“There’s an app for that.”
A popular saying when it comes to these little devices we carry around all day called smartphones. It’s amazing what our devices can do with a dedicated app, especially when it comes to social media applications. If you’ve ever used the Instagram app versus visiting it on the browser, you will know what I mean.
Unfortunately, some applications are really heavy and take up a lot of resources, slowing down slower phones. One of which is the Facebook application. It takes up a whopping amount of space in your internal storage versus something like Instagram that only uses a fraction of the amount, but because this is the only and most complete application for browsing Facebook, we begrudgingly use it.
Common perception would be that the mobile browser version is always a whole lot worse than the app, but according to Android Central, that isn’t the case. Russell Holly wrote an article about how he uninstalled Facebook on his Android device and it turned out to be a better experience than he expected.
That got us thinking, is the Facebook app really worth it? Well, for what we believe is the majority of FB users, we doubt it. Here are the five reasons we think Android users should ditch the Facebook application.
1. The Facebook app is hungry
If you’re on it for a moderate amount of time a day, you will notice that it becomes one of the biggest battery drainers on your phone. Plus, it is a performance hog too, something Russell also notes, so it will significantly slow down the performance of lower-end devices.
2. SO MANY PERMISSIONS
If you’ve ever installed the Facebook app, I’m sure you’d notice the ridiculous amount of permissions they “require” to function properly. It wants access to so much of my information that I’m pretty sure the Zuck knows me better than my mom does.
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3. You can get notifications from the mobile browser version too
Aha! You can’t get notifications unless you install the app! Yea, that’s not the case. When you log into Facebook on Chrome for the first time, you will be prompted with a popup that lets you know that the site wants to send you notifications. If you approve this, Chrome will alert you when you get a notification.
4. No need to use Facebook’s “light” web browser
If you’re the type of person that likes to click on funny external links that have been shared on Facebook, I’m sure you’ve come across Facebook’s own in-app web browser (which I hate) that uses a surprising about of data to load a page. On Chrome, external links open in a new Chrome tab so you can take full advantage of Chrome’s Data Saver function.
5. It’s just awesome how good the mobile browser is
Seriously. Granted it doesn’t look as slick, but the user interface is almost the same as the application and browsing is equally smooth. Plus if you’re managing a page, you get to choose whether you would like to comment as the page or as yourself. The only problem is that the in-browser messaging system is kinda terrible, but since Facebook likes to separate its apps, you can still keep the Messenger application on your phone and receive instant messages.
Pro Tip: You can add a Chrome bookmark to your home screen to quickly launch into the mobile browser version of Facebook. All you need to do is surf to your desired website, tap on the menu button and then select “Add to Home screen”.
There you have it, a pretty compelling set of pros. But, if you’re a heavy user or if you simply have too much processing horsepower and internal storage to spare, go ahead and keep the app. We don’t think you absolutely need it. It’s pretty awesome how good the web browser is, which really makes us wonder why other people don’t develop a better web browsing experience. Is it just to push you towards their application or some other more pressing reason? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
