Getting Facebook Notifications Using IFTTT

When you’re working in the Android environment, it’s possible to use Facebook’s mobile web site rather than the official app to get better battery, faster performance, and be rid of all the privacy permissions that the app requires. However, it doesn’t give you notifications. By using IFTTT for Android, this problem can be solved.

First, you need to set things up. You’ll need an IFTTT account and the Android app along with, of course, a Facebook account before you start.

IFTTT is an automation that enables you to connect two services, so that when something happens with one service, an action takes place automatically on the other one. For instance, let’s say that you are a photography fan and you use Instagram all day long. You love taking photos with your mobile device, and touching them up along with sharing them so everyone can see them. Your followers love the photos, so you figure that maybe you would like to get just a bit more serious about your photography endeavor. That’s where IFTTT comes in.

Imagine that you’re walking down the street, near a park, when all of the sudden you see something beautiful happening right in front of you and you want to capture it with your mobile device. You simply shoot an Instagram and it will automatically be saved to your Dropbox account. There’s no manual selecting to tinker with and no manual uploading. IFTTT takes care of everything.

Another example would be if your photography business is evolving and you start to get a lot of fans and more “likes” on your photos. But, you might need a little extra inspiration to keep going. Using IFTTT, you can go about your day and use Instagram just like you usually do, but with an added benefit. Whenever you see a scene that you like, you’ll just click on “like” and it automatically uploads the photo to your Dropbox. This can serve as an automated inspiration-type folder of sorts, and it will keep you excited as you go along, allowing you to create even better photography.

These are only a couple of the thousands of practical recipes that you can create using IFTTT. The great thing about IFTTT is that it has something for everybody. There are over 70 different services that you can use for creating recipes and the list is always increasing.

Now, here’s where IFTTT can help you with Facebook:

Go to your Facebook notifications page. Click “RSS” under the option listed for “Get notifications via.”

Copy the contents of the URL bar.

Go to “this Facebook notifications to Android recipe on IFTTT”. Replace the “Feed URL” part with what you copied, and then click “Use Recipe.”

That’s all there is to it! Your Android app will start showing your Facebook updates in your notifications bar exactly like the official Facebook app does. Now you can use the mobile site for a faster, more privacy-friendly experience, and you still will not miss out on anything.

AuthorAnna Wilson is a PR specialist of Key Difference. She is in charge of Web Designing and Marketing Services. She is a passionate traveller and blogger. Follow Anna on Twitter.