You’re using Facebook wrong – millions making three simple mistakes

MILLIONS of Facebook users might be making simple mistakes that are so easy to fix.

Here are three hidden parts of the Facebook app that you may have missed.

FacebookFacebook is packed with clever features – but many are easily missed[/caption]

Missing messages

When you go into your main Facebook Messenger inbox, you’ll hopefully see useful and relevant texts from people you know.

But there are actually two inboxes that you may have missed.

First, load up your Facebook Messenger app.

Now tap on the hamburger menu in the top-left of the screen.

Next tap the tab that says Message Requests.

Here is where you’ll find messages from people that Facebook isn’t sure you know.

If you’ve had Facebook for a while, you’ve likely got a few messages in here.

Now if you look at the top of the page, you’ll also see a Spam tab.

Click that and you might find yourself presented with even weirder messages.

This is where Facebook dumps suspicious, strange or spammy missives that probably won’t want to read.

You can delete them without ever clicking into them just by tapping Edit in the top-right corner, selecting a few to cull, and then hitting Delete.

There are some advantages to having some messages turn up in these hidden inboxes.

Firstly, it means your main inbox isn’t clogged up with requests or spam.

But the person can’t call you, see your active status or when you’ve read the message unless you reply.

That’s important, as you can vet a message and the sender before letting them know that you’ve seen their text.

And if you choose to ignore it, they’ll never know that you read it.

Lingering requests

Facebook has a “reject” list that reveals all of the people that you’ve sent friend requests to.

It’s easy to forget who you’ve sent friend requests to over the years.

And you probably forget about most of the requests after a few days.

Now you can log on to Facebook and see all of your unanswered requests.

It’s possible that the “frenemy” doesn’t use Facebook much.

But it could be that they’ve quietly rejected you for an unknown reason.

Thankfully it’s possible to cancel these long-ignored requests so you can reclaim your dignity.

Or you could leave it to linger on their account as a constant reminder that you tried to reach out – but were ultimately snubbed.

You’ve got two options for finding your sent friend requests on Facebook.

The first is the option for people using desktop.

It’s easy enough: simply click this link.

This takes you to a page with your pending friend requests.

You can then click View Sent Requests in the top-left to all of the requests that you’ve sent (but were summarily ignored).

The second option is for anyone using mobile i.e. a smartphone app.

Go to your Facebook app and then head into the menu.

Now go to Friends and tap See All in the top-right.

Next take a look at your pending friend requests (they’re the ones you need to answer!).

Then click the three dots and you’ll get a pop-up that says View Sent Requests.

Click on that and you’ll be able to see all of the ignored requests you’ve sent out over the years.

Cancel any that bring you deep shame, and leave whichever ones you like.

Connected apps

Over the years, it’s possibly that you’ve logged into apps and games with your Facebook account.

You may have also connected your Facebook account to these apps, websites and games too.

These apps can access information about you, and some of it may be personal. Handing over too much info can prove costly in terms of privacy.

Thankfully, it’s possible to check which apps are connected to your Facebook account.

And you can also take back control and edit your settings for those apps – or even stop the access entirely.

If you’ve got profile information that’s public, this can be accessed at any time.

But there will be some private information that you may have chosen (and since forgotten about) to share with an app.

Launch Facebook and then click your profile picture in the top-right corner.

Select Settings & Privacy, and then click Settings.

Then choose Apps and Websites on the left-hand side.

“From here, you can see apps, websites and games that are active or that have expired or been removed from your account,” Facebook explains.

“You can update the information you’re sharing with them, who can see that you use the app or website and notifications you receive.”

You can click View and Edit next to an app to see and edit its settings.

And you can press Renew to re-enable access for an expired game.

You can remove access at any time with the Remove button.

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