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How Does Facebook Chat Work? | Facebook Academy

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Welcome to the lesson dedicated to Facebook chat!

Couldn’t resist creating a new Facebook profile and can’t wait to get in touch with your friends and acquaintances?

Perfect, you’re in the right place, because we’re going to show you how to chat on Facebook.

As you probably know, Facebook is the most widely used social network in the entire world. Built right into the platform is a Facebook messaging system that lets you connect with people even on the other side of the world!

So how does Facebook chat work? Let’s find out right away.

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If you’ve landed on this lesson, you probably want to know more about how Facebook chat works. Here’s what to do.

When you log in to Facebook from your PC, the first thing you’ll need to do is turn on Facebook chat.

How do you turn on Facebook chat?

At the bottom right you’ll find a gray section that says: Chat offline.

Click that button and a panel will appear with your friends’ names — a little green dot next to them if they’re online, and nothing if they’re not online at that moment.

Now that the friends panel has appeared, at the bottom you’ll also see a gear icon.

That’s where you can set a few options for Facebook chat.

Free image from Pixabay

What do you need to know about Facebook chat settings?

It’s important to decide whether or not you want to be available to chat.

Obviously, if you’re here to chat on Facebook, right after turning on Facebook chat you should click the gear icon at the bottom and set yourself as available to chat.

Now the people you’re friends with on Facebook will see that you’re available and will be able to reach you.

Staying on the gear icon (Settings), let’s go through the options you can choose and customize:

  1. Turn chat sounds on or off
  2. Enable the like emoticons
  3. Manage blocked people (though right now you probably don’t have any)
  4. Adjust the options in the advanced Facebook chat settings: you can choose to turn off Facebook chat for specific contacts only (entering the first and last names of the people in question), turn off chat for all contacts except the ones you pick, or turn off Facebook chat for all contacts. If you turn off chat, you’ll still be able to read your messages later — you’ll find them in your inbox.
  5. You can choose to hide certain tabs, turn off calls and video calls, or hide games.
Need a list of Facebook tools?

Looking for a tool to schedule your Facebook posts in advance?

Need a tool to create quizzes and contests?

Want to use an analytics tool and discover the best ones?

No problem, we’ll give you the complete list. FREE!

Get your free Facebook tools list

As you may have noticed, Facebook chat has introduced the ability to make video calls.

So how do you make video calls through Facebook?

Just hit the Messenger button — look for the Messenger icon at the top and click it.

Facebook Messenger will open, letting you make video calls simply by selecting the person to call (you can also create a group of people to call) and tapping the video camera icon.

The evolution of Facebook chat is Facebook Messenger, which lets you (now on the web too) chat in real time or at your own pace, make calls and video calls, and send maps (so you can let others know where you are through the platform).

You no longer have to open Facebook in your browser to get to your chats.

Where do you find Facebook chat on Android and iOS?

If you have a smartphone you can download and use the Facebook Messenger app directly on your Android device and manage your chats from there; if you’re on iOS you can download it here. It also recently became available on the web, so you can sign in with your Facebook credentials and access your chats from here.

Free image from Pixabay

How do you chat on Facebook from your phone, and what can you do with Facebook Messenger?

Lots of things!

Open the app and choose which of your contacts you want to chat with — just select them and start writing the message you want to send.

Messenger also lets you record voice notes, much like other messaging apps such as WhatsApp, call anywhere in the world, take photos and record videos, see whether your message has been read, add stickers to express your mood, even send money by adding your credit card, start group chats and much more.

So what do you say? Will you give Facebook Messenger a try too?

Facebook Messenger is a genuinely useful app and platform because it brings all your Facebook chats together in one place! So now you know how to chat on Facebook from your phone, right?

Conclusion

To wrap up this lesson of what is by now your favorite Facebook Academy, we’ve helped you understand how to use Facebook chat, showing you how Facebook has evolved and how you can chat on Facebook through Facebook Messenger.

In the upcoming lessons you’ll be able to explore other aspects of Facebook, along with plenty of useful tips! See you in the next one!

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  1. Giovanna
    on April 1, 2020 at 23:19

    Good evening, this is Giovanna Cosentino. I have a problem: since Friday I haven’t been able to get into my account… with the password I enter it tells me I’m using an old password, but it’s actually the one I use to log in. At this point I think my account has been stolen. Unfortunately I can’t recover it because I no longer remember my email password, but I’m ready to show you all my documents to get my account back. I have 10 years of memories I don’t want to lose… please reply, thank youuuu

    Reply

    • Claudio Colombo
      on April 2, 2020 at 9:03

      Hello Giovanna,

      if you can’t recover your email password, unfortunately you won’t be able to get into your Facebook account.

      Usually it’s fairly easy to recover an email password through another email address or your phone number.

      Bye,
      Claudio

      Reply

  2. Michele Fuoco
    on May 20, 2020 at 22:11

    Hello, I’ve been reported several times on Facebook for intellectual property even though I hold the rights in question. This even led to my personal account being disabled. I’ve already filed an appeal using the dedicated intellectual property forms and also filled out the form to restore my disabled personal account, and I’ve sent emails to [email protected] and abuse@facebook, but so far I haven’t received any reply… What should I do to get my profile back? Thanks

    Reply

    • Claudio Colombo
      on May 21, 2020 at 14:22

      Hi Michele,

      thanks for your message.

      Unfortunately there’s nothing you can do beyond what you’ve already done. The only option is to wait for Facebook’s reply, which sadly never comes in many cases.

      In my personal experience I’ve never seen anyone recover an account disabled by Facebook for policy violations. I hope you manage to recover yours, though.

      Bye,
      Claudio

      Reply

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn on Facebook chat on my computer?

When you log in to Facebook from a PC, look at the bottom right of the screen for the gray section that says Chat offline. Click it and a panel with your friends' names appears, with a green dot next to anyone who is currently online. From there you can open a conversation with any friend and start typing.

What settings can I customize in Facebook chat?

Click the gear icon at the bottom of the chat panel to open the settings. You can turn chat sounds on or off, enable like emoticons, manage blocked people, hide certain tabs, and disable calls, video calls, or game notifications. The advanced options also let you fine-tune exactly who can see you in chat.

Can I turn off Facebook chat for specific people only?

Yes. In the advanced chat settings you can turn off chat for selected contacts by entering their names, turn it off for everyone except the people you pick, or switch it off for all contacts at once. Even with chat turned off you do not lose anything, because incoming messages are still saved in your inbox to read later.

How do I make video calls on Facebook?

Video calling is handled through Messenger. Click the Messenger icon at the top of Facebook, select the person you want to call, or create a group of people, and tap the video camera icon to start the call. It works both in the app and on the web version of Messenger.

What is the difference between Facebook chat and Messenger?

Messenger is the evolution of the original Facebook chat. It lets you message in real time or at your own pace, make voice and video calls, and even send maps to share your location, all without opening Facebook in your browser. It exists as a standalone app for Android and iOS and is also available on the web.

Do I need the Messenger app to chat from my phone?

On smartphones, Facebook conversations are managed through the Facebook Messenger app, which you can download for Android or iOS. Once installed, you simply pick a contact and start writing, sending photos, emoticons, or voice messages. You can also sign in to the web version of Messenger with your Facebook credentials and access the same chats from a browser.