Facebook Messenger has two different inboxes for every user; your main inbox, and the filtered messages inbox. The main inbox is where messages from your contacts appear, and where message requests from people in your circle go. Filtered messages are just that; people trying to connect with you and you can ignore them if you want. So long as you never accept the request, and reply, you won’t get alerts for it. You can move a conversation from your inbox to filtered inbox if you want. It’s better than muting a conversation because you still get alerts for a muted conversation.
If the sender isn’t a friend, they won’t be able to see your active status and regardless if they are a friend or not, they will not know if the message has been delivered or read until you accept it.
You can move a conversation from the inbox to filtered inbox from both the Facebook Messenger web interface, and the mobile apps.
Facebook Messenger Web
Visit Facebook Messenger and select the conversation thread that you want to move from the inbox to filtered inbox. On the right side, you will see a set of controls, and the contact/profile’s name. Next to it is a cog wheel button. Click it and select ‘Ignore messages’ from the menu that opens.
You will see a confirmation message telling you you’re about to move the conversation thread. Accept it, and the thread will be moved.
To undo this, click the cog wheel icon at the top left of Facebook Messenger, and select Message Requests. Look for the Filtered Messages option in the list of filtered messages and click it. Find the conversation thread that you sent to the filtered inbox, select it, and click Reply. You don’t need to actually reply to the message. Clicking the button is enough to return it to your inbox.
Facebook Messenger Apps
The process for moving a conversation from your inbox to filtered inbox is more or less the same on both Android and iOS apps. Open the Messenger app on your device and tap the conversation you want to move. Tap the contact name at the very top and on the contact’s details page, scroll down. You will see an Ignore Messages option. Tap it, and accept the confirmation message.
To undo this change, go to the People tab, and tap the Requests button at the top. Scroll down to the Filtered Messages section and tap the message you want to move back to your main inbox. Tap Reply, and it will return to main inbox.
