A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how Facebook’s privacy issues are a bit overblown, particularly on iOS compared to Android (short version: it needs to request access to certain parts of your phone to do what you want it to do; most apps ask for the same permissions). But some people (myself included) just don’t like the new app and wish it was integrated as a feature of the Facebook app as it was before (which, by the way, asks for the same permissions).
One tip going around the internet is to simply visit facebook.com in Mobile Safari. But let’s take it a step further and set up a one-tap icon on your Home Screen. If you’re a long-time iPhone user, you may remember the early days before apps, where Safari let you save a bookmark to the Home Screen. The option is still there, but many of us have forgotten about it.
- Launch Safari on your iPhone
- Visit facebook.com and log in if you need to
- Tap the chat bubble icon top center and then “See All Messages”
- Tap the Share/Send button
- Tap “Add to Home Screen”
- Tap “Add”
- Presto! Now you have a “Messages” icon in addition to your regular Facebook icon.
One thing to remember is that if you have notifications turned on for Facebook, the Facebook app will be the one notifying you of new messages, but you’ll need to go to the new Messages icon to actually read and reply to your messages.