If Facebook Messenger is not your go-to app for chatting with family and friends, then you have probably stayed oblivious to the fact there is an "other" inbox that can be found within the app. It's in this inbox that messages sent from people the user isn't friends with get stored.
Users who are aware of this might know that the other inbox can be accessed by checking out the "Filtered" folder, clicking on "Message Requests" under the Settings and hitting "See filtered requests" when on the website, or tapping Settings > People > Message Requests > See/Show Filtered Messages for iOS and Android.
However, Facebook isn't the only one with a secret inbox.
The Facebook-owned app Instagram also has a hidden inbox that features messages that are also sorted as spam into a separate place if the recipient is not already following the user who sent the message.
Here's how to find this "other" inbox to see these unread messages.
Go To Your Regular Inbox
Users who aren't new to the platform already know that they can send and receive private messages in their direct message inbox. To get to direct messages, the user first has to launch the Instagram app and tap on the inbox icon that is located to the right of the "Instagram" text on the top banner.
Find Unread Messages
Unread messages that are hidden will appear under the text "message requests." Click on that to be directed to those unseen messages. Once the user taps to view a specific request, the entire message will appear so you can read it. However, if the account is private and they sent you a picture, you might not be able to see it without following them first.
What happens if you don't see the blue "message requests" option? Don't worry, this means no one you don't know or aren't already following hasn't sent you a direct message, or you already viewed the message without even realizing that it was going to a separate folder.
No matter how often we use this app, it's always eye-opening to learn something new about it each day.
Source: The Independent
