Messenger help please!

[AbbieFB]

I sent someone I'm not friends with a message via Facebook messenger a couple of days ago and am yet to hear back.

I am a bit of a novice wondered if someone could help/explain the following please?

1. The bottom right of the message shows a grey tick in a grey circle indicating it has not been read. If you are not friends with someone, do they get to preview the message so they can read it without it being marked as read?

1. Could their setting be as such that they aren't aware if someone they're not friends with messages them?

1. Is there any way to tell if they have blocked you without actually sending another message - which I don't want to do.

The message content will probably be a bit uncomfortable for them and something they may wish to avoid dealing with hence the questions!

It'll go through as a message request so they may not see it at all. It's not obvious! (I've found some myself)

Are you fb friends with them. Have you sent a friend request.

If you're not friends then it will get sent to their "other" inbox and will not have a notification that you sent it!
I came across a message recently that had been 3 years ago

Thanks everyone.

I'm not fb friends with them and haven't sent a friend request (and don't really want to), would very much be a last resort.

I thought there may be an 'other' inbox but I don't really use messenger so didn't know if this was still the case.

If you want to make sure they see it then it would be worth sending a friend request.

Are they on WhatsApp?

I haven't sent a friend request as I don't really want them to see my FB profile, even though there's barely anything on there and they would probably feel the same about me!

I don't know if they're on WhatsApp, I have no contact details for them other than their fb page.

I think I'll just have to give it a few more days and see if they see it, if not send the friend request and see what happens. Thanks for the advice.

Have you put their name in the search bar on WhatsApp? Lots of people use the same profile picture. (It’s owned by Facebook, so there’s often a default)

Haven't tried that, will give it a go now! Thank you!

No problem. I’m good at finding people/nosy.

I have Facebook but not the app or messenger app so I frequently miss messages, they probably haven’t even seen it

I'm sorry to be so rubbish, but when I type into the search bar on WhatsApp it's only searching within my contacts. Am I doing something wrong?

WhatsApp searches will only find those people in your phone contacts

Messenger messages to non friends will go through as a request which might well not be seen

If you send a Facebook friend request and you make sure the person is in restricted, if they accept the friend request they will only see your profile as they see it now (as public)

Alternatively you could follow them on Insta and message them that way - unless their Insta account is set to private

Thank you, I will send the friend request and make sure it is restricted. I appreciate all of your help.

I never check my other messages.

Ah of course, sorry , yes of course...

There is a little icon with multiple peoples heads and a 1 next to it if you get a message from a stranger. I often miss them as they are not set next to the actual messages.

It is possible to read a message sent on messenger from someone who you aren't friends with without them knowing. It tells you this when you go into your 'other' messages so they may well have read it.

It is in a separate inbox until the person reads it. Do they use fb often? I rarely check the other box unless expecting a message.

It is possible to read a message sent on messenger from someone who you aren't friends with without them knowing

I was hoping this wasn't the case. If they don't reply I'll never know if they haven't seen it or chosen to ignore it.

I have no idea how often they use FB.

If it's so important to know, send the friend request. If they ignore that, then they're ignoring you!