Facebook’s ‘hidden’ spam folder

If you thought your Facebook Messages inbox was full before, just wait until you find out where the rest of it is.

Facebook Messages have come a long way since the site’s origins. What began as a simple, private chat mechanism has evolved into one of the most-used and depended upon inbox clients. Facebook’s mysterious Project Titan announcements last year revolved around the evolution of Messages into a more professional and more chat-interwoven feature, which has its pros and cons.

But one element of Messages that managed to elude many was the spam box. If you’re like us, you’ve been entirely unaware that you have this filter on your Messages inbox and the stuff has been filling its designated folder all along.

Of course, a message or two that you did want to see may have slipped through, so it’s worth checking out. On the home page, click Messages on the left-hand side of screen, where all of your applications are lined up. Then notice the “other” label that pops up. Under this you will find a variety of messages from events you RSVPed to at some point, as well as a message here or there from users you might not know. For the most part, it’s full of spam but we saw a message or two we would have otherwise read and responded to.

Why Facebook chose to name the filter “other” instead of spam is beyond us, but some users have been complaining about the hidden-in-plain-sight feature. Consider yourselves informed and enjoy perusing this folder, if you haven’t already.