Facebook Marketplace saved searches

Saved searches, saved items and recent searches: what’s the difference?

Several Marketplace features sound alike, and it’s easy to mix them up when you’re looking for something you saved.

Tool	What it is	In the iPhone or Android app	On a computer
Saved search	A search Facebook watches, so it can notify you about new listings	Varies by app version (see below)	The Notify Me button on that search’s results
Saved item	One listing you tapped Save on	Menu > Marketplace > Profile > Saved items	Marketplace > Buying > Saved
Recent searches	Your Facebook search history	Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings > Accounts Centre > Your information and permissions > Search history	The same path, starting from your profile picture
Followed sellers	Sellers whose new listings Facebook notifies you about	Menu > Marketplace > Profile > Following	Marketplace > Buying > Following
Saved-search notifications	The switch for all saved-search alerts	Menu > Marketplace > Marketplace profile > Settings > Notifications	Profile picture > Settings and privacy > Settings > Notifications > Marketplace

The saved items, followed sellers, recent searches and notification paths come from Facebook’s help centre in September 2026. Facebook is moving some people from Accounts Centre to Meta Account settings, so you may see either name.

Where does Facebook keep your saved searches?

Here is the honest answer: we couldn’t find a Facebook help centre page that says where saved searches are listed (we looked in September 2026). Facebook documents your saved items, your Marketplace inbox and your notification switches, but not a list of saved searches. The layout also changes between app versions, regions and accounts, so two people can see different screens.

Where to look, in order:

1. On a computer, start from the search itself. Open Marketplace, type the same words, and set the same location and filters. The Notify Me button sits in the left-hand panel under Search results. It belongs to that search, so this is where you change or remove its alert. In How-To Geek’s walkthrough (last updated June 2024), running the search again brought up an Edit Alert option.
2. In the app, check your Marketplace profile. Tap Menu, then Marketplace, then your profile. That’s where Facebook keeps your saved items, inbox and Marketplace settings, and it’s the first place to look for anything you’ve saved.
3. In the app, check the search screen. Tap Search in Marketplace and look at what it offers before you type.
4. If your version shows no list, use a computer. It’s the one place we could confirm the button.

How to edit a saved search

Facebook doesn’t document editing a saved search, so the reliable method is to replace it.

1. Run the search the way you want it now: new words, a different place or radius, or a new price range.
2. Save it, or click Notify Me on a computer.
3. Delete the old search (steps below), so you don’t get two alerts for the same listing.

Change one thing at a time. If you widen the radius and the alerts fill with near-misses, you’ll know which change caused it. If you want two separate areas, keep two searches; our guide to searching a wide area shows how to space them.

How to delete a saved search

On a computer

1. Open Marketplace and search for the exact words you saved.
2. Set the same location, distance and filters.
3. Click Notify Me under Search results and turn the alert off or remove it.

In the iPhone or Android app

1. Find the saved search: check your Marketplace profile and the search screen.
2. Open the search’s options and remove it, or turn its notifications off. The label differs between versions.

If you can’t find it anywhere, stop the alerts instead. Tap Menu, Marketplace, your Marketplace profile, Settings, then Notifications, open the saved searches category and turn the toggle grey. The search may still exist, but it will stop notifying you.

What to do when a saved search won’t delete

In Facebook’s own groups, users describe saved searches that won’t delete however they try. If that’s you, work through these in order. The general fixes come from Facebook’s troubleshooting page.

• Update the Facebook app, close it and restart your phone.
• Try the other place: if the app won’t let go, delete it from a computer, and the other way round.
• On a computer, clear your browser’s cache or try a different browser.
• Log out of Facebook and back in. Facebook suggests this for recent searches that won’t clear, and it’s worth a try here.
• Turn off saved-search notifications (above), so a stuck search stops pinging you.
• Report it: in the app, shake your phone and follow the prompts; on a computer, go to Help & Support and choose Report a problem.

How to keep saved searches useful

We found no published limit on how many saved searches you can have. More isn’t better, though. One Facebook group member with more than 50 saved searches asked for a way to see them all on one page, which tells you how quickly they get hard to manage.

• Be specific. “Weber Q2200” beats “bbq”. Our search tips cover which tricks work in Marketplace search and which don’t.
• Set a price range. A minimum hides most accessories and parts; a maximum hides what you’d never pay.
• One area per search. Use the distance you’d actually drive.
• Prune monthly. Delete searches for things you’ve bought or stopped wanting.
• Check settings before re-saving. If alerts stop, work through our notifications troubleshooting guide before you delete and re-create everything.

How to clear your recent searches

Recent searches are history, not alerts. Facebook says only you can see them. To clear them:

• In the app: tap Menu, Settings & privacy, Settings, Accounts Centre, Your information and permissions, then Search history. Choose your account and tap Remove next to a search.
• On a computer: click the search bar at the top left of Facebook, click Edit, then Clear searches next to Search history.

Facebook notes not everyone can reach this setting in Accounts Centre yet, and that logging out and back in can clear searches that still show.

For how saved searches fit with Facebook’s other alert options, see our main guide to Facebook Marketplace alerts.

Sources

1. Facebook Help Centre: See your saved items on Facebook Marketplace
2. Facebook Help Centre: Save items on Facebook Marketplace
3. Facebook Help Centre: Remove saved items on Facebook Marketplace
4. Facebook Help Centre: Follow or unfollow someone on Facebook Marketplace
5. Facebook Help Centre: Turn your Facebook Marketplace notifications on or off
6. Facebook Help Centre: Clear your recent Facebook searches
7. Facebook Help Centre: Troubleshoot something that’s not working on Facebook
8. Facebook group “Marketplace Issues & Problems”: saved searches that will not delete
9. Facebook group post: viewing all saved searches at once
10. How-To Geek: How to set up Facebook Marketplace alerts (updated June 2024)