Do note that Facebook prefers the usage of its own applications. So much so, that it’s allegedly pushing developers of third-party solutions to the curb, as a recent report said. Still, third-party apps are available in the Play Store, and if you’re a light Facebook user, you may consider some of them. Some of those apps are very light, and good for the battery. Most of them are just glorified website wrappers, though, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In any case, we’ve listed a bunch of apps that allow you to access your Facebook content below, starting with the official ones, so read on if you’re interested.
Top 9 Best Facebook Android Apps 2022
Below is a quick overview of the top 9 best Facebook Android apps for 2022, including any download and in-app purchase costs.
Top 9 Best Facebook Android Apps 2022 Downloads
Below is a little more information on each app, and a direct link for easy downloading. All download links go to the app’s Google Play Store listing. Users are always recommended to download apps from Google Play or an authorized app store.
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: $0.05-$399.99Size: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
The first app on the list is the company’s main app, Facebook. This application has been around for a long time, and tons of people use it. It has really poor reviews in the Play Store, though, mostly because of frequent bugs that users stumble upon. Still, this app is a good choice if you’re an avid Facebook user, in fact, it may be your best bet in that case. It gets you a ton of functionality, and it actually looks really good. This app is not exactly light on the battery, though, so keep that in mind. It does support a dark theme, and it allows you to do most of the things you’d do via the company’s website on your desktop PC. You can navigate the feed, tweak the settings, mess with your profile, upload images, create albums, be involved in pages and groups, and so much more. This app offers a lot of functionality. Download Facebook
Facebook Lite
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: NoSize: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
Facebook Lite is an alternate solution from the company. This app is meant to be used by less powerful smartphones, but anyone can download it, really. If you’re a light Facebook user, and don’t need all the functionality the main app offers, this may be a great solution for you. This app is not barebones, though, it does have a lot of the features the main app offers. It even allows you to access your chat section as well. This app does work better on slower network connections, and it conserves more data. This variant does not support dark mode, though, so you’ll be stuck with a light mode. It also tends to share lower-res content when you upload it, regardless of what settings you chose. We’re not sure if that’s a bug or not, but there you go. This app is also quite buggy, based on what people are saying, and our own experience with it. We’ve spotted way less bugs than in the main app, though, so… it may be worth trying out. Download Facebook Lite
Friendly
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: $1.99-$9.99Size: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
Friendly is one of the most unique alternatives to the main Facebook app. This app is far from being just a website wrapper. Do note that this app is also quite buggy, so prepare yourself if you’re planning to try it out. Friendly has been around for a long time, and it managed to gain a lot of features during that time. This app shines in the filtering section, its filtering tools are excellent. You can filter the content on the news feed. So, for example, if you’re tired of political content, you can simply set your keyword filter to hide such news. Choose any words you want, and the filter will do the rest. Friendly allows you to download your photos and videos. sorts your news feed, chat with your Facebook friends, theme the app, set quiet hours for notifications, and much more. Download Friendly
Swipe
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: NoSize: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Swipe is a good choice if you think the main Facebook app is too heavy, and you’re looking for a lighter alternative. This app’s strengths definitely include its customization options. For example, you can set the primary color of the app, the accents, toolbar, and text colors, tabs background color, and so on. You can enable swipes between tabs, set the app to collapse toolbar on scroll, and much more. There are a ton of customization tools included here. The app also allows you to access your messages, and it even supports Chat Heads. It even allows you to block ads, and to take full control of your notifications. You can set quiet hours for notifications here, and the app also comes with a day/night theming engine. The UI looks really nice and minimalistic, you’ll be right at home if you like Facebook’s UI in general. The thing is, thanks to its theming options, you can really make this app your own. Download Swipe
Mini
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: NoSize: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Mini for Facebook is a solid choice for older smartphones. The same goes for really small devices. This app works well with 2G, but you can use it with 3G, 4G, and WiFi connections as well. It comes with a video downloader, and you can download both images and videos thanks to it. The app’s footprint is not that large at all, and the app is really good when it comes to battery consumption. Mini does support Chat Heads as well, if that’s your thing. It does support dark mode, a pure black one, by the way, so that it serves you with the most battery-saving benefits. This app also offers quite a bit of customization options, and the performance is not bad at all. It does offer quite a bit of features, and it’s worth trying out if you’re looking for something a bit different. Download Mini
Buffer
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: $5.99-$144Size: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
Buffer is more of a tool to manage your social media accounts, rather than a replacement for a Facebook app. Still, considering the features this app offers, it can serve as a replacement as well. You can log into various different social media accounts via this app, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, and control them via Buffer. This app will help you be present at all times, without switching between apps. One of the main features this app allows you to do is… schedule posts. You can schedule everything for a set period of time and be done with it. This is a great feature to have if you’re running a business or something of the sort. You can also get access to analytics, just to see how your posts are performing. The app’s UI is really nice as well, and the app’s performance is not bad either. Do note that you’ll need to pay up for some features, if you choose to use them. Download Buffer
Simple Social
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: NoSize: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
Simple Social is a really lightweight app. It’s great for battery consumption, as it doesn’t drain excessive amounts of battery juice. Even though some people may call this a glorified website wrapper, there’s nothing wrong with that, as the app feels really good to use. The app looks really nice, and it allows for a decent level of customizability as well. You can change accent colors, for example. The app allows you to download videos from Facebook, while all the main features from the company’s official app are also a part of the offering. This app doesn’t have as many features as the main app does, and it’s also behind some of the other apps in that regard, but the vast majority of people don’t really need all the extras. If you’re looking for something simple that works, give this a go. Download Simple Social
Metal
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: NoSize: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Metal is yet another interesting, rather light app for Facebook (also a website wrapper, essentially). This app even allows you to see your Facebook content in a floating window. That way, you can keep track of what’s going on while you’re using other apps. You can easily upload your pictures via this app, while Metal also supports dark mode. Notifications are supported, and you’re getting some control over them as well. If you’d like to set up a login that requires you to use your phone’s fingerprint scanner, that is also doable. The app offers a decent level of customizability, similar to several other apps on this list, and its performance is also really good. Ads are not a part of the equation in Metal, and the same goes for theming. Data-saving features are also included inside this application, by the way. Download Metal
Phoenix
Price: Free to downloadIn-app purchases: NoSize: Varies with deviceGoogle Play rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Phoenix is a Facebook solution that delivers a somewhat different UI design. This app’s top bar is sectioned into News, Updates, and More options. There are several options included above it, including a search bar. The design looks very simplistic. You do have some control over that toolbar, as you can move it to the bottom, for example. This app does allow you to access the ‘Messenger’ content as well. You can turn on or off Facebook notifications within the app, and the same goes for Messenger notifications. Some syncing options are also available, and you can also choose whether you want to use Chat Heads or not. A filtering tool is a part of the package as well, you can choose to filter out some keywords from your news feed. These are only some features the app offers, as there are quite a few of them available. Download Phoenix
