One of the most embarrassing things that can happen to you on social media is when the platform you are using decides to notify other users about what you have been screenshotting.
Typically, this will occur on messages with another user or when looking at someone’s ‘story’.
Two social media platforms which are famed for doing this are Snapchat and Instagram, and considering Facebook owns Instagram, it begs the question about whether Facebook does this to its users too.
In this article, we are going to be examining whether Facebook does notify screenshots or not while also taking a look at some of the other potentially important things that you can make Facebook notify you about. Let’s get into it.
Does Facebook notify screenshots? The long and short of it
The answer to this question is both a yes and a no. For the vast majority of Facebook activity, the platform won’t notify users of any screenshots related to their profile.
For example, if you are going through another users pictures and/or profile and take a couple of screenshots then be rest assured that you are doing this without them knowing.
Additionally, if you are flicking through someone’s story on Facebook and take a screenshot then be safe in that the Facebook story creator won’t be notified of that either.
The only instance where Facebook WILL notify users is in relation to their brand new encrypted messaging feature.
This is a new subsection of messaging on Facebook Messenger which allows users to send encrypted messages to one and other.
After a certain period of time, these messages will disappear but if you decide to screenshot the message before they expire then the other person who is part of the conversation will be notified that you have done so.
This is essentially because the encrypted messaging service is meant to give users the maximum amount of privacy possible and screenshotting arguably ruins that.
So, to summarise, while classic social media screenshotting activity such as images and stories are notification free on Facebook, there is still one instance where the platform will notify users of a screenshot.
How to use Facebook’s encrypted messaging service
Considering that Facebook’s encrypted messaging service is the only area of Facebook where screenshots will cause notifications, it only seems right that we explain how you can go about using this service.
It is worth noting that, at this moment in time, this functionality is only available on the mobile app for iOS and Android.
In order to send encrypted messages via Facebook Messenger, please follow these instructions:
- Log in to the Facebook Messenger app.
- Select the new message icon on the top right hand side of the screen (it looks like a notepad and pen).
- Type the padlock icon on the top right hand side of the screen so that the slider is displaying as green.
- Select the user that you want to send an encrypted message to.
- Type out the message you wish to send.
- Ensure that there is a message on the interface of the message thread that reads ‘messages and calls are secured with end-to-end encryption’.
- Select send and wait for the other user to receive the message.
There are ways that you can decrypt Facebook conversations, but for the most part these conversations will send notifications to other users.
If you want to send a disappearing message, you can change this within your settings. Go into chats, and you’ll see the option to toggle the Disappearing Message feature on.
Other notification options on Facebook
If you are interested in securing more notifications from Facebook, in addition to the automatic screenshot notifications you will receive, then Facebook tries to do its best to accommodate its users.
There are multiple options available to you, including:
- Notifications for likes and comments on your posts;
- Notifications for posts by certain users;
- Notifications for tags;
- Notifications for friend requests;
- Notifications for birthdays;
- Notifications for upcoming events.
To access these settings on Facebook, you will need to follow these instructions:
On Facebook via a web browser
- Log in to your Facebook account.
- Select the downwards arrow on the top right hand side of the home screen.
- From the drop down menu, select ‘settings and privacy’ and then ‘settings’.
- From the left hand side menu bar, select ‘notifications’.
- From here, you will be able to enable/disable notifications for all of the above notification options, in addition to more.
On Facebook via the mobile phone app
- Log on to your Facebook account.
- Select the three lined icon on the bottom right hand side of the screen.
- Select ‘settings and privacy’ and then ‘settings’.
- Scroll down to ‘notifications’ and select ‘notification settings’.
- From here, you will be able to enable/disable notifications for all of the above notification options, in addition to more.
Conclusion
To conclude, Facebook does notify users when they have screenshotted on the platform, but only in one very particular instance as detailed above – they will notify if you screenshot Facebook Messenger conversations, but only when they’re encrypted chats.
As a result, this means you are free to screenshot anything else on the platform in the knowledge that no one is going to be notified that you are doing so. This includes someone’s Facebook story, as well as their own profile.