10 best Facebook App Alternatives For Android
Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest anything as earth-shattering as quit using Facebook. Just quitting the official Facebook app. Among tech enthusiasts, the Facebook app is the one app you would never put on a new device because of how bloated and resource-hungry it is, but there are plenty of folks out there that do have it installed.
The main things Facebook is accused of doing is taking up too much space (the official app is 40 MB), consuming too much RAM, causing persistent wakelocks, background processes draining battery and generally being the root of all evil. There’s surprisingly little factual evidence around for all these claims, but there is certainly no shortage of evidence that Facebook is the primary cause of a sluggish Android experience. For every one of these claims there’s usually another that states uninstalling the app leads to near-instantaneous performance improvements.
Whether you find your system performance to be so bad that something must be done, you simply want a faster and more streamlined Facebook experience or you just want to know the truth for yourself, there’s certainly no harm in uninstalling Facebook for a while.
Facebook app alternatives
The first thing you’re going to need to do is find yourself a Facebook app alternative. Assuming the main reasons you uninstalled Facebook was to kill its battery-draining, background process-using, resource-chewing habits, then you’re probably going to want something lighter, leaner and faster. Considering how bad the Facebook app is, that isn’t very hard to do. Fortunately, it’s not that hard to find an equivalent Facebook experience elsewhere.
Google Play is full of alternative Facebook apps, but in all honesty, most of them are not very good. I’ve tried pretty much all of them and generally return to the same three or four solutions, which I’ll list for you below. The good news about all of these is that none of them auto-play video ads in your stream either.
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Buffer is one of a few Facebook apps that also allow you to interact with other social media sites. This one allows you to sign in an manage accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn. Despite having a ton of social media support, the app does seem to work pretty well most of the time. There are some issues here and there, particularly with Google+ sharing, but it’s an overall positive experience if you use a lot of social media. The app is free to use if you’re an individual but will cost you a bit of money if you manage multiple accounts. This is also almost exclusively for posting things and doesn’t have a lot of features for interacting with other people.
Buffer is one of a few Facebook apps that also allow you to interact with other social media sites. This one allows you to sign in an manage accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn. Despite having a ton of social media support, the app does seem to work pretty well most of the time. There are some issues here and there, particularly with Google+ sharing, but it’s an overall positive experience if you use a lot of social media. The app is free to use if you’re an individual but will cost you a bit of money if you manage multiple accounts. This is also almost exclusively for posting things and doesn’t have a lot of features for interacting with other people.
Facebook Lite
[Price: Free]
Facebook Lite is a version of the official Facebook app that’s meant to use less system resources, less data, and is configured to work even with the slowest data connections. Its interface looks a bit old and the interface is a tad clunky, but it has a functioning Facebook Messenger built-in and it gets the basic stuff done quite well. Since it is built to work on virtually any phone and almost any network, that makes it perfectly usable on older devices and in places that only support 2G Internet. The only issue is that Facebook is being a real pain about letting everyone use the app, so you’ll have to install this one on your own. Click the button below to get the APK for installation.
Facebook Lite is a version of the official Facebook app that’s meant to use less system resources, less data, and is configured to work even with the slowest data connections. Its interface looks a bit old and the interface is a tad clunky, but it has a functioning Facebook Messenger built-in and it gets the basic stuff done quite well. Since it is built to work on virtually any phone and almost any network, that makes it perfectly usable on older devices and in places that only support 2G Internet. The only issue is that Facebook is being a real pain about letting everyone use the app, so you’ll have to install this one on your own. Click the button below to get the APK for installation.
Fast
[Price: Free / $1.40]
Fast is one of the oldest Facebook apps available and it’s had a lot of time to shore up its weaknesses. It has most of the same features as the official Facebook app, including posting, commenting on things, resharing, and access to Groups and Pages. It boasts Facebook chat support although we’re not sure how long that will hold out with Facebook cracking down on how it works on mobile. In any case, Fast has its issues, but it’s a good effort and works well for basic Facebook use. There is also a Fast Lite option that provides a more basic, but lighter experience.
Fast is one of the oldest Facebook apps available and it’s had a lot of time to shore up its weaknesses. It has most of the same features as the official Facebook app, including posting, commenting on things, resharing, and access to Groups and Pages. It boasts Facebook chat support although we’re not sure how long that will hold out with Facebook cracking down on how it works on mobile. In any case, Fast has its issues, but it’s a good effort and works well for basic Facebook use. There is also a Fast Lite option that provides a more basic, but lighter experience.
Metal
[Price: Free / $1.69]
Metal for Facebook and Twitter is one of the up-and-coming Facebook apps that’s been getting a lot of positive receptions over the last year. Like most, this is a web-wrapper (the mobile website inside of an app) with some tweaks and additional features included to improve the experience. It boasts an ad-free experience, advanced notifications, a few UI tweaks, and there are even theming options. The developer has had a good track record with updating the app with new Facebook features (along with fingerprint support) and it’s a pleasant overall experience.
Metal for Facebook and Twitter is one of the up-and-coming Facebook apps that’s been getting a lot of positive receptions over the last year. Like most, this is a web-wrapper (the mobile website inside of an app) with some tweaks and additional features included to improve the experience. It boasts an ad-free experience, advanced notifications, a few UI tweaks, and there are even theming options. The developer has had a good track record with updating the app with new Facebook features (along with fingerprint support) and it’s a pleasant overall experience.
Puffin for Facebook
[Price: Free]
Puffin for Facebook is made by the same developers who did the popular, if quirky Puffin Browser. This is actually a browser app that is made specifically for browsing on Facebook. It features data compression that allows you to surf Facebook while using less data and also includes a tweaked UI for more enjoyable browsing. It works better on lower-end devices on slower network connections which is great if you’re hauling one of those around. It’s completely free and it’s something a little different.
Puffin for Facebook is made by the same developers who did the popular, if quirky Puffin Browser. This is actually a browser app that is made specifically for browsing on Facebook. It features data compression that allows you to surf Facebook while using less data and also includes a tweaked UI for more enjoyable browsing. It works better on lower-end devices on slower network connections which is great if you’re hauling one of those around. It’s completely free and it’s something a little different.
SlimSocial for Facebook
[Price: Free / $4.99]
SlimSocial is a newer Facebook app that keeps it wicked simple. Its claim to fame is its intensely small size (100KB), that it shows no ads, and that it’s open source so you can go view the source code and contribute to its development if you want to. Aside from that, there isn’t much to talk about. It’s a web-wrapped which means it works more or less like the mobile version of the site does. The developer has also expressed interest in adding new features down the road like background notifications along with more stuff. It’s a good option, even if it’s not overly filled with features.
SlimSocial is a newer Facebook app that keeps it wicked simple. Its claim to fame is its intensely small size (100KB), that it shows no ads, and that it’s open source so you can go view the source code and contribute to its development if you want to. Aside from that, there isn’t much to talk about. It’s a web-wrapped which means it works more or less like the mobile version of the site does. The developer has also expressed interest in adding new features down the road like background notifications along with more stuff. It’s a good option, even if it’s not overly filled with features.
Swipe for Facebook
[Price: Free / $2.85]
Swipe for Facebook is one of the newer Facebook apps and so far people seem to really like it. The UI has been tweaked to give it more of a Material Design feel and you can change the UI to mimic different styles, such as Google+. It also comes with theming, Facebook Messenger support (for now), and a tabbed set up that lets you swipe between all the various parts of the app. It’s powerful, although many features (like theming) require you to buy the pro version.
Swipe for Facebook is one of the newer Facebook apps and so far people seem to really like it. The UI has been tweaked to give it more of a Material Design feel and you can change the UI to mimic different styles, such as Google+. It also comes with theming, Facebook Messenger support (for now), and a tabbed set up that lets you swipe between all the various parts of the app. It’s powerful, although many features (like theming) require you to buy the pro version.
Tinfoil for Facebook
[Price: Free]
Tinfoil is a little bit older, but many people still swear by it. Tinfoil’s claim to fame is being a Facebook app that doesn’t ask for any of your permissions, hence the name. It’s a web-wrapped for Facebook and so most of the functionality is the same as the mobile website version of Facebook. The only downside to Tinfoil is that updates don’t come all that frequently (it’s been over a year as of this writing) so issues may or may not get fixed. At the very least, it’s completely free.
Tinfoil is a little bit older, but many people still swear by it. Tinfoil’s claim to fame is being a Facebook app that doesn’t ask for any of your permissions, hence the name. It’s a web-wrapped for Facebook and so most of the functionality is the same as the mobile website version of Facebook. The only downside to Tinfoil is that updates don’t come all that frequently (it’s been over a year as of this writing) so issues may or may not get fixed. At the very least, it’s completely free.
Toffeed
[Price: Free]
Toffeed is one of the newer Facebook apps and, admittedly, this one still needs a bit of work. It’s a web-wrapper and has most of the features of the mobile version of Facebook. It supports background notifications which is nice and the UI has been tweaked to have more Material Design. It’s also fairly light, clocking in at about 2MB. It does have some issues here and there, so it may not be the right fit for frequent Facebook users, but it can be a passable alternative for occasional users.
Toffeed is one of the newer Facebook apps and, admittedly, this one still needs a bit of work. It’s a web-wrapper and has most of the features of the mobile version of Facebook. It supports background notifications which is nice and the UI has been tweaked to have more Material Design. It’s also fairly light, clocking in at about 2MB. It does have some issues here and there, so it may not be the right fit for frequent Facebook users, but it can be a passable alternative for occasional users.
If we missed any great Facebook apps, tell us about them in the comments
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