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Facebook Home App

Categories: News & Updates

Facebook launched its new Home app on April 12, 2013 to android users everywhere. Unfortunately for some, this app is only available for the HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S3, and Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Iphone users will have to wait while Facebook and Iphone go over what is and isn't allowed within the Apple's strict guidelines.

For the heavy Facebook user, this new app provides quick access to Facebook. Once you download the app, it becomes your home and lock screen. You will receive your news feed right on your home screen at all times. You don't even have to swipe to look at other news feeds because this app will do that for you. One strange thing about the news feed is that it seems to display random news feeds jumping from one day of the week to the next. However you can like and leave comments for the statuses you like on the news feed. Perhaps Facebook wants to make sure you didn't miss anything good earlier in the week.

A new feature that some may is their SMS and Messenger Icons. If you are in the middle of a conversation with someone, the icon will appear on the right side of your screen for easy access and stay there until you choose to press and drag it to the little X at the bottom of your screen. Double tapping on the icon opens up the conversation. This does however cause a slight problem if you prefer to stay offline or invisible to your friends. Once you've downloaded this app you are permanently online while you are using the Facebook Home app.

In the center bottom of your home screen, your profile image will appear. You can press and drag your profile image to take you up to your phone applications, left to your messenger, or right as a back button to your previous screen.

Clicking and dragging up will offer you a status, photo, and check-in option. Below that it will show you your most recently used apps and at the bottom, it offers the icons you originally had at the base of your old home screen before you downloaded the app. From this screen, if you swipe to the right you will find all of the apps for your phone, and if you are desperate to see your old home screen press the “more” option at the very end of all your apps. As soon as your screen times out and you turn your screen back on, you will be right back at Facebook news feed and will have to repeat the process of click and drags and scrolling to get to your old home screen again.

Facebook home gives you the option of using it is as your default for incoming and outgoing text messages. By going to home setting and then message settings, you have the option of turning this feature off and only using Facebook messenger. If you choose to do this, your old texting preference will be returned to you.

If you decide that you would like your phone back to its original settings before you downloaded the Facebook Home app you need only to go to your settings and select 'Turn Off Facebook Home'. It will then ask if you are sure and let you know that you can just select the icon on your phone if you wish to use Facebook home again.

Beware of double tapping on your screen: whatever status of newsfeed you are on you can like by simply double tapping on the screen. To unlike you can press the thumb in the bottom left corner.

One good thing Facebook has done is given you an easy option to report bugs in the app. By pressing your menu button on your phone and selecting Report Bug, you can tell Facebook what you think needs fixing. Since this is a brand new app I'm sure there will be lots of updates coming out to perfect the app more to the public's liking.

If you are a heavy Facebook user, I recommend this app for you. It gives you easy and quick access to all things Facebook. However, if you only glance at your phone every now and again to see what your friends and family are up to, I suggest sticking with the original Facebook app, so your phone is not overwhelmed with all things Facebook and the apps you usually use are not stuffed in the background.

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