If you are reading this, you must have a Facebook account. If you don't have it, let us congratulate you. Resisting the social network par excellence requires a lot of willpower. But if you're like most of us, you've probably been doing almost the same things for years. Upload photos, give "Like" to the publications of your contacts, make funny comments, share some news ... But there are many more possibilities and options. With this selection of tricks, you can get the most out of Facebook . Some are within mouse reach, and others need a little digging. Check out. You will surely find something you did not know.
1 - Know who has seen your Facebook profile
Satisfying our curiosity is a tad laborious, but very easy to do. Right click anywhere on your wall, and select View page source code . You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + U . A new tab will open with the code for the web page. Press Ctrl + F to open a search box, and type Friendslist . When you locate the term, you will see below a list of numbers ending in "-2". These numbers are the identifiers of the people who have recently viewed your profile or chatted with you.Copy an identifier (don't include the "-2"), put a slash / after the URL www.facebook.com, paste the number and hit Enter. You will access the profile of the person in question.
2 - What have you done on Facebook on a day like today?
Facebook's “A day like today” option (“onthisday” in English) shows you what you were doing on the social network on the same day years ago, like a personal time capsule . Everyone can see their activity, and only yours. You can check it out at facebook.com/onthisday. You also have a shortcut in the menu on the left, in the web version, and in the drop-down menu on the right, in the app. We bet you get more than one surprise when you look back.
3 - There is an important difference between "Friend" and "Follower"
There are two ways to connect with people on Facebook: send a friend request, or follow the person in question. Becoming friends with someone means that two people know each other in some way, and they agree to connect through Facebook. Following someone means that there is no friendship connection on Facebook. However, when we follow someone, everything they share publicly will appear on our wall, just as if it were news. We can establish whether we want people to follow us or not. You have to click on the Friends tab of our profile, display the More menu and select Followed. There we will see who we follow, and if we want anyone to be able to follow us on Facebook. Similarly, we can customize the way they can follow us.
This trick is useful when creating professional profiles, but it has an even more interesting use. The difference between "Friend" and "Follower" allows you to stop seeing what a contact publishes without removing it from your friends . Friends on Facebook automatically follow each other. If you are tired of a contact monopolizing your wall but you do not dare to withdraw the friendship, breathe easy: there is a solution. Go to their profile, and next to the Friends button you will see the Following button . When you point it with the cursor, a menu will be displayed. Choose the option Stop following… and you're done. You will remain friends but you will get rid of their annoying posts.
4 - Turn Facebook into a personal blog
Sometimes a couple of sentences or a paragraph are not enough to express what we feel. Facebook allows long texts to be shared, but that's not all. The Facebook Notes option allows us to publish as if we were on our personal blog . If you don't feel like fiddling with WordPress, Joomla and more, go to facebook.com/notes and click on Write a note . You can write your article, add an illustrative image and even format the article. From the same link, you can manage your notes and see those published by your contacts.
5 - Disable automatic playback of videos
When we browse Facebook on our computer, videos are not a problem. However, the mobile gets nervous if it does not have a Wi-Fi network nearby. In the app, click on the hamburger icon (the three parallel lines) and go to Application Settings . Then, click on Autoplay , and finally choose Only with Wi-Fi connections . If you wish, you can also completely disable automatic playback , and manually open only those videos that interest you.
If you want to disable autoplay on your web profile as well because you have a boss with an eagle's eye and a bat's ear, it's just as easy. Display the general configuration menu (the little arrow at the top, on the right), go to Settings , then Video, and you can choose the option you want.
6 - Check all your Facebook logins
If you have entered your Facebook account from a computer or mobile other than yours, but you do not remember if you have closed session, you can check it remotely. In the app, tap on the hamburger icon (remember, the three parallel stripes), go to Account Settings and then Security & Login . When you press See more , a list of the places you have used to connect to Facebook will appear. If you see a place or device that is out of the ordinary, you may have forgotten to disconnect from Facebook at work ... or someone else accessed your account without your permission . From this list, you can close any session that you find suspicious.
In the web version, the process is just as easy. From the general settings menu, access Settings . Then click on Security and Login , and follow the same steps from there.
7 - Add an extra layer of security
A secure account is always a good idea. If someone manages to usurp your profile, they can access your personal information and cause you a considerable headache . Pull down the options menu and go to Settings - Security and login . In the section Configure additional security you have a few options to stay calm:
- Use two-step authentication . This is highly recommended not only on Facebook, but on all your accounts and online sites . Whenever you want to enter your account from a new device, you will have to confirm your identity using a text message that you will receive on your phone.
- Receive alerts about unrecognized logins. Facebook will warn you if someone tries to access your account from an unidentified location.
- Choose trusted friends. If you lose your phone or don't remember your password, these trusted friends (between three and five) will help you recover your account using a code and an access address.
8 - Do specific searches of what you want
The Facebook search engine not only serves to locate profiles of other people. With it, you can find anything that has been shared on the social network . If you want to know what is published about Game of Thrones, write it in the search engine. The pages dedicated to the series, photos and videos, news, memes ... Everything will appear. The interest of this trick is that you can find unexpected things, since people share content on Facebook following very different and particular criteria.
9 - Find out the photos that your friends have liked
To find out which images are most popular with your contacts, go to the search bar and type "Photos liked by." Then write the name of one of your friends. Facebook will show you all the photos that have liked the contact you have indicated . You can refine the search by selecting who has published the photos: anyone, yourself, mutual friends ...
10 - Make no one find your Facebook profile
It is possible to increase your privacy and prevent anyone from finding your Facebook profile . Only whoever you want will find you, and your personal publications will be safe from prying eyes. Open the general settings menu, click Settings and then Privacy . The options that you are interested in modifying are the last four.
- Who can send you friend requests? Change this field to "Friends of friends."
- Who can find you with the email address you have provided? If you have used a specific email for Facebook, no problem. If it is your regular email, edit the field and select "Friends".
- Who can find you with the phone number you have provided? Similarly, edit this field and choose "Friends".
- Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile? Select "No" and you will stop showing up on Google. This change takes a few days to take effect.
You can add an extra measure of privacy. In the General tab , you can even change your name on the social network . Facebook conditions dictate that you can only make one name change every 60 days. If you do, try to choose a name that your contacts will easily identify. In this way, you will be invisible to the eyes of others and prevent your boss from prying into your private life. The downside is that you will make it difficult for old friends from school who want to hear from you. But you can always search for them yourself, or turn to mutual friends.
11 - Improve the publications that appear on the wall
Our general Facebook wall does not follow a timeline. The social network itself determines what may interest you (through your interactions, your "likes", and so on as long as it is disturbing) and shows it to you. With this trick, you can tell Facebook what you prefer to see . Hover over the little arrow that appears in the right corner of each post, and select Hide Post . Thus, you will tell Facebook that you do not like this type of content, and you will restrict the appearance of similar publications on your wall.
12 - Save a reading for another time
The drop-down menu for posts offers a very interesting option. If you see something that interests you but you don't have time to read it right now, click Save link . In this way, the content is stored so that you can access it whenever you want . You will find it in the Saved tab , which you will find in the menu on the left in the web version, or by pressing the hamburger icon in the mobile app.
13 - Download a video from Facebook
With this trick you can download Facebook videos to do whatever you want with them. For example, create a gif and share it on Telegram or WhatsApp. Right click on the video you liked it , and choose Show URL of the video . A small dialog box will appear with the direction of the video.
Select the URL, copy it and open a new tab. Paste the address, delete the // www part, and type m . In this way, you will have an address that begins with m.facebook.com/ ... Press Enter, and you will access the video in the web version adapted for mobile phones. Play the video, right-click on it and select Save video as… You will download the video to your computer in .mp4 format.
14 - Chat only with whoever you want
We can deactivate the Facebook chat for the contacts we want. In this way, we can select which friends will see us as connected in Messenger . In the web version, click on the cogwheel in the chat bar (it can be found at the bottom left). Click on Advanced Settings . A dialog box will be displayed where we can manage our chat as we want: deactivate the chat only for some contacts, deactivate it for all except a select few, or deactivate it completely. We introduce the names in the corresponding option, and that's it.
15 - Facebook also has “trending topics”
When we talk about “trending topic” we think of Twitter, but the Facebook app can also show you the fashion publications . Our wall is limited to what our contacts share and the pages we follow, but we can go much further. To review the most current topics and outstanding news (regardless of who published them), you must go to the applications menu (the hamburger icon), and look for the “Explore” Section , easy to distinguish by its rocket icon.
Sometimes you will find the rocket icon in the middle of your timeline, without warning. That means Facebook is inviting you to discover the hottest posts of the day.
16 - Upload photos in 360 degrees
Lately everyone has taken to sharing spectacular 360-degree images. Do you know the best of all? That you don't need a special application or a particularly powerful mobile to do the same. You just have to take a panoramic photo with your mobile . When you upload it to Facebook, the social network will automatically detect the panoramic format and show your creation in 360 degrees.
17 - Consult a tourist guide of the city
The Facebook app has a surprise for traveling users: a city tourist guide . Open the menu by touching the three horizontal stripes, go to the Applications section , click on See all and search for City guides . Choose the city you want, and discover everything it has to offer. You will get a list of places of interest, shopping, restaurants, and a long etcetera. If your contacts have been in it, the list will be completed with their publications, the places they have visited and everything they have shared on Facebook related to that city.
18 - Find nearby events
It is very angry to find out about a spectacular event in your city ... when it has already happened. Facebook gives you a hand so you don't miss an event . The Events button on your Facebook wall not only shows those events you have been invited to, but also those that are going to take place in the next few days. The condition is that the event is published on Facebook, of course. The Search Events section informs you about what is being prepared in and near your city, both in the next few days and on a date you choose. In the app, display the application menu and click on Events . Information about what events interest your contacts, suggestions based on your preferences, and a long etcetera will appear.
19 - Discover what is happening right now in the world
More and more people and the media are using Facebook Live to broadcast live. And since we can't be in everything, Facebook does it for us. The website has an interactive world map showing what is currently being broadcast . You can access it from facebook.com/livemap. You can move the map and zoom as you please. The blue dots are broadcasts that are happening live, and their popularity is determined by their size. The bigger the dot, the more people are watching the live broadcast.
If you hover your mouse over a point, you will see a preview of the broadcast. And there is literally everything. From musical events and current events, to people who are traveling and want to tell everyone who wants to watch. We warn you: this can be truly addictive .
20 - Download a copy of your Facebook profile
If you fear for the content that you have uploaded to Facebook, or you feel that the time has come to say goodbye to the social network, you can generate a file with everything you have shared . And when we say everything, we mean everything. All the entries, the photos, the chats with your contacts, and even some things that you don't even imagine that Facebook keeps on you. Open the general settings menu, and at the end of the General tab you will see the Download a copy of your information button . The social network will ask you for a couple of confirmations to generate the file, it will fine-tune the file (this may take a while… think how much everything can weigh! what you've done on Facebook!) and will notify you via email when it's ready to download.
This is our selection of tips and tricks to discover what Facebook can do. We hope that you have found it useful and that you have learned new things, but the list does not end there. More can be done, and the social network grows almost every day. Is there an option that you like that we haven't mentioned? Please leave it in the comments.