I know you use Facebook when there’s nothing else to do and you just consume what it throws at you. I’m not throwing shade, that’s what Facebook does, helps you when you’re bored.
But there are still ways to make this scrolling scrolling scrolling experience on Facebook better and a bit less annoying. But as this is Facebook, not that much less annoying.
Here we go.
1. Disable Auto Video Playing
I’m going to be honest, watching silly viral videos on my Facebook feed is one of the best ways to pass the time. But the problem is that sometimes it can be too much. Either you’re on a limited Wi-Fi network or you plan not to spend 3 hours inside the Facebook app. Also, Facebook has recently introduced autoplaying ads – both in the feed and when you’re reading an Instant Article. For me, that was the last straw. Autoplay videos had to go.
Facebook hasn’t made this easy or obvious but together, we’ll get there.
From the app, tap the “More” button and select “Settings”.
You’ll see a popup, from here select “Account Settings”.
For some reason, a web view will load, wait for it. Then from the list, select “Videos and Photos”.
Here, tap the “Auto-play” option under “Video Settings”.
From the list, select “Never Auto-plays Videos”.
Phew, we made it.
2. Use Pin Based Login
If for some reason you can’t always stay logged in to Facebook, there’s now a much easier way to log back in – using a 4 number passcode.
Enabling it is a bit tricky. When you login, you’ll sometimes get a popup asking you to enable it.
The only way to manually enable it is to go to “More” and tap on “Log out”.
You get to a screen that has your profile picture on it. Tap the “gear” icon and select “Add passcode” and enter the 4 number code. Go back and tap on your profile photo. Enter the passcode and you’re in.
This will make frequent logging out and in again really easy.
3. Save Links and Posts
Facebook has a built-in bookmarks feature. You can save anything from a Facebook page to a link to an article you want to read. When you see a post on your timeline, tap the down arrow button and select “Save link”. When you visit a page, tap the “Save” button in the top bar to save it.
To view saved pages, tap the “More” button, and select “Saved”.
4. Stop Facebook From Eating Away Your Battery Life
Facebook on iPhone is notorious for consuming more than its fair share of the battery life. So we’re going to try and do everything we can to reduce the effect without actually uninstalling the app.
A. Revoke Background Access
Go to the “Settings” app, select “General”, and then tap on “Background App Refresh”. From this list, find Facebook and toggle it off. This will make sure that Facebook isn’t running unnecessarily in the background refreshing your feed.
B. Disable Location Services
It’s best to disable Location Services for Facebook altogether. Just so it doesn’t track your location in the background.
In the “Settings” app, go to “Privacy” and select “Location Services”. Find Facebook on the list, tap on it and from the next screen, select “Never”.
C. Reclaim Used Storage Space by Facebook
Facebook is a bloated app. But if it decides to go crazy and to start downloading and saving stuff for whatever reason, you might find that your Facebook app now weighs couple hundred MBs. Or in some cases, multiple GBs.
To see if that’s the case, open the “Settings” app, select “General”, then “Storage” and then “Manage Storage”.
Find the Facebook app and tap on it. You’ll see how much space it’s using. If it’s a bit too much, sadly there’s not much you can do. You’ll need to delete the app and download it again to start fresh.
5. Stay Friends With Someone, Without Ever Seeing Their Posts
There are some people that are, how should I say, slightly annoying, that I can’t really unfriend on Facebook – for various reasons. But what I can do is have an option to never see a post from them ever again.
It’s as simple as going to their profile, and tapping that button that says “Following” and selecting the “Unfollow” option.
6. Customize Who Sees Your Posts
Just as well, there are people on my Facebook friend list that I’d really like if they never saw anything I posted, ever. This, is achievable as well, although a bit tricky.
Here’s how it works. You go to such person in question and tap the “Friends” button. From the popup, select “Edit Friends list”. Then from the list, tap on “Acquaintances”. This person now just went from being your Friend, to your acquaintance. Take that. And he’s none the wiser.
Do this for all the people you want to hide your posts from and then we’ll move on to the next part.
Now, we’ll need to find a way to make sure that “acquaintances” never see your posts on their feed.
So go to “More” and from “Settings”, select “Account Settings”.
From the next web page that loads up, tap on “Privacy”. Now on “Who can see your future posts?” And select “Friends except Acquaintances”.
And that’s it. Now all your posts will be hidden from “acquaintances”.
7. Hide Notifications From A Thread
The worst thing on Facebook is being caught up in a long comment conversation. Thankfully Facebook now clubs notification but it can still be too much. So go to “Notifications” and swipe on a card to reveal the actions. You can either hide the card outright or take action on the notification by tapping the “More” button.
This action will depend on the kind of notification. You’ll be able to block notifications from a specific page, or a group and more. It’s a bit confusing (And I know I’ve already said that 5 times) but as this is Facebook of course it is.
Bonus
8. Access Most Recent Feed
If you don’t like Facebook deciding what you should see in the News Feed, then access the Most Recent feed to see all the posts posted by your friends and family. Unfortunately, it is not very easy to find the “Most Recent” newsfeed as it has been buried deep inside the settings. Check our post to find out how to access the Most Recent feed in the Facebook app.
What’s Your Favorite Facebook App Tip?
Did we miss something? Share with us in the comments below.
