Facebook

Submitted by Laszlo, 1 August, 2010

Last updated on 4 October, 2017

Description of App

Keeping up with friends is faster than ever.

See what friends are up to
Share updates, photos and video
Get notified when friends like and comment on your posts
Watch and interact with live video
Play games and use your favorite apps

Read our Data Use Policy, Terms and other important info in the legal section of our App Store description.

Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Facebook doesn't run GPS in the background unless you give us permission by turning on optional features that require this.

Version

75.0

Free or Paid

Free

Apple Watch Support

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

10.1.1

Accessibility Comments

This app is mostly accessible with VoiceOver.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads most page elements.

Button Labeling

Most buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

There are some minor accessibility issues with this app, but they are easy to deal with.

App Store Link

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/facebook/id284882215?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Developer's Website

http://www.facebook.com/iphone

Developer's Twitter Username

@fbaccess

Recommendations

17 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Michael Hansen 1 year 11 months ago

Options

Comments

A word on notifications

Hi all, 1st of I must say that I too really like the new design. Also, I am quite amazed at how much information I can see when double tapping on the more tab. quite impressed. Now for the notifications. It is completely accessible with an Iphone5 running IOS6.4 That's to say Voiceover is reading my notifications as they are. Believe me though. I do synthesise with those who have the problem. So it must be a compatibility issue between Voiceover and the Facebook app. Getting in contact with the accessibility team at Facebook and explain this issue in a polite and professional manor. I do believe that this part of the app is the most critical and essential factor where everyone universally should have equal access to this section of the app and us Voiceover users are no exception. So I hope that the accessibility team at Facebook address this issue ASAP and push out an update so we then can have access to it again. Talking of which: how can I myself let FB know about this because I don't know how its done.

Facebook is Aware of the Issue

Facebook Accessibility posted on Twitter that they are aware of the issue, apologised for the problem and said they are working on a fix for the next update.

Yep. that's what I remember

Yep. that's what I remember reading as well and it happeend I believe hours after the flood of tweets we sent to tha ttwitter account. I'm still surprised if they do have blind beta testers, they did not catch it. I know we can't test for every bug, but still. This was pretty obvious. *smiles* Tc all.

Version 6.5.1

This minor release has improved Voice Over with in the Notifications. So the Notifications is now accessible. Many thanks to the Facebook Accessibility Team for getting this resolved for us. There are still some iOS 7 issues with the app but overall. This is so much better than the previous versions. Some may notice the area where you post the Status is where we get this iOS 7 Lockbox. Lockbox is a term I have come up with that you get trapped in a box. So at times you can't get out of the box with the standard flicking to the right or left. The only way out is to use your fingers to touch other part of the screen to see what is available. Once out of this Lockbox. You can continue on using the flicking to the left and right. I find this throughout iOS 7 and different apps.

News Feed

Hey all, great that Facebook got the Notification Center back working with VO. Yes, I did see the work around, but sorry for those of us who get a ton of notifications, tapping on everyone to see what it is wasn't an option. So thanks to Facebook for resolving this issue so quickly. I wanted to see if anyone figured out how to update their News Feed. When I launch Facebook in my News Feed I kind of get a best of not my most recent postings. The timeline just around usually to 5 hours ago and further. In the old version there was a dial you tapped to view all. I have noticed if you leave the app open to your timeline it refreshes with your most recent posts, but there is still ahuge gap. Has anyone figured out a way to get the most recent postings upon launching the app? Thanks

Can be done

Hi, it's a bit awkward but it can be done. First put VoiceOver focus on the first item in Your Newsfeed. Then flick left. You'll hear a sort of click and VoiceOver may be unresponsive for a few seconds. Then put VoiceOver focus on that first Newsfeed item again, but this time gently move your finger upward until you hear it say "Newsfeed". (Not to be confused with the Newsfeed heading at the very top). Double-tap on Newsfeed and a menu will open with three options: Newsfeed, All Friends 20+, and See More. Select See More and another menu opens with the Most Recent option. Enjoy :)

Thanks That works

I guess it's like that old line from the movie Swingers, the really cool places need to be really hard to find. I got it to work, thanks so much for decoding how to do this.

No problem

Lol no problem at all. These kinda tricks are often needed in Facebook I find! I must admit that I'm not really sure why everyone is praising the new Facebook app so much. It's fine like, well since they fixed notifications again at least, but I don't find it any better than the previous version personally. Each to their own I guess.

Better Facebook app for me

Hey there. I noticed the regular Facebook app works fine, but can be really slow at times when it comes to loading things. The app I use to read through my Facebook newsfeed more quickly on my Iphone is called Status Report. It also lets you add your Twitter, Instagram, and Forsquare accounts, if you want an all-in-one app. But I mostly use it for Facebook. I like how it filters out the annoying suggested posts and games, like Focus did. The only con about it, is there's no push notifications. But other than that, it works really well and is fully accessible with VoiceOver. I'd definitely recommend it, if you're looking for an easier way to read through your Facebook posts. It's $0.99 in the App Store, but I think it's worth getting.

news feed ordering is broken

Hello. In the new facebook just starting few days ago when you tap news feed, then recents, it only shows you the last 14 or so and not evening order even after you told it to do so. I did an audio boo on this today at http://audioboo.fm/marrie1 if you want to check it out. Others I know of can reproduce this and it did used to work at least a week ago. Take care.

I heard of that statuses app.

I heard of that statuses app. can you also do facebook messaging and all of that stuff? I'm asking on behalf of those interested. I might still stick to the facebook app for now and give them the benefit of the doubt as much as that is shrinking. See my prior post.

Version 6.6

What's New in Version 6.6

• Edit your posts and comments, and tap to see all your changes (iPhone only)
• Add a photo when you comment
• Express yourself with icons when you post to someone's timeline (English only)
• Get to privacy shortcuts by tapping the lock by your name in the main menu
• Bug fixes

How does one edit?

As the release notes say that one can now edit there posts/comments. My question is, how can one do this with Voiceover and the app?

I'm thinking it's done on the

I'm thinking it's done on the website as I can't find a way to do this at all in the app. and most of these I think post from the website and not from the app istelf ast least that's what I find in the pattern.

Editing

I have discovered that if you double tap a comment you post, that is, double tap commented, , the edit and delete options appear. However, I have not yet figured out how to do this for posts. Double tapping on your post does not seem to let you access this menu, nor does double tapping the actions button above the post. If anyone has any further success, I would be very interested in knowing how this is done.

Version 6.7

What's New in Version 6.7

• Now in additional languages: Use icons to share how you're feeling and what you're doing
• Now on iPad: Edit your posts and tap to see all your changes
• Bug fixes

Just can't activate links in facebook

Using latest FB with 7.03. No matter how I try, I just can't activate links in FB posts that others share or point to in their post. Any advice? Thanks, Jo

Likes

Hi all. Is it just me or can you no longer see who has liked a post in this app? I can't seem to anymore anymore, very annoying.

You are not alone

Hi Dave, On my iPad II I am unable to see who likes a post either.

I believe you can see it, at

I believe you can see it, at least i can. I just click the post and it shows that 2 and x others have liked the post. Ok, that was as of maybe a few days ago. What I don't like is that the order or recents is still screwed up. it will work for a bit then stop.

cannot see who liked a post

Hello, It seems that you can no longer see who has liked a post when using Facebook for iOS with VoiceOver. i reported this issue already.

Yeah I used to be able to see

Yeah I used to be able to see them as you describe Mary, but in the last week or so I noticed that it's not there anymore :( The other thing really annoying me, which I know other people have already mentioned is the amount of posts that VoiceOver just reads as "Joe Bloggs commented on this". Thanks facebook, that's really useful information! :)

Events Area Broken in Current Version

It would appear that in the Events area of the app, the date/time of the event no longer reads. The only thing that does read is the name of the person/title to which the event pertains. I have experienced this behavior in at least the last two versions of the app. Can anyone else confirm this?

getting worse

I think we need to change the comments on this appp to "getting worse". I once had a whole slew of appsto try to get iPhone access to FB. Then it got better and I dropped them all. Now, since upgrading to iOS 7, 7.4 specifically, my access had gone way downhill. I'm not sure if this has something to do with iOS in general, or is just what they did to the app recently, but lots of things don't work. The only way I can figure out to access a link is hover one hand over where I figured it to be, turn off VO, double tap the silent screen, turn VO on again, and hope.I get lots of occurances where I have to do that just to read my friend's post, and then again to activate the link they refer to. But there is no indication where the link actually is, so it's a crap shoot. Forget playing a video. And when someone replies to a post of mine, I can't reply to their comment,as far as I can figure out. Anyone find a solution? All I can do is reply to myself, referencing who specifically I'm repying to. Not to mention minor annoyances like having to swipe back to hear who actually posted the status I just read. Or that the app crashes a lot more, which isn't about VO, but with all the work to read each individual post, it just sucks worse. And now half the posts, or at least one out of four are commercial, their recommended posts and apps - has anyone figured out how to turn them off. They affect access because scrolling is harder for us and it takes a lot of scrolling to get past them. OK, end of rant.

to open a link in fb except

to open a link in fb except for the t co ones from twitter simply double tap the post and you will be presented with actions like open and open in safari. As for the other issue I can't help you with that bunt there you go.

It has become very laggy for me with VoiceOver, I can not read posts with out it losing focus, and it doesn't read names anymore. Who do I contact? Oh, and it closes out to. Sorry for complaining.

Version 6.9

What's New in Version 6.9 • Choose whose posts you see in News Feed • See all the videos you’ve uploaded in one album (iPhone only

Version 7.0

Although this is a minor release to squash some of those critters. I would be curious in what kind of problems that any of you are having with the Facebook ap itself? Are you seeing any accessibility problems or elements that are not being read by VoiceOver?

Please voice your findings and accessibility problems so I can take these suggestions and send them to the Facebook Accessibility Team.

At this point the Accessibility Ratings mention above is set to mostly accessible. So far in my findings I can't find any reasons why this shouldn't be changed to being fully accessible. So would love to hear in what you all have to say and of your thoughts.

What's New in Version 7.0

• Bug fixes

accessibility issue.

One of the big problems I have is as follows, when using Voice Over to read my newsfeed, at times it will speek the status and not speek the person who posted it. for example, it will say something like, going out to eat. 3 likes, etc. after it reads the status and comments info, then it will repeet all that info again along with the person's name at last. I really hope this could be addressed.

A work around for that is to

A work around for that is to just flick away from and back to the status. This is a way I've been able to get around it for the past few months. I do hope they can fix it, that and the pictures, the last time I tried to insert an image in to a post it just said image image. Over all though the app is improving.

Reading of feeds is improved

In my experience the feeds now provide more information. For example, instead of saying "x shared the link", you will also hear the contents of the link.

a bug that still hasn't been fixed

Hello, It appears that the bug, in which I can't read who liked my status, or any status at that, hasn't been fixed yet. Is anyone else experiencing this issue with version 7.0? I've reported this directly to Facebook themselves, however, I think that if more people report it, the higher chance it'll get fixed.

So and so commented on this

More frequently, as I'm sure everyone is aware. In the app there is a lot of so and so "commented on this." Now, double tapping on the item doesn't activate it. So the work around: double tap the item in question and this will select it. You will know this because Voiceover says selected. Now, turn of Voiceover with triple click home if you have this enabled. Once its off tap only once say in the middle of the screen and turn Voiceover back on. The result is that you are now in the status that where you can see the original status and following comments if they have been posted. So it appears that Voiceover isn't picking up on the double gesture to view the comment therefore, requiring this work around. It would be nice if this was fixed because for me at least I am experiencing this a lot. Even better though I personally think is to not have it at all because unless it visually displays the comment on screen so that someone sighted can see what the person has commented on then having the thrase I'll use myself as an example "Daniel commented on this" serves no purpose to the Voiceover user. What do you all think?

I agree with Santiago

I cannot get Voiceover to tell me who likes my status. Also, Facebook claims you can set whose updates you see in your news feed. How does one do this? Thanks.

Not Fully Accessible

EDIT: I change my comment a bit; as it turns out, V 7.0 was not yet running on my device when I first wrote this. So my first mentioned bug has, although not fixed, changed somewhat. Hello, No, imho it is still to early for declaring this app fully accessible. There are still too many elements which are not handled or read properly when VoiceOver is running. Here are some of my findings, in addition of what has been reported already: 1) click "More", then your name (to access your profile page); Now, click the "Likes" Button (I hope it's called "Likes"; in my version, it says "Gefällt Mir Angaben"; just the part where it lists all the pages you liked); Now, click the element "Other Likes (xx)" (or "Andere Gefällt Mir Angaben (xx)"), where XX is the number of elements available. A more extensive list of elements appears; Scroll down the list a bit and try to activate one of the elements further down the list. It does not work. Only the elements actually visible on the screen can be activated; the othe items can't be clicked. And as far as I can tell, one can't actually scroll down (to make them appear on the screen) while Vo is running. 2) Again in your profile page, open the "Activity Protocol". It lists all activities you have performed on Facebook and allows, in theory, to change their privacy settings, to hide them from your timeline or to delete them alltogether. Can you do that with VoiceOver running? I, for most of them, can't. :-( Those are the ones bothering me the most at the moment. I might do another post listing more though. Best Regards, Rene

Facebook Accessibility Team

Thank you all for giving me your troubles and issues that you are still having with Facebook. I will compile this list and send this directly to the Facebook Accessibility team. If they respond to any of the issues that you have mentioned. I will be sure to post it here. Just to let you all know that the great people of the Facebook Accessibility Team do read our Comments on AppleVis. So keep the problems coming so they will be able to see your issues. So off to email this list off to the team. Thanks to you all!

Honest question

Hi. I'm going to ask this as directly as I can, does the Facebook accessibility team actually pay attention to the stuff we're sending them? I fully realize they're a very small part of the whole facebook experience but to me they're very important for obvious reasons. I just hope that we're not sending all these comments and suggestions for nothing. I guess it's better to try than to just sit back and not say anything at all. All I'm saying is that I genuinely hope they're paying attention because the current version of the app, to me at least, isn't fully accessible...there are just too many things that keep it from working full time. I actually get more enjoyment out of Facebook Messenger than the native facebook app.

Response from the Facebook Accessibility Team

Hello All, As promised. Here is what the Facebook Accessibility Team have to say for all of the above Comments that you have asked me to send to them. So please read the response. If you have any questions or more things to add. Please let me know so that I can pass this along to them. Facebook Accessibility Team Response: 1/ We haven’t heard of this bug with poster’s names not being read back (and I just tested and couldn’t reproduce). Can the user send you a screenshot of a story where this is missing? Is it a certain kind of story? 2/ Improved read back for images should come in time. Unfortunately for a lot of images we don’t have much context (i.e., it’s pulled from your phone, so at best we might have the date for when it was taken). We typically let the content of the story (i.e., status update / caption) provide context for the image when we don’t have great alt text available to us. 3/ We’re tracking the issue with likes not being read back. Related to a harder infrastructure challenge with our iOS app in general. 4/ The issue with “commented on” stories is actively getting worked on. Again, not an easy fix but it’s coming. 5/ We’re also tracking the issue with activity log. That said, most of the larger stories are removable from your Timeline (so that covers a lot of cases) via VoiceOver. 6/ You can adjust what you see in News Feed by two-finger double-tapping a feed story, selecting More and then “hiding stories” etc. Should work fine today in VoiceOver. Thanks to all for you suggestions and feedback. So keep them coming if you have any.

Opening links in FB posts with the iphone app

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, and if so i apologize but it looks as i can't open a link from a Facebook post. I can see the text of the url but can not act on it. Anyone else seen this and have a workaround or is this something that's being worked on? /Krister

Anyone else having this

When I logged on to Facebook last night, there is usually a search button, the newsfeed heading, then the message friends button going along the top. What happens now, for me anyway, is there is just the search and message friends button, no newsfeed heading, and the search is no longer labelled as a button, it just says search instead of search button. Its not a big deal as everything else works as it should, it just seems strange how it could suddenly change without an update. Closing it from the app switcher did nothing, neither did rebooting my phone.

Birthday notifications

Hello all, When I am on the mobile Face Book website and one of my FB friends has a birthday it shows up as a notification. I don't see this on the native iOS Face Book app on my iPhone 5S. Is this just something that is not included in the Face Book iOS app, or is there another place within the app I need to look for birthday notifications? Thank you.

Hey Lisa

Birthday notifications for me are under events. I've never seen it come up as a notification.

facebook jumps around too much

I've noticed that while reading the news feed, fb tends to jump me all the way back to the top of the page every time it refreshes I guess which is rather annoying, especially when you're using a braille display to read your news feed.

Version 8.0

Facebook version 8.0 is now available. While I haven't tested it extensively, it appears as though my notification sounds are again working. "What's New in Version 8.0 • A simple way to see and choose a photo album's audience • An updated design that makes it easier to post and share on iPad • Improvements for reliability and speed"

Notable Changes?

As Michael has mentioned above. The Facebook v8.0 is now out. So far there have been some changes in what I have seen. Please note that you can now see all of the people that Like your status or on other Status. We have also notice that the Notifications alerts is now working. We haven't had the actual Facebook giving us the notification before and it appears to be working now. So if you would please let us know if any other things have been fixed for you or not.

More Fixes

Curtacy of a couple friends: VoiceOver no longer adds extra letters at the end of the time/location stamps on posts. As AnonyMouse mentioned, you are now able to see who likes your status.

Audience announcement while in Newsfeed

While browsing the newsfeed, VO now announces "Shared with friends, public etc."

I do notice that they brokew

I do notice that they brokew something again.

It kicks me back up to the top. at random on the news feed.
the list of recommended apps still does not work.
sometimes but not always the status stiller ears before the name of the poster and you have to flick away from and back to the post.

This is what I notice so far in my cursory glance. I hope this can be fixed. I do agree with a poster who posted on my time line that he did not know of a company that brakes more things then they fix, and they are very creative about it to.

A Difficult Endeavor

What people need to consider is that the Facebook app is very complex. Facebook is a very large company with a very successful mainstream app. Accessibility is only one part of the app's design, and that design changes frequently. While the app has some issues (no app will be bug-free, remember), the overall user experience is improving. With that said, and considering the noticeable work that has gone into improving this app's accessibility over the last 1 1/2 year, I think it is quite unfare to characterize the Facebook Accessibility Team's efforts as "breaking more things than they fix."

Clerifications

Hello Mary, Can you help me understand what you mean by the the list of recommended apps still does not work? I would like to pass this along to the accessbility team. Also, what you have mentioned above are known bugs that were and have been for some time. So I am not understanding what you mean by the company is known for creating more bugs than what they have fixed? It may just be me but I've seen a lot of improvments in recent months. Yes, they are minor and small. However, they are always continuing to make things better. So I must be missing someting? It does appear that the list that I have given to them last month that some of them were fixed and corrected in this version. I'm just thrilled that such a huge company that they are listening unlike others that I could mention. If that means that they have to take baby steps to get those done. I'm thrilled!