There's Yet Another Hidden Mailbox On Facebook

Are you bored of going onto Facebook and scrolling through the same old newsfeed filled with engagements, vacations, and babies? Well, big news — turns out there is a hidden mailbox on Facebook and I guarantee that you have a TON of unread messages! That’s right, people, it seems we are barely scratching the surface of what this social network has to offer. Buried deep in a little folder in your settings is a treasure trove of unseen communications. These messages may even date all the way back to when you first joined the book of face! Can you imagine what amazingness could be hidden inside??

These secret, possibly important, communiques are tucked away deep in the “Message Requests” section. The Message Request folder is specifically for messages from people who aren’t connected to you already on Facebook. There, you can accept the messages that you deem legitimate. However, there is another inbox inside the Message Request section that you have probably never noticed — the “filtered” section of your inbox. According to little historical recap on Facebook's blog, it seems that before Message Requests was a twinkle in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye, there was a folder called “other inbox” where messages from non-friends went, but chances are you didn’t know about it because it was extremely hard to access. When the Message Request feature debuted, “They chose to migrate the past messages to the "Filtered" section of Message Requests, where future spammy requests will also end up.”

So there you have it. Yes, waiting inside will be plenty of spam and “hey beautiful” nonsense, but there may also be an unread message from that cute guy you sat next to in Intro To Psychology five years ago, asking “if you wanna chill sometime?” You owe it to yourself to check! Follow the easy steps in the pictorial guide below and prepare to step through the Facebook looking glass:

Step 1

Go to your Facebook app, and click to enter the "Messenger" folder in the bottom center.

Step 2

Click on the "Settings" icon in your messenger. It will be located at the bottom for an iPhone and the top for an Android.

Step 3

Go to the "People" folder.

Step 4

Select "Message Requests."

Step 5

Click on "See Filtered Requests." It should be noticeable once you scroll to the bottom of your Message Requests. As you can see here — I have embarrassingly few.

Step 6

Success! Welcome to your secret "Filtered Requests" inbox!

Try to contain your excitement as you sift through the spam and the missed messages of your past! Enjoy!

Images: Carl Court/Getty Images, LilyFeinn/Facebook, giphy