Facebook messenger query

[Grandadwasthatyou]

I have traced a long lost friend through Facebook and have sent her a Facebook message. It has not been opened.
My query is will she actually have to go onto her Facebook page in order to realise there is a message waiting?
Judging by her posts it looks like a long time since she was on. Will Facebook messenger not ping if somebody sends her a message?

Also similarly if I request to be her friend will she only realise when she actually goes onto Facebook or do you get an email saying you have had a friend request?

If you are not already friends with her, the message may go to her "message requests" folder which doesn't send you any notifications, so she may not have seen it.

As for friend requesting, depends how she has her notifications set up. I don't get any emails from FB, but get a notification on my phone when someone friend requests me

There is a weird, separate message place on FB though. I once discovered it and saw I had been sent a message a few years earlier, they must have thought I’d ignored them!

If her notifications are turned off because she doesn’t go on FB much she won’t know she has a friend request until she goes on I don’t think.

Facebook messages from non-friends go into a hidden folder and aren't immediately seen. I would send her a friend request, because if her profile is set to private she could be using it every day and you (as a non-friend) wouldn't be able to see anything. Worth a try!

Thank you. I will add her as a friend and hope she then sees the message.