How to Get a Facebook Email Address and Claim Your @facebook Name

Facebook recently announced that part of its new social messaging system will include @facebook email accounts. The official launch date of the Facebook email service is still unknown but Facebook has been rolling out enhancements and previews of its new Facebook messaging system. If you want to secure your @facebook email address and make sure you’re among the first to test out its features, you will need to take steps to claim your @facebook email address.

Here’s what you need to know about getting a Facebook email address and claiming your @facebook name:

Getting a Facebook Email Address Invitation

Everyone who wants a Facebook email address will need to request an @facebook email address invitation. To do this, go to http://www.facebook.com/about/messages/ and click on the button in the bottom right corner. Your account information will be sent to Facebook and you will be put on a waiting list. After submitting a request for an @facebook email address, you will see the message, “You will receive an invitation soon” on the bottom right hand corner of The New Messages page.

Claiming Your Facebook Email Address

When you receive your official @facebook email address invitation, you will need to go to the Messages view of your account and click on the invitation link. Your email address will match the username you use on your Facebook account. If you don’t have a username, you do have the option to create one for your @facebook email address.

After you have claimed your Facebook email address, you can reroute other email accounts directly to your Facebook Messages account. All external emails will be formatted into the Facebook message format.

Benefits of Claiming Your Facebook Email Address

There are a number of reasons why you may be interested in setting up a Facebook email address. Some people might choose to use their @facebook email address as their main email account because the interface is so simple to use and all other emails can be sent directly to the account in the form of a Facebook Message. Some of the other benefits of claiming your Facebook email address include:

• It’s completely free
• Easy to set up
• Compatible with almost all popular email systems, including Gmail and Yahoo! mail
• All messages are formatted to look like regular Facebook messages
• People who are not on Facebook can still reach you through the @facebook email address
• The Facebook email platform will not change over time
• Option to adjust your messages privacy setting so that you no longer receive messages at your @facebook email address
• Set up more like conversations so there may not always be a subject line and other formalities associated with traditional email systems.
• Can attach a video, document or video to your @facebook email messages

Facebook email account holders have the option to include the @facebook address on their profile, but everyone will know what any user’s @facebook email address is because Facebook usernames are publicly viewable.

If you are interested in getting a Facebook email address, follow the steps above and wait for your official @facebook email invitation.