A Facebook Marketplace alert bot, and the version that won't get you banned

People who search "Facebook Marketplace alert bot" want one of three things: a program that re-checks Marketplace and tells them about new listings, a program that also messages sellers for them, or a script from GitHub they can run themselves. The first is an alert app, and it is what Deal Scanner is. The second gets accounts restricted. The third is a weekend project that stops working the next time Facebook changes something. Here is what each one involves, and how to get the alerts without putting your Facebook account on the line.

The three things "bot" means

1. A watcher. Something that repeats your search on a schedule and notifies you when there is a new listing. This is what every alert app does, including Deal Scanner. Done from the app's own servers, logged out, it never touches your account.
2. A messenger. A watcher that also sends the seller a message the moment a listing appears, from your account, automatically. Facebook's terms do not allow automated messaging, sellers can tell a canned message from a person, and accounts that do it get restricted, often without being told why. Deal Scanner does not message anyone for you; you tap through and message as yourself.
3. A script. Open-source projects on GitHub that scrape Marketplace with a browser automation library and post to Slack, Discord or Telegram. They need a computer that stays on, a proxy or your own logged-in session, Python and a tolerance for fixing it every time Facebook changes a page. They are hobby projects, and the search "facebook marketplace alerts github" is people looking for one.

What gets accounts banned

Anything that acts as you without you. Logging in through automation, scraping while logged in at volume, and sending automated messages all trip Facebook's automation detection, and the penalty is a Marketplace restriction or a locked account. The people hit hardest are the ones who ran a "bot" from their own account because it was free. An alert that watches from someone else's servers, logged out, has nothing of yours to restrict.

The safe version

Deal Scanner watches Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Craigslist for a search you set, on our servers, around the clock, logged out. It never asks for your Facebook, OfferUp or Craigslist login and never touches your accounts; your account only comes into it when you tap through to a listing and message the seller yourself. A relevance filter drops most lookalikes, a low and high price and a radius keep the rest honest, every alert shows when we found the listing, and a Deal Score on each find says how far under the typical price near you it sits. $3.99 a month for three searches, cancel anytime. It is built for everyone who checks Marketplace every day, whether flipping is your side thing, your whole job, or not the point at all. It is the bot people wanted, minus the part that gets them banned.

Why not Facebook's own alerts

Facebook's saved-search notifications are free and, in our use, arrive hours to days after the listing, match loosely, and turn themselves off. Meta's AI (Meta AI's shopping mode, the Muse agent) searches listings when you ask, in a chat; nothing stands watch between questions. The reason people go looking for a bot is that the built-in alert does not do the job.

FAQ

Is there a bot for Facebook Marketplace alerts?

Yes, in the sense of an app that watches Marketplace and alerts you: Deal Scanner does that from its own servers without your login. Bots that message sellers automatically from your account are against Facebook's terms and get accounts restricted.

Will a Facebook Marketplace bot get me banned?

One that logs in as you, scrapes from your account, or sends automated messages can. An alert app that watches logged out from its own servers, like Deal Scanner, has nothing of yours to restrict.

Can a bot message sellers for me?

Some do, and that is the part that gets accounts restricted. Deal Scanner does not; you message as yourself after the alert.

What about the GitHub scripts?

They work until Facebook changes a page, need a computer left on and usually a proxy, and often run from your own logged-in session, which is the risk. For a weekend project, fine. For alerts you rely on, an app.

Does Deal Scanner need my Facebook password?

No. It never asks for a login to any marketplace.

Sources checked

Facebook's Terms of Service and Community Standards on automated activity; the README files of the common open-source Marketplace scraper projects; our own experience running Deal Scanner's watchers logged out. Checked October 26, 2026.