Facebook is probably the worst social media company out there, so it makes sense you don’t want their apps on your phone. But unfortunately your less privacy concerned friends are all gleefully using Facebook and Messenger and you don’t want to miss out.
I understand your pain. Here’s a simple guide to still use Zuck’s book on your phone, without the dreaded apps.
Step 1: get a new browser app
We’re going to use the mobile site, which works quite well. To separate all the Facebook traffic from our regular surfing habits and keep Zuck from snooping on us, we’ll use a completely different browser app.
Head over to the Google Play Store and search for “browser“. You’ll see a big list of browser apps, so you just have to pick one you’re not currently using. You are most likely using Chrome as your main browser, or the Samsung browser if you have a Samsung phone, so you can go for Firefox or the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser as your alternative. Both are good browsers, and I’ve used them both for faking the Facebook. I even use Firefox as my main browser.
Step 2: open your newly acquired browser app, and surf to facebook.com.
After you log in, you’ll be able to use the mobile site pretty much like the app. Now, since this is a separate browser, you just leave your Facebook tab open. Next time you start your dedicated browser app for Facebook, you’ll be logged in already. Easy-peasy. Just don’t use this browser for anything else. If you do, Zuck will be able to follow you around on every site that has anything enabled related to Facebook or Instagram.
Step 3: set up messenger.
Messenger sucks because they want to force you to install the app when you use the mobile site to check your messages. There is a way around this though.
Messenger still works on the desktop site aka your PC/laptop right? So we just have to tell Facebook we’re using that from our phone.
You can do this by going to facebook.com in a second tab on your new browser. Now, you click the 3 dot-menu in the menu bar and activate the “Desktopsite” checkbox. The page will refresh and look pretty much the same, but now it thinks you’re visiting it from a desktop PC. Now open the Facebook hamburger menu, choose Messenger and voilà, there you have all your messages and contacts.
The trick is to leave this second tab open on your phone as well, so you have quick access to your messages whenever you like. After not using it for a while, you might end up with a message telling you to install the app again. This is because the tab refreshed and is back in mobile-mode. When this happens, just go back into the 3-dot menu of your browser and check the “Desktopsite” checkbox again. After reloading the page, you’re set again.
A minor inconvenience for the added privacy of not having Zuck’s spy-apps on your phone if you ask me. ;)
Step 4: change the icon.
If you want to get fancy, now is the time to long-press the icon of your now dedicated Facebook-browser app and change the icon to… the Facebook icon perhaps? I also change the name to something more appropriate, like Fakebook for example.
Step 5: convince your friends to not use Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram.
Just kidding.
Maybe.