Be sure to read all the way to the end. Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of stink over the fact that Facebook is splitting its messaging functionality out into a new Facebook Messenger app. The result, however, has been quite a few conversations where friends and family have asked me whether they should avoid installing the Messenger app. There have been a few changes to Messenger in the fact that there is a new app, but do you need it to view your Facebook messages. My response has been pretty simple. Even if it were true, and Facebook were spying…is your life really that interesting. No…Facebook is not really interested in your rants during your kids soccer game. You can still use the phone to call people. If you choose not to use Facebook Messenger, great. You can still view your Facebook messages on your mobile device by viewing the desktop version of Facebook in your mobile browser. Can you use facebook messenger without having facebook, not the best user experience, but it gets you to your messages without ever having to bow to the privacy will of Facebook and their desire that you download their second, stand-alone Facebook Messenger app. First, let me apologize to my readers for the high-level of snark in this post. I probably went a little overboard and if it offends folks, sorry. Second, I cannot believe the traffic this post is generating. What that means to me is there are lots of real, legitimate reasons that people want to view Facebook Messenger messages without installing the mobile app. Facebook still has all your messages and can still read them, regardless of the platform. On my Samsung Galaxy, the Facebook Messenger app is a bloated whale on an app. Battery Life Again, a very fair and valid point. Now, instead of one app checking for Facebook messages, you have two. Two apps essentially performing a very similar function on a similar schedule could really impact your battery life. Look at the settings for both the Facebook and Messenger apps and adjust how frequently the apps are searching for new messages or data. Data Consumption Not everyone has unlimited data on their mobile phone plan, I get it. With the division of Facebook the app and Facebook Messenger, you can save data by choosing not to install the Messenger app. To access the data saver feature, open Facebook Messenger and then click your profile photo. An apology and an update. Just like every other human blogger out there, I sometimes let my opinion and snark get in the way of the fact that my goal is to actually help folks navigate social media. If my sarcasm got in the way of doing that, sorry. But keep the great comments coming. Yes, I understand that it will now live on the Internet forever. I try not to take myself too seriously Cheers. The best service is to give people what they say they want not what Facebook is telling them they want. The simple solution for me is to simply stop sending messages through Facebook — there are plenty of alternatives. The unfortunate side: I found something someone lost on New Years Eve. I located the owner on Facebook and tried to message her through Chrome Facebook Messaging only to find its now blocked. Why all the bs name calling. But I have learned that 90% of the stuff that we use apps for can be done online usually just as easily and without using precious phone space up. And messenger uses a boatload of space so thank you. My concern is not privacy. Its that the messenger app is a stinking pile of garbage. It has been show time and time again that after installing and setting up Messenger, that Android becomes significantly slower and sluggish at times. Plus there are constant crashes and other bugs from both Messenger as well as the base Facebook app. But there is a way around both. That is some seriously bad advice. I have had my phones hacked by people and they accessed my phone using Facebook Facebook messenger me email addresses and my phone number and and many other such apps. Anyone that has access to your camera has the same information. Information is the most valuable thing on the planet folks…always has been. So, I may be dull. On both my iPhone and my iPad, I simply pulled up the Share button at the bottom of the Safari window box with up-arrowand chose Request Desktop Site icon. This appears to resolve the issue — for now. Also, I hate the terrible and separate Facebook Messenger app. I will never use it again, and dislike Facebook because they are corralling people into it. On several occasions, the number of messages shown was different in desktop and mobile sites, both on the mobile platform. And then it went back to normal, after a couple days. I suspect they are trying to prevent any message viewing other than through messenger, and are testing various means to do so. First off, your rant was offputting and unbearably long. You are arrogant and niave, to not care about privacy. Yeah i know im not important enough that fb wants to knew every detail of my life. But… Do the people who call me not have a right to privacy?. One of the permissions is to record all calls and listen. I use standard Android Contacts with Google This concerns me because I use the notes section for private information about the people in my contacts, such as: notes about a first date or woman of interest, i. I also use the notes in my own contact to store combinations to my safes, hints for passwords to certain accounts, etc. I am assuming that Facebook has access to each and every character of information stored in each and every contact record. Am I making the correct assumption. If you look at at permissions when downloading fb messager it tells you whathat kinda access they have. In short yes, the have full access even when ur not using messages. They follow everything you do on that device, on every website and every picture you take. The even have control over your external and internal mic. They sat the mic is used for advertising, but is no data can you use facebook messenger without having facebook gathered. And if you and a friend are in a restaurant talking about a safi vacation, next time you open fb you will see adds for a safari. How could they do this without collecting data. What if fb is collecting data on my conversations when my kid calls with a issue she or her friend are struggling with. And 20 years down the road that conversation services when the girls are president. I only do that if I want to see or send privet messa The privacy thing is not really an issue, what I hate about the app is that it literally kills the battery even is the app is closed. I noticed that after I uninstalled it, my phone battery life lasts 3 times as much as before. There can be many reasons for each person. Mine was I do not want to install apps other than those I decide to. The messengers app was is very bad,with battery power. Like up to a factor 4 in drainage speed. Via a browser I do not expect nor want an app to be installed by clicking on an abitrary menu entry on the website. As for your suggestion, i was already using it, the website looks like cancer but at least it does not ask for the app. This is such a lame work-around to have to use. But I do have a smartphone with a relatively low internal storage capacity and a web browser which works perfectly well. Why force users to install apps they neither want nor need. Not everyone has a cell phone either. I rebooted my phone to default. No more messaged app for me pulse the can you use facebook messenger without having facebook to over the phone calls and the text of the phone. There is a major lawsuit goingnon about that at the moment. Well, for the ads, of course. Another thing these ads in this applications do is suck our bandwidth. This has nothing whatsoever to do with privacy or ads. It has everything to do with the fact that Facebook Messenger is a crap program that renders my phone dysfunctional. I just love it when some presumptuous know-it-all jerk tries to insult us into compliance. You are exactly the person that gives away all your private information. You are an irresponsible tech writer to propose people install it, giving away more than your stupid examples.
