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List of 10 Facebook apps for Android
Facebook is a popular social media platform that lets you stay in touch with your friends and family. The social media platform has a userbase of 1 billion people worldwide, most of which are active regularly. Despite the extremely high functionality and advanced features, the official Facebook app is data consuming, battery drainer, and resource hogging. The situation is such that a lot of people end up deleting it even if they want to use the service. In such a case, it’s always better to keep options. That’s exactly the reason we have brought a list of some Facebook apps for Android that can help you make the most of it.
The apps listed here may help you stay active and connected on social media without having to compromise your device. Let’s have a look one by one.
- Facebook (official app)
It’s obvious that you are on this list because you want to leave the app behind, yet there are many cases where you just can’t ignore it. Every time the social media giant rolls out any new feature, the official app is the first place to receive the changes long before the third-party Facebook apps do. Facebook’s official suite of apps packs Facebook Messenger, Facebook at Work, Facebook Groups, and Facebook Mentions (for the famous ones).
All of these aren’t ideal choices when it comes to battery life, but they might benefit you with the new features. Facebook Messenger a suitable option to use the chat platform unless you have set your mobile browser to “desktop client mode”.
2. Buffer
Buffer is one of the Facebook apps that lets you interact with other social media sites. The app is available for free and offers some in-app purchases to modify its functionality. Using Buffer, you can sign-in to and manage accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. In spite of overwhelming social media support, the app works well most of the times. Though there are some issues at some instances, especially with Google+ sharing, yet overall the app delivers a positive experience to regular social media users.
It’s completely free to use unless you want to manage multiple accounts. Buffer is a dedicated solution for posting stuff and doesn’t boast a lot of features to interact with people.
3. Facebook Lite
Available as a free and lightweight version of the original application, Facebook Lite is aimed at using lesser system resources and data. The app is designed to work even with the slowest Internet connections. The interface seems bit outdated, yet it flaunts a built-in functioning Facebook Messenger. If you want to just get the basic stuff done, Facebook Lite can be a good option. The app is built to work virtually on any phone and almost with all networks, making it suitable for older devices and places that support only 2G connections.
The only flip point is that Facebook becomes bothersome when it comes to allowing users to use the app. Hence, you will need to install the app on your own.
4. Fast
Being one of the oldest Facebook apps; Fast had a long time shoring up its weaknesses. The app has more or less the similar features like the official app. The list of features includes posting, commenting, re-sharing, and access to Groups and Pages. Fast also offers Facebook Chat support, though it’s still not sure how long it will hold out Facebook cracking down on how the app works on mobile.
In short, despite its own issues, Fast is a decent initiative and works well if you are a basic Facebook user. You can also opt for Fast Lite to access a more basic yet lighter experience.
5. Metal
Metal is a social media app for Facebook and Twitter. It is one of the upcoming Facebook apps that have been receiving a lot of positive response throughout the last year. Like many others, the app is a web-wrapper (a mobile website inside of an app) with some simple tweaks and additional features to enhance the overall experience.
Powered by interface with no ads, advanced notifications, a couple of UI tweaks, and some theme options, the app seems to deliver a decent service. The developer is well known for a good track with updating the app regularly with new Facebook features, including fingerprint support.
6. SlimSocial for Facebook
Newer yet powerful, SlimSocial is a Facebook app that keeps everything wicked simple. The app is said to be extremely lightweight, with a file size of only 100KB. It also boasts that there are no ads and it is open source, letting you view the source code and participate in its development if you want to.
Apart from that, the app has no frills to talk about. SlimSocial is also a web-wrapped app, implying that it works almost same like the mobile version of the site. The developer also showed interest in bringing new features down the line, including background notifications and other stuff. Overall, it’s still a good option even if not loaded with bells and whistles.
7. Puffin for Facebook
Puffin for Facebook is introduced by the same developer behind the popular Puffin browser. Puffin is more of a browser app dedicated for browsing on Facebook. The app offers features like data compression to let you surf Facebook meanwhile using lesser data. It also includes a tweaked UI to offer better and enjoyable browsing experience.
The social messaging app works better on lower-end devices with slow connections, which is a plus when you are stuck in such situation. It’s entirely free and something different.
8. Swipe
Swipe for Facebook is another such app in the list. So far, the app seems a favorable choice of the users. The app’s UI has been updated to add more feel of a Material Design. You can also change the UI to mimic several styles, like Google+. Swipe offers theming, support for Facebook Messenger, and tabbed set up to let you swipe between different parts of the app.
Powerful, functional and free, yet some features require you to update to the Pro version.
9. Toffeed
Toffeed is one of the newer Facebook apps and thence, demands a few changes and improvements. It’s also a web-wrapper with most of its features like that of the mobile version of Facebook. Toffeed supports background notifications, which is a nice addition. The UI has been modified to have more Material Design.
The file size is fairly lightweight, consuming merely 2MB space on your device. The app does have some issues around its functionality, which makes it not-so-right fit for active or power Facebook users. In any manner, Toffeed is still a passable option for basic users.
10. Tinfoil for Facebook
Tinfoil ranks among the reliable ones. Older yet useful, the app claims to be the Facebook app that doesn’t ask for any of your permissions. The web-wrapped app offers functionality like the mobile version of the main social media platform. The only drawback in Tinfoil is that the updates arrive pretty late, making it lagging behind in features list. This leads to unresolved issues longstanding in the line to get some attention.
So, this was our list of some alternatives to the social media platform in case you don’t feel like compromising your device’s battery and storage for Facebook. If you aren’t satisfied with these, you can also check out more alternatives on the web.