Turn off Facebook emails in your account settings

Facebook sends you emails about comments, friend requests, messages, and activity on your posts. You can turn off all of them, some of them, or none of them — the choice is yours. The fastest way is to go to your Facebook settings, find the notifications section, and switch off the email types you don't want.

On a computer, click the downward arrow in the top right corner of Facebook, then select Settings and privacy, then Settings. On the left side, click Notifications. You'll see a list of notification types — comments, friend requests, messages, and others. Next to each one, you'll see Email as an option. Click the word Email to open a menu and choose Off.

On a phone or tablet, the path is similar but the layout is different. Open the app, tap the three horizontal lines (the menu) in the bottom right, scroll down to Settings and privacy, then Settings, then Notifications. Tap each notification type and turn off the email option.

Key Takeaways

  • Facebook's notification settings let you turn off emails for specific activities like comments, messages, and friend requests without turning off the notifications inside the app itself.
  • You can reach these settings through Settings and privacy > Settings > Notifications on both desktop and mobile.
  • Unsubscribe links at the bottom of Facebook emails also work, but they only turn off that one email type — changing settings in your account turns off multiple types at once.
  • Facebook sometimes re-enables certain notifications after you update your password or change your email address, so check your settings again if emails start coming back.

Use the unsubscribe link in the email itself

Every Facebook email has an unsubscribe link at the very bottom. Click it and Facebook will turn off that specific type of notification. This method works if you only want to stop one kind of email — say, activity summaries — and keep getting emails about direct messages.

The unsubscribe link takes you to a page where you can confirm you want to stop receiving that email type. Facebook will remember your choice. However, if you get multiple types of emails you don't want, unsubscribing one at a time is slower than changing your settings all at once in your account.

Turn off notifications by activity type

Facebook groups notifications, messages, and activity summaries into separate categories. You might want to keep emails about direct messages but turn off emails about who liked your posts. The notifications settings page lets you control each one separately.

Common email types include: Comments (when someone comments on your post), Messages (when you get a new message), Friend requests, Activity summary (a weekly or daily digest of what your friends are doing), and Event invitations. Each one has its own on/off switch for email. You can also set some to when ready (right away) or Digest (bundled together) instead of turning them off completely.

Stop activity summary emails specifically

Activity summaries are the most common Facebook emails people want to turn off. These are the weekly or daily digests that tell you what your friends have been doing. They're not about your own posts or messages — they're Facebook's way of reminding you to come back to the app.

To turn off activity summaries, go to Settings > Notifications and find Activity summary in the list. Click Email next to it and select Off. You can also adjust how often you get them — Daily, Weekly, or Off — so if you like getting them but not every day, you can choose weekly instead.

Check your email filter if emails keep coming

If you've turned off notifications in Facebook but emails still arrive, the problem might be on your email provider's side, not Facebook's. Some email services have filters or rules that can override your Facebook settings.

Check your email's spam or promotions folder — Facebook emails sometimes land there by mistake. If they're there, mark them as "not spam" so they go to your inbox, then unsubscribe from your inbox instead of your spam folder. You can also create a filter in your email provider to automatically delete Facebook emails or send them to a folder you never check. Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail all let you set up filters in their settings.

What to do if Facebook re-enables notifications after you change your password

Facebook sometimes turns notification settings back on when you change your password or update your email address. This is a security feature — the idea is that if someone else accessed your account, you'll notice the change. But it's annoying if you've spent time turning everything off.

If emails start coming back after a password change, go back to Settings > Notifications and turn them off again. Write down which ones you turned off so you can check them again in a few weeks. If they keep turning back on, it might mean someone else is accessing your account — change your password again and review your login activity in Settings > Security and login.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off email notifications turn off notifications inside the Facebook app too?

No. Email notifications and in-app notifications are separate. You can turn off emails but still get notifications inside the app, or vice versa. If you want to turn off both, you'll need to change settings in two places.

Can I turn off all Facebook emails at once?

Not with a single button, but you can go through the Notifications settings page and turn off each type individually. It takes about two minutes. Alternatively, you can unsubscribe from each email as it arrives, but that's slower over time.

What if I want to keep some Facebook emails but not others?

Go to Settings > Notifications and turn off only the types you don't want. For example, you could keep emails about direct messages but turn off activity summaries and friend request notifications. Each type has its own switch.

Do I need to do this on my phone and my computer separately?

No. Your notification settings are the same across all devices. If you turn off an email notification on your computer, it's off on your phone too. You only need to change the settings once.

Why do I keep getting Facebook emails even though I turned them off?

Check your spam or promotions folder — emails might be filtering there. Also check whether you're logged into the right Facebook account if you have more than one. If you recently changed your password, Facebook may have re-enabled some notifications, so go back to Settings > Notifications and turn them off again.