# What Is SMS on Facebook?

> SMS means a text message. Learn how Facebook uses optional SMS notifications, where to review them, and why notification texts differ from account-security codes.

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- Language: en
- Published: 2024-11-28T05:24:06+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

**SMS** means **Short Message Service**: a text message sent to your phone number. In Facebook settings, an **SMS notification** is a Facebook alert delivered as a text instead of an in-app, push or email notification. It does not mean a separate social-media inbox or a message that another person sends you in Messenger.

Facebook's [SMS notification Help page](https://www.facebook.com/help/111970308891187/) says you can choose which notifications arrive by text. It lists examples such as comments on your posts and friend requests. So the claim that Facebook texts are reserved only for essential account notices is too narrow: ordinary activity alerts may also be available, depending on your settings.

## Where can you check SMS notifications?

Open Facebook's **Settings** and look for **Notifications**. Expand the kind of alert you want to change and inspect whether **SMS** is one of the delivery choices. Meta's Help page describes that desktop route, but menu labels can differ between the app, desktop site and account versions. If you do not see an SMS switch for a particular alert, do not assume the same options appear in every category.

Choose the text alerts you actually want. A phone number and mobile carrier may be needed to receive them, and your own device or carrier can affect delivery. If a text is missing, check the notification choice and the number attached to your account before assuming that Facebook has stopped sending all SMS. Use Facebook's Help Center for the specific missing-message problem.

## Are SMS notifications the same as login codes?

No. A text about a comment is an **activity notification**. A code you receive while signing in or confirming a security change belongs to an **account-security** process. Meta documents security features such as two-factor authentication separately in its [account-security Help](https://www.facebook.com/help/235353253505947). Changing one kind of notification does not prove that a login method has changed.

If a message contains a code that you did not request, do not send that code to anyone. Open Facebook yourself through its official app or website to check your account rather than following an unexpected link in a text. This is a safer response than treating every Facebook-branded message as routine notification traffic.