How to get Kijiji alerts for new ads, fast

Set up a Kijiji search alert on the website

1. Go to kijiji.ca and type what you want into the search box.
2. Choose a category and location, then click Search.
3. Set your filters: price range, distance (“Within 10 km”), condition, and anything else the category offers. The alert matches the search exactly as it stands, so do this first.
4. Click Notify me when new ads are posted.
5. Sign in, or enter your email address.

From then on, Kijiji emails you the new ads that match, once a day.

Set up alerts in the Kijiji app

1. Search with your keywords and apply your filters.
2. Tap the ribbon (alert) icon at the top of the results page.
3. Choose Daily or Weekly.
4. Tap Save.
5. Allow notifications if your phone asks, or the alerts will only appear when you open the app.

Manage, pause or delete Kijiji alerts

• See your saved searches: on kijiji.ca, click the heart icon at the top right and choose Saved Searches.
• Delete one: find it in Saved Searches and click Delete.
• Stop the emails: click Unsubscribe at the bottom of any alert email.
• Pause one: Kijiji’s help pages don’t describe a pause. Delete the search and save it again when you’re ready, or switch it to Weekly in the app to slow it down.

To change a saved search, run it again with the new filters and save that one, then delete the old.

Kijiji notifications not working

1. Look in spam and promotions. Alert emails are easy for a mail filter to bury. Mark one as not spam, or add Kijiji to your contacts.
2. Check which email you’re signed in with. Alerts go to the address on your Kijiji account, which may be an old one.
3. Check your phone’s permissions. On iPhone, Settings, Notifications, Kijiji. On Android, Settings, Apps, Kijiji, Notifications. Also check Focus modes and battery saving.
4. Save the search again. If you edited the search after saving it, the alert still matches the old version.
5. Update the app.
6. Remember the schedule. An ad posted at 9 a.m. can reach you the next morning. That is Kijiji working as designed, just slowly.

Why speed matters on Kijiji

A fairly priced bike, a solid-wood dresser or a winter tire set on rims in October doesn’t sit long. The seller gets a stack of messages and usually goes with someone who answers clearly and can come soon. A daily email arrives after that has happened.

Without any tools, the fastest approach is manual: save the search, sort it by Most Recent and check it a few times a day. Every ad shows its age (“< 1 h”, “3 h”), so you can see at a glance what is fresh. Kijiji’s help page says Top Ads aren’t affected by your sort settings, though, so paid ads stay on top of a newest-first search and you have to scroll past them each time. More habits that work in how to find deals on Kijiji.

Faster Kijiji alerts with Sift

Sift is a free browser extension for Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace that runs in Chrome, Edge and Brave on a computer. On any Kijiji search page, switch on Watch this search and choose how often to check: every 15, 30 or 60 minutes. Sift watches up to 10 searches across Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace.

Each check runs the new ads through your Sift filters first, so ads with your blocked words, ads past your distance and dealer ads don’t make the cut, and Top Ads never count as new. Then you get one notification per check, such as “3 new · couch, Toronto (GTA)”, with the first ads and their prices underneath. Click it to open the search with the new ads marked. Quiet hours keep it silent overnight, and alerts only run while you’re at the computer.

There is no account and nothing to sign into: Sift loads the search the way your browser would if you opened it in a tab. The honest limit is that your browser has to be running, so it suits people who shop from a laptop or desktop. On your phone, Kijiji’s own alerts are still the option. More on how Sift’s alerts work, and on Sift for Kijiji.

Facebook Marketplace alerts

Shopping both sites? Facebook’s saved-search alerts work differently, mostly through the phone app, and many people report them arriving late. Our guide to Facebook Marketplace notifications covers setting them up and fixing them.