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Sending Private Messages on Facebook: A Step-by-Step Guide Download Article A quick, easy guide to private messaging on Facebook Written by Hannah Dillon
Last Updated: January 10, 2025 Fact Checked
Download Article
Sending a Private Message on Mobile
|
Private Messages on a Computer
|
Enabling Disappearing Messages
|Show more|Show less X
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Hannah Dillon is a Technology Writer and Editor at wikiHow. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from North Dakota State University in 2013 and has since worked in the video game industry as well as a few newspapers. From a young age Hannah has cultivated a love for writing and technology, and hopes to use these passions in tandem to help others in the articles she writes for wikiHow. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 75,730 times. Learn more...
Are you trying to send a private message on Facebook? Sending a private message to your friends or family is very simple within the Facebook Messenger app. You can even send disappearing messages that go away after 24 hours. Keep reading to learn more.
How to Send a Private Message on Facebook
Open Facebook Messenger.
Tap on your desired chat, or start a new one.
Send a message.
Enable disappearing messages by tapping on the chat's name, then tapping Disappearing messages.
Steps
Method 1 Method 1 of 3:
Sending a Private Message on Mobile
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1 Open Facebook Messenger. This app resembles a white lightning bolt on a blue, purple, and pink gradient speech bubble. This will open the last tab you had open in Facebook Messenger.
If prompted, first enter your phone number and password.
If Facebook Messenger opens to a conversation, first tap the "Back" button in the top-left corner of the screen.
2 Tap the "New Message" icon. This is either the pen-and-paper icon in the top-right corner (iPhone) or the + icon at the bottom of the screen (Android).
If you have an existing conversation you want to open, tap it instead.
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3 Select a message recipient. Either tap a suggested friend's name, or type a friend's name into the search bar at the top of the screen and then tap their profile when it appears below the search bar.
You can add up to 150 people to a conversation.[1]XResearch source
4 Send a message. Type in your message's text, then tap the "Send" arrow on the right side of the text box. This will send your message to your recipient(s).
Advertisement Method 2 Method 2 of 3:
Private Messages on a Computer
Download Article
1 Open Facebook. Go to https://www.facebook.com/ in your preferred web browser. This will open your Facebook News Feed if you're logged in.
If you aren't logged in, enter your email address (or phone number) and password in the top-right side of the page.
2 Click the Messenger icon. It's the speech bubble with a lightning bolt icon in the top-right side of the Facebook page.
3 Open a conversation. You can open an existing conversation by clicking on it, or start a new message by clicking the paper and pencil icon in the upper-right corner.
If you open a new message, type in a person's name and then click their profile to add them to the conversation.
You can chat with up to 150 people at once in Facebook's Messenger feature.
4 Send your message. Click the "Type a message" field at the bottom of the page, type in your message's text, and click Send or press ↵ Enter. This will send your message to the indicated recipient(s).
Advertisement Method 3 Method 3 of 3:
Enabling Disappearing Messages
Download Article
1 Open or start a new conversation in the Facebook Messenger app. Follow the steps above to do so. You can only enable disappearing messages on the mobile app.
2 Tap the chat name at the top of the screen. This is usually the name of the person you're chatting with, but it might be something else if you renamed the conversation.
3 Tap Disappearing messages. If you don't have end-to-end encryption enabled on a chat, you cannot enable disappearing messages.
4 Tap 24 hours. This will toggle on disappearing messages that will delete themselves after 24 hours. This can help keep a conversation more private, because no one will be able to see the messages after they're deleted.
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Written by: Hannah Dillon wikiHow Technology Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Hannah Dillon is a Technology Writer and Editor at wikiHow. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from North Dakota State University in 2013 and has since worked in the video game industry as well as a few newspapers. From a young age Hannah has cultivated a love for writing and technology, and hopes to use these passions in tandem to help others in the articles she writes for wikiHow. This article has been viewed 75,730 times. How helpful is this? Co-authors: 7Updated: January 10, 2025 Views: 75,730 Categories: Facebook MessengerArticle SummaryX
1. Open Facebook Messenger. 2. Tap the Home tab. 3. Tap the New Message icon. 4. Select a recipient. 5. Type a message. 6. Tap the Send button. Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Download Article A quick, easy guide to private messaging on Facebook Written by Hannah Dillon 
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Written by: Hannah Dillon wikiHow Technology Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Hannah Dillon is a Technology Writer and Editor at wikiHow. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from North Dakota State University in 2013 and has since worked in the video game industry as well as a few newspapers. From a young age Hannah has cultivated a love for writing and technology, and hopes to use these passions in tandem to help others in the articles she writes for wikiHow. This article has been viewed 75,730 times. How helpful is this? Co-authors: 7 Updated: January 10, 2025 Views: 75,730 Categories: Facebook Messenger Article SummaryX
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1 Open Facebook Messenger. This app resembles a white lightning bolt on a blue, purple, and pink gradient speech bubble. This will open the last tab you had open in Facebook Messenger. 
2 Tap the "New Message" icon. This is either the pen-and-paper icon in the top-right corner (iPhone) or the + icon at the bottom of the screen (Android). 
3 Select a message recipient. Either tap a suggested friend's name, or type a friend's name into the search bar at the top of the screen and then tap their profile when it appears below the search bar. 
4 Send a message. Type in your message's text, then tap the "Send" arrow on the right side of the text box. This will send your message to your recipient(s). Advertisement 
1 Open Facebook. Go to https://www.facebook.com/ in your preferred web browser. This will open your Facebook News Feed if you're logged in. 
2 Click the Messenger icon. It's the speech bubble with a lightning bolt icon in the top-right side of the Facebook page. 
3 Open a conversation. You can open an existing conversation by clicking on it, or start a new message by clicking the paper and pencil icon in the upper-right corner. 
4 Send your message. Click the "Type a message" field at the bottom of the page, type in your message's text, and click Send or press ↵ Enter. This will send your message to the indicated recipient(s). Advertisement 
1 Open or start a new conversation in the Facebook Messenger app. Follow the steps above to do so. You can only enable disappearing messages on the mobile app. 
2 Tap the chat name at the top of the screen. This is usually the name of the person you're chatting with, but it might be something else if you renamed the conversation. 
3 Tap Disappearing messages. If you don't have end-to-end encryption enabled on a chat, you cannot enable disappearing messages. 
4 Tap 24 hours. This will toggle on disappearing messages that will delete themselves after 24 hours. This can help keep a conversation more private, because no one will be able to see the messages after they're deleted. Advertisement