How to get Facebook Marketplace alerts

Does Facebook Marketplace have alerts?

Yes. Facebook calls them saved searches. You search for something, save the search, and Facebook can notify you when new listings match it. When Facebook launched the feature, it pitched it as a way to get updates “when there’s new stuff you want”.

Saved-search alerts are one kind of Marketplace notification among several. Facebook’s help centre lists the categories you can turn on or off in Marketplace settings, giving updates, saved searches and tips for sellers as examples. Messages from buyers and sellers are different again: they arrive in your Marketplace inbox and in Messenger, with their own settings.

Two honest caveats before you rely on Facebook’s alerts:

• At the time of writing (September 2026), we couldn’t find a Facebook help centre page with step-by-step instructions for creating an alert, and the buttons differ between the website and the apps. Below is what we could confirm, and we say where we couldn’t.
• Facebook doesn’t publish how soon after a listing appears it sends the notification.

How to set up a Marketplace alert on a computer

These steps combine Facebook’s help centre with what we saw on facebook.com on 26 September 2026.

1. Open facebook.com and click Marketplace in the left menu.
2. Type what you want in the search box and press Enter. Be specific: “Makita 18V drill” gets you closer than “drill”.
3. Set where to look. Below Filters, click the location, enter a place and the distance you’re willing to travel, then click Apply.
4. Add a minimum and maximum under Price, so the alert skips things you would never buy.
5. In the left-hand panel, under Search results, click Notify Me.
6. Follow the prompts to create the alert. In How-To Geek’s walkthrough (last updated June 2024), this step also let you set a price range and radius for the alert.

Then make sure Facebook is allowed to tell you. Click your profile picture in the top right, then Settings and privacy, Settings, Notifications and Marketplace, and switch on the notification types you want.

How to set up a Marketplace alert on iPhone or Android

Facebook’s help pages confirm how to search and where the notification switches live, but they don’t describe the save button itself, which varies between app versions and regions.

1. Tap Menu, then Marketplace. If you can’t see it, tap See more. If Marketplace is a shortcut in your tab bar, tap that instead.
2. Tap Search, type what you want, then tap Search again.
3. To change the area, tap the location on the right, move the map or search for a new place, tap Custom local radius, drag the slider, then tap Apply.
4. Tap Filters to set a price range and other filters, then tap See items.
5. On the results screen, look for an option to save the search or to be notified about new listings. If your version doesn’t show one, create the alert on a computer instead, then check that it reaches your phone.
6. Switch the alerts on: tap Menu, Marketplace, your Marketplace profile, Settings, then Notifications. Tap the saved searches category and turn its toggle on. Facebook’s help says blue means on and grey means off.
7. Check your phone lets Facebook notify you. On iPhone: Settings > Notifications > Facebook > Allow Notifications. On Android: Settings > Notifications > App notifications, then Facebook. Labels vary by phone maker.

Step	On a computer	In the iPhone or Android app
Create the alert	Notify Me, under Search results	A save or notify option on the results screen (label varies)
Switch alerts on	Profile picture > Settings and privacy > Settings > Notifications > Marketplace	Menu > Marketplace > Marketplace profile > Settings > Notifications
Find, change or delete it	See our saved searches guide	Same guide

Another Facebook option: follow a seller

Facebook’s help centre documents one more way to hear about new listings: follow the seller. Facebook says that when you follow someone on Marketplace, you’ll get notifications when they create new listings. It suits sellers who list the same kind of thing again and again, such as someone who restores bikes or builds furniture.

• In the app: open one of their listings, scroll down to Seller information and tap Follow next to their name. To unfollow, go to Marketplace, then Profile, then Following.
• On a computer: open one of their listings, click the seller’s name, then click Follow. To unfollow, go to Marketplace, then Buying, then Following.

Facebook notes that the seller is notified when you follow them, though not when you unfollow.

What Facebook’s own alerts can’t do

Facebook’s alerts cost nothing, and for a casual search they may be all you need. Their limits show when you’re hunting for something specific.

• One place per search. Each search covers one location and radius, and Facebook’s help centre says the current maximum is 100 miles or kilometres. Covering a region means several searches. Our guide to searching a wide area shows how.
• Loose matching, and no way to leave words out. Marketplace search matches loosely. When we searched “couch -leather” around Brisbane, 23 of the 24 newest results were leather couches, against 7 of 24 for a plain “couch” search. The minus sign pulled leather in rather than keeping it out. More tests are in our search tips.
• No say over timing. You can’t choose how often Facebook checks your search, and it doesn’t say how quickly it notifies you. In Facebook’s own forums, users report saved-search alerts that stopped arriving and saved searches that wouldn’t delete.
• Muting Facebook mutes your alerts. Your Marketplace alerts come from the Facebook app, so if you turn Facebook’s notifications down to escape the noise, the alerts go quiet too.

If your alerts have simply stopped, our notifications troubleshooting guide has iPhone and Android checklists.

How do Marketplace alert apps work?

A dedicated alert app does the refreshing for you, from its own computers rather than your phone.

1. It reads public listings. Marketplace search results are public. We opened searches for Brisbane, Sydney and Toronto in a browser without logging in and could see the listings, with their titles, prices and suburbs.
2. It runs your search on a schedule, day and night, and spots listings it hasn’t seen before.
3. It checks each new listing against your filters, such as price, distance and words to include or avoid. Better apps open the listing itself, so the filters see the description as well as the title.
4. It sends a push notification from its own app. You open the listing and message the seller yourself.

Why they don’t need your Facebook login

Because they read the same public pages anyone can see without signing in, a well-built alert app never needs your Facebook password or access to your account. It can’t post, read your messages or contact sellers for you. Facebook’s security advice is never to share your password with anyone, so be wary of any tool that asks you to type it in.

What decides how fast any alert can be

In our measurements, Facebook keeps a new listing out of public search for about six to seven minutes after the seller posts it. That wait is the same for everyone searching, including every alert app and anyone refreshing by hand. An app that checks very often still can’t see a listing before Facebook shows it. What differs between apps is how soon after that point they check your area, how many new listings they catch, and how well they filter out the noise.

Topic	Facebook’s own alerts	What to ask of an alert app
Cost	Free	The price, and the trial terms
Your Facebook login	It runs inside your account	It shouldn’t need it if it reads public listings
Area	One location and radius per search	How big an area one search can cover
Leaving words out	Minus words didn’t work in our test	Whether it can hide listings by word
The description	Only as far as Facebook’s search reads it	Whether it reads the full listing before alerting
How often it checks	Not published	The pace it states, and whether that’s a target or a promise
Messaging the seller	You, in Facebook	You, in Facebook

Before paying for any app, run through our neutral checklist on how to choose a Marketplace alert app.

How to set up a Zoopy hunt

More guides to Marketplace alerts

• Facebook Marketplace notifications not working: iPhone and Android checklists for alerts that don’t arrive.
• Facebook Marketplace saved searches: where your alerts live, and how to edit or delete them.
• Facebook Marketplace search tips: sorting by newest, radius, and what we found testing quotes, minus words and misspellings.
• How to search Marketplace across a wide area: covering a region, state or country.
• Facebook Marketplace alerts in Australia: suburbs, regional towns and car checks here.
• How to choose a Marketplace alert app: the questions to ask before you pay.
• Car alerts on Facebook Marketplace: alerts for a specific make, model and price.

Sources

1. Facebook Help Centre: Turn your Facebook Marketplace notifications on or off
2. Facebook Help Centre: Find items to buy on Facebook Marketplace
3. Facebook Help Centre: Sort by distance or new listings on Facebook Marketplace
4. Facebook Help Centre: Follow or unfollow someone on Facebook Marketplace
5. Facebook Help Centre: View your Facebook Marketplace messages
6. Facebook Help Centre: Keep your Facebook profile secure
7. Facebook: “Save your searches” Marketplace announcement video
8. Meta for Developers community: saved search notifications thread
9. Facebook group “Marketplace Issues & Problems”: saved searches that will not delete
10. How-To Geek: How to set up Facebook Marketplace alerts (updated June 2024)
11. Apple Support: Change notification settings on iPhone
12. Android Help: Control notifications on Android