Checking your Facebook other messages folder
When you enter a competition on a Facebook page, do you know how the promoter will contact you if you win? If you’re using an app, or emailing your entry then the promoter will have access to your email address and can easily send you a winning message that way.
But what if the promoter requires you to enter on their timeline/page by liking, sharing, commenting or posting a photo? Some promoters will reply to the winner’s comment (hoping you’ll get a notification) and some will post a new status update announcing your name (hoping you’ll see it – either on the page, in your feed or in a group like Competition Winners).
Promoters might want to contact a winner privately first though, and the only way to do this is to send a Facebook message. That message has to be sent from a page admin’s personal account. This message won’t go to your inbox though – it will be filtered by Facebook into either your Other or Spam folder because the sender isn’t on your friends list.
How to find your other & spam folders
You don’t get notifications of messages in your Other or Spam folders, and can’t find them using an app, so you need to be checking them regularly. Here are the links you need – bookmark them, or add to your home screen!
- http://facebook.com/messages/other – other folder
- http://facebook.com/messages/spam – spam folder
Checking these folders on a mobile device is a little trickier. You can’t access them usng the Facebook or Messenger apps, so you’ll need to navigate to the addresses above using your browser. If the links don’t work, look for Request desktop site in your browser menu – that should refresh the screen to show the full Facebook website, where you can zoom in to see your messages and folders. Viewing the desktop version of Facebook also allows you to access the search box in Facebook groups too.
Below is my short YouTube guide to show you how to access the Other and Spam folders using a computer and a mobile.
If you pick up an old winning message and find you’ve missed the claim date for your prize, don’t despair. Send a polite message back to the promoter explaining that you didn’t know you had an ‘Other’ inbox – they may be sympathetic!
So – check these two folders NOW and make a habit of doing it regularly. Let me know if you find anything exciting (you may well have a marriage proposal or a message from a long lost cousin!).
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I’ve just checked this folder and found a notification that I had won a prize 4 weeks ago! I’ve just messaged back and wait to hear if I can still claim it. I’m hopeful because there is only one private message requesting my details, and no others yet giving me a deadline. I’ll let you know tomorrow! Fingers crossed….
I can further report that the prize of a pass for a years travel from the Stagecoach bus company and a £100 cheque is still available and they are arranging to send this to me! So Di, thank you very much for drawing our attention to the other messages folder!
Brilliant! Although officially it doesn’t exist anymore – I just did a new video last week about its ‘filtered’ replacement ha ha! http://superlucky.me/2016/06/find-filtered-facebook-messages/
This ‘other’ box has now disappeared on my facebook! Not sure if it has been moved or just deleted!
They’re phasing it out! Instead, you’ll get a message request in your inbox. Hooray! https://www.facebook.com/help/936247526442073