see it in your inbox. However, the activity itself still happens on Facebook — if someone comments on your post, the comment appears on your post when you log in. You just won't get an email telling you about it.

On-site notifications (the alerts that pop up or appear in the bell icon) are controlled separately from email notifications. Turning off an email notification does not turn off the bell icon alert. If you want to silence both the email and the on-site alert, you need to adjust your on-site notification settings in a different part of the Notifications menu.

Checking your email notification settings on mobile

Mobile settings work the same way as desktop, but the layout is slightly different. After you tap Notifications and then Email, you'll see the same list of notification types with toggles next to them. Tap the toggle to turn a notification type on or off.

On some mobile devices, the toggles may appear as switches that slide left (off) or right (on). On others, you may see dropdown menus instead. Either way, the function is the same — tap or slide to change the setting, and the change saves automatically.

Why Facebook sends you so many emails

Facebook's default settings send you emails about a wide range of activity. This is by design — the company wants to keep you engaged and aware of what's happening on the platform. The more emails you receive, the more likely you are to click back into Facebook and spend time there.

Many people find this overwhelming, especially if they have a lot of friends or are in active groups. Turning off email notifications is a straightforward way to reduce inbox clutter without leaving Facebook or losing access to the information — you can still see everything when you log in, you just won't be prompted by email.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I turn off email notifications, will my friends know?

No. Turning off email notifications is a private setting that only affects what you receive in your email inbox. Your friends cannot see whether you have email notifications on or off, and it does not change how you interact with Facebook or how they see your activity.

Can I turn off emails from one person but keep emails from everyone else?

Not through the main email notification settings. However, you can mute a specific person's messages or activity on Facebook itself, which will reduce the notifications you see on-site. For more granular control, some notification types offer options like Messages from close friends only, which lets you narrow down who triggers emails.

What if I turn off all email notifications and then want to turn some back on?

Go back to Settings, then Notifications, then Email. Toggle the notification types you want back on individually. There is no penalty for changing your mind — you can adjust these settings as often as you want.

Do email notification settings affect notifications on the Facebook app?

No. Email notification settings only control what Facebook sends to your email address. On-site notifications (the bell icon and pop-up alerts in the app or on the website) are controlled separately in the Notifications menu. You can turn off emails but keep app alerts, or vice versa.