How to use Facebook – everything you need to know

If the Star Wars movies were all about social networks battling it out, Facebook would be the Galactic Empire, with Mark Zuckerberg as the Sith Lord. In other words, Facebook is huge and has the financial resources to gobble up or crush tiny potential rivals with their Death Star laser and swat away all the pesky nuisances like politicians trying to regulate them.

But there is a good reason why Facebook has reached this position – despite many people leaving the site due to privacy concerns, many more people are love use the platform. with almost three billion monthly active usersLarger than some countries, Facebook has influenced presidential elections and divided families more than ever at the Thanksgiving table. If you’d like to get in on the Facebook promotion or improve your Facebook skills, we’ve put together a list of all our top coverage from the past year or about using Facebook.

Read more: 10 Best Third-Party Facebook Apps for Android


What is Facebook and how does it work?

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

If you’re active on the web, you already know what Facebook is. With three billion monthly active users, Facebook is not exactly an unknown entity hiding in a dark corner. However, here’s a quick summary for all the older folks (parents, grandparents, etc.) who may not be so knowledgeable.

Facebook is an online social network – the largest in fact – with YouTube in pursuit of second place. It can also be seen as a search engine to find people. Anyone can create a free profile, company page or group and invite others to “follow” or “friend” their page. If you’re looking for people from your past life, and they’re under the age of 50, chances are they have a presence on Facebook. So Facebook is good for visiting old school friends and ex-partners, remember birthdaysand find out if the school bully is flipping burgers or cleaning toilets for a living.

Scandals and data breaches

Facebook encourages people to document their entire lives on the site with status updates, photos, location check-ins, login to other websites with the Facebook ID, share links and much more. This has led to Facebook’s astronomical finances as they use this information to serve you “relevant ads” and sell your information to the highest bidders. It has also led to spectacular scandals such as the Cambridge Analytica data breach. These scandals have led to increased scrutiny by Congress in Washington DC, with many politicians calling for Facebook to shut down.

facebook meta keynote zuckerberg

Facebook also owns Instagram and whatsappand all three platforms were recently brought together under the new name meta.


How do I start an account on Facebook?

facebook front page

Mark O’Neill / Android Authority

If you’re one of the three billion who don’t already have a Facebook account and want to get one, it’s really easy to get started. Go to facebook.comclick on the green one Create a new account button and enter your details. Facebook officially bans fake names and fake details, but then again you are not required to provide any formal identification. Keep in mind that if you call yourself Mickey Mouse or Jessica Rabbit, your friends and family won’t be able to find you on Facebook.

change name on facebook
Set Facebook Profile Picture

Once the account is set up, it’s time to dress up your profile. If you click the camera icon in the profile picture area, you can upload your facebook profile picture. You can also upload a cover image to get above it. This will go a long way to people accepting your friend requests because they can recognize you now.

Edit profile Facebook

Click now Edit profile and enter as much detail as you feel comfortable revealing. If you want to keep some information public and others private, you can choose the privacy levels for each piece of information by clicking the globe icon next to it. However, remember that Facebook can still see private information! Only people outside of Facebook can’t see private information.

Find and add friends

add facebook friend

Once you have set up your profile, you can start looking for your family, friends and colleagues. After all, Facebook is pointless if you don’t have a network to talk to. It’s easy to find and add friends on Facebook, and don’t worry if you send friend requests to the wrong people. You can easily unfriend them again and forget them all.

If you decide you don’t want anyone outside your circle of Facebook friends to know who your other friends are, you can hide the list easily.


How do I start posting to Facebook?

create facebook new post

Once your account is set up and your contacts are viewing your page, you can start adding updates. There are several you can choose from, using the icons at the bottom of the Create message window.

  • A picture. This can be anything from a standard JPG to a GIF image.
  • tag another Facebook user in the update (if they’re involved in what you’re talking about, or if you want to get their attention).
  • An emotion. You can express how you feel or say what you are doing right now.
  • Geotagging. You can “check in” and tell people where you are. But maybe you want check your privacy settings again for this one, as making check-ins public is a good tool for burglars looking for empty houses whose owners are gone.
  • Organize a Q&A. You can invite people to ask you questions.
  • life event. If something important happens in your life (a wedding, an anniversary, etc.), you can refer to it as a “life event.”
  • live video. Do you want to publish your own show, interview or something? Then Live video is what you are looking for.
  • Collect money. When you post something on your Facebook profile or page, you can nominate a charity and invite people to donate to it.

Further update options

Whatever type of update you choose to do on your Facebook page, you will have several options once the update is published. You can turn off the comments when things get a little out of hand (but only on a page, not on a profile.) change privacy settings until make the update more shareable. Finally, if you want to give the update more exposure and exposure, you can: pin it to the top of your page.

Facebook pinned post

What is Facebook Messenger?

How can I use Facebook for my business?

Android Authority Facebook Page

Together with Instagram and whatsappKnown for making and breaking businesses, the combined Meta platform has created a brand new career: social media management.

social media meme

Help out! Facebook not working!

wifi icon on mobile phone

Like any moving part, Facebook has the potential to get a little wobbly and break at times. Granted, it doesn’t happen that often, but when you hear desperate wails in the universe, most people probably can’t share their lunch because Facebook isn’t available.

However, it could be a simple case of clear the cache and log out and log back in. If that doesn’t work, try this list of troubleshooting tips to see if you can regain access before your lunch gets cold. If you still don’t have joy, it’s very possible you have been hackedso time to flex those muscles and get your account back – if you can.

How can I take a break from Facebook?

man on a hammock

How do I unblock someone on Facebook?

It’s very easy to unblock someone on facebook. It’s a matter of going into the account settings and clicking on the person’s name to remove them from the block list.

Does Facebook have a dark mode?

How do I connect my Facebook and Instagram accounts?

Since Facebook and Instagram belong to the same company, you can link both accounts together, and use both from the Meta Business Manager page. For businesses with limited time on both platforms, using both on the same page is a huge time saver.

How can I find a reverse image on Facebook?

If you want to search for something or someone on Facebook, you can do that find a reverse image if you already have a photo.

How do I clean up my Facebook profile and delete embarrassing posts?

When you were young, those hilarious pictures of you on the keg and getting drunk looked hilarious. But as you get older and employers increasingly check applicants’ social media, it might be time to purge those awkward moments.

Can people see when I’m online on Facebook?

How do I turn off comments on a post?