If you are looking for an answer to the question of how to check Facebook messages without messenger, then you are in the right place. The Facebook app is one of the oldest social media platforms that allow people to share moments, opinions, thoughts, and much more. Previously, we could receive and send messages from the app itself.
But with progress, this was made into a separate platform called the Messenger app, and Facebook was kept solely for social feed interactions. In this article, we will provide a few tips and tricks that can help you use Facebook without the Messenger app.
How To Check Facebook Messages Without Messenger?
There are many ways to check and send messages without the Facebook Messenger app or Messenger Lite. You can access them easily using the Desktop version or by installing some third-party app. Luckily, we have provided a few methods that can help you send the message without the app.
– View Facebook Messages Using the Desktop Version on Mobile
Devices like iOS, iPad, and Android become very helpful when using social apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you want to send messages, you can use the desktop version of the app. This also gives you easier access to do several other things as well, like creating a poll on Facebook, blocking or unblocking someone on Facebook, or even fixing the Facebook not loading problem. The desktop site avoids the usage of third-party apps to read Facebook messages.
– For iOS Users
To understand how to check Facebook messages without Messenger on iPhone, follow the steps below:
- Head to the Safari browser and open the Facebook site.
- Find the AA icon embedded in the left-hand corner of the browser. Tap on it.
- From the menu, select “Request Desktop Website”.
- Once you have opened this version of the app, find the Messages icon. Tap on it.
- Here you will be able to view all your Messenger chats and even receive and send Facebook messages.
- If you would like to see older text messages from your Facebook friends without the app, then click on “See older messages”.
If you would like to create a bookmark of the messages tab on your home screen, then click on the share icon. Over here, you will find the “Add to Home Screen” option. Click on it and tap on Add. This will create a Facebook icon on your iPhone home screen. Tap on that to access your messages anytime without using the actual app.
The alternative solution to this is to open the Facebook Messenger Desktop counterpart and create a bookmark for it. But chances are you won’t like the user interface.
– For Android Users
Navigate to your favorite mobile browser and open the Facebook site. Log in to it using your details like your phone number. We highly recommend Google Chrome for this. Since it is Android, you don’t have to open the Desktop counterpart. Below are the detailed steps:
- Just tap on the Messages icon. Over here, you can see all your messages without the app.
- Find the 3 dots icon and tap on it. This opens up a menu.
- Select “Add to home screen”.This will cause a confirmation window to pop up.
- Tap on “Add > Add automatically”. This will create a Facebook icon that is a Facebook message shortcut on your Android home screen.
- Tap on that to access your messages anytime without using the app.
Although this is an easy method to view messages, the desktop user interface makes it very difficult on the mobile because all the icons, buttons, menus, messages, and feed become smaller in size. Hence you might have to zoom in on the menu, buttons, and messages.
– Check Facebook Messages Using the Facebook App
First, make sure that you have successfully uninstalled the Messenger app from your phone. Then open the app and tap on the Messenger icon on the top right-hand corner of the app. This will now take you to a new screen where you can either choose to install the app or view your recent chats. The recent chats option will help you view the newer chats with all your friends across Facebook.
A question that arises here is, can we only see the recent chats and message requests using Facebook Messenger? Not exactly. We can view the older chats as well. But we have to search for that particular user in the search bar by typing the username. In case the person has deactivated their account or blocked you, then it might be a little difficult to find the conversation.
– Read Messages Using the Instagram App
In case you have not yet unlinked your Facebook account from your Instagram account, you can sync these two accounts and message from Facebook itself directly. If you wish to sync your Facebook and Instagram accounts, then the first step is to log in to your account using your details e.g., a mobile number, and then update your Instagram account.
Find the direct messages icon and tap on it. From here, find the Update Instagram messaging option. This will help you to sync your Facebook account with that of Instagram.
Once the update has been done, it will ask you if you would like to sync your profile and photo from Facebook. If you would like to proceed, click on Sync Now. You can also avoid this step by clicking on the skip button. Once this is done, using the Search option, you can now search for a Facebook friend and then tap their profile to chat with them directly.
This interface is the same as that of Instagram’s direct messaging. In this case, you can send a Facebook message without using the app.
– Alternative Method for Unusual Cases
If the above scenarios do not work, then do the following.
- The first requirement for this is having a web browser to access Facebook. In this case, we have used Google Chrome.
- In the browser, enter mbasic.Facebook.com. This is the mobile version of the website.
- Once you have reached here, go to your inbox by clicking on Messages.
- The next step is to just open the conversation by clicking on the friend’s name, which is under the recent messages.
- Once you have opened the chat, you will be able to receive and send Facebook messages and delete messages as well as pictures and stickers, just like the Facebook Messenger app.
It is also possible to open Messenger in the browser. Just type Messenger.com to open Messenger in Chrome or any other browser. But doing so on the mobile will redirect you to the app installation.
FAQ
1. How To View My Facebook Messages on My Phone Without the Sender Knowing?
Whenever you send a message to someone on Facebook Messenger, you will see that there is a circle with a tick inside right next to the text. If the person opens it, then the icon will be replaced by the icon. This is how we know the person has read it.
Facebook Messenger itself does not come with an option to turn off read receipts like in Whatsapp, but we can find loopholes.
The most effective and used method to achieve anonymity is to prevent the app itself from connecting to the Internet. To achieve this, you just have to turn on flight mode on your phone. This can be done either from settings or by using the quick access icons that appear when you swipe from the top of the screen.
When you first get Messenger messages, do not open them. Turn on flight mode and then view it. This way, the sender won’t realize that you have read the messages. It isn’t possible to be sure if it is successful on your phone, but as far as we have seen, the sender only gets a gray tick when you use this method.
Only when you decide to engage with them and re-open the message after turning on flight mode will the gray tick get replaced by your profile picture, informing the sender that you have read their message.
2. How To See Facebook Messages on PC or Laptop Without the Sender Knowing?
Another question that users mainly have is how to check Facebook messages without being seen on the PC. But even on PC, Facebook Messenger does not provide the feature of turning off the “seen” notification. This is where we need third-party browser plug-ins.
If you are using Chrome as your browser, then there is a wide array of choices. Open a new tab and find the colorful square grid that is at the upper left-hand corner of the window marked as Apps. Then click on the Web Store icon.
Search for the extension Unseen. This is a cunning extension that will mark all your messages unseen when you open a message. Click the Add to Chrome button. This will install the extension. Now when you see messages, they will still be marked unseen.
If your browser is Firefox, then open a new tab and find the three lines at the top right-hand corner of the window. Click on it. From the menu that pops up, select Add-ons. Now search for the app Facebook Unseen and click the Add to Firefox button.
3. What Do I Need To View My Messages Without the Messenger App?
You need to make sure that your device, be it an iPad, iOS, or Android phone, has a stable or fast connection and is not on airplane mode. According to our tech geeks, a slow Internet is as good as a dead one. Follow the given suggestions to boost your Internet speed:
- Upgrade the Internet subscription.
- Invest in a Wi-Fi speed booster or extender.
- Buy a suitable, good quality Ethernet cable. If it’s of poor quality, chances are it can consume almost half of the Internet connection supplied to your router.
Once a proper connection has been established, you can then follow the steps given above to see the message or see how to call on Facebook without Messenger.
Conclusion
Most people these days prefer high levels of security and privacy. Everyone is willing to go to any extent to achieve it as well. At the same time, having too many apps takes up storage space on the device, which is also not quite desired these days.
Here are a few points to keep in mind from the article:
- It is possible to check messages without Messenger using a Desktop mode on your phone. But this can have a few difficulties relating to the user interface.
- You can view your recent chats through the app itself and view older chats by searching for the particular person.
- It is also possible to see messages using the Instagram app. Just make sure both your accounts are synced.
- It is also possible to turn off read receipts by turning off flight mode or just using third-party plugins.
After reading the article, now you can rest assured that you know how to protect your privacy.