I hate Facebook and am baffled why so many of my friends use it. I do, however, like Messenger. I hear there’s a way to use Facebook Messenger without actually having a full Facebook account? How do I do that??
Until recently, there was no way to be on Facebook Messenger without having a full Facebook account, with all that entails, but you’re in luck as that’s just changed. There are, however, some caveats, the biggest of which is that non-Facebook Messenger only works from your smartphone, so you won’t be able to log in or use it from a Web browser (that is, from your laptop or desktop computer). Perhaps that will change down the road, but I suspect not.
On the positive side, you can actually sign up for Messenger independent of your Facebook account even using the very same cellphone number. Now that’s a handy idea!
To get started, you’ll need to delete Messenger on your smartphone if you already have it installed and logged in to your Facebook account. Seems weird, but there’s actually no “Sign Out” option in the app. Then simply download it again from the App Store:
Once it’s downloaded, launch the program with a tap…
Here’s where the new path can be followed: Instead of logging in with your Facebook credentials, tap on Not on Facebook? to proceed.
You’ll see this:
Enter your cellphone number, then tap Continue…
Meanwhile, also on your phone, you’ll get a text message from Facebook:
Enter your own code — I’m sure 119215 won’t work for you! — and you can continue moving forward:
Ah, see, it’s trying to connect Messenger with my own Facebook account. The app really wants everything connected.
But no! I say let’s do this separately, so tap on Continue Signing Up to proceed.
Here’s where it gets interesting because you can, of course, use your proper name as they suggest, but you can also use a different name, or first name plus last initial, or similar. It won’t affect your Facebook account settings if you also have a Facebook account. Whether you use your name or not, well, that’s up to you.
Enter a name, tap Continue and you can, well, continue…
Again, you can opt out of this if you’re so inclined: just tap on Not Now, or, if you prefer, go ahead and add a photo.
The next step relates to how far you’re willing to have Messenger burrow into the data on your phone:
If you say “OK” to this prompt, Facebook will have a copy of your entire Contacts list, of the name and phone number of everyone in your address book. If you say “Not Now” you’ll have more privacy, but realize that you’ll start out with zero contacts. What would I do? I decided not to allow Messenger access to my data this time.
And you’re in!
Tap “OK” and you’ll see the usual Facebook Messenger window, just with zero people on your list:
Again, Facebook makes it soooooo easy for you to just have the program pull all of your Contacts off the phone, but you don’t need to do that. Just tap “+” and enter the phone number of someone you want to reach on Messenger and you’re good to go, no Facebook account required.
Hope that helps you get going with Messenger!