There’s a hidden second message folder in Facebook – Here’s how to find it

June 27, 2022

By Kim Komando

We’ve published quite a few stories about messaging apps and how to use them efficiently. Tap or click here for 12 clever tricks for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage and Google Chat. If you’re using Facebook Messenger, there might be a few more features you don’t know about.

There are many options and ways to use the service. And it’s conveniently available for your mobile and desktop devices.

But did you know there is a secret message folder built into Facebook? Not everyone is aware that a second folder holds messages you might not be seeing. Here’s where it’s hiding and how to access it.

The secret folder

If you want to chat with someone on Facebook Messenger, you go to the messenger portion of Facebook or the app on your device and start chatting. But, why the secret folder?

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With Facebook Messenger, only people you are friends with can contact you directly. Those who aren’t friends with you must first ask permission to connect with you. Those messages go to a secret folder waiting for your approval when they do.

If you accept the message, that person can now contact you directly, and those messages will show up in your main folder. But until you accept them, they stay stored away.

Because most people don’t know it exists, you could be missing dozens of people trying to connect with you from somewhere in the world.

Unlikely connections

I didn’t know there was a secret folder filled with people trying to connect with me until a few years ago. When I finally figured it out and checked, I found an unlikely surprise.

I was adopted and had never met my biological father. Using the power of ancestry.com and Facebook, a cousin from my father’s side managed to track me down and sent me a message, which of course, ended up in the secret folder.

Once I accepted his message, I learned that not only had he been looking for me for years, but I had three sisters I didn’t know about that had also been looking for me. Years later, we all have a close relationship, partly thanks to the secret message folder on Facebook.

Where to find the secret folder

Whether you are accessing messenger on your phone or your computer, it’s effortless to find the secret folder if you know where to look. Here’s how:

On a desktop computer

• Open Facebook and sign in.
• Select the Messenger icon on the top right corner of the screen.
• Select options, located at the top as the three dots.
• Choose Message Requests from the menu.
• You’ll see a list of messages from your secret folder.
• Choose to reply or delete.
• If you want to see all the messages you have in your secret folder, select See All in Messenger.

On iOS

• Open the Messenger app on your iPhone.
• Tap your profile picture.
• Choose Message Requests.
• There are two categories to choose from. You May Know and Spam.
• Tap each option to see the messages inside.

On Android

• Open the Messenger app on your Android phone.
• Tap your profile picture.
• Choose Message Requests.
• Choose from You May Know or Spam to see the different messages in your secret folder.

That’s it. Now you can see who is trying to reach you and why. You don’t have to respond to their messages, but it’s nice to know how to see them. Check the secret folder now and then to see if a long-lost friend or relative is trying to contact you.

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