Facebook Lite is a stripped down version of the Facebook app that uses less data and works better on slower networks. While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the full Facebook app, Facebook Lite still allows you to receive notifications so you don’t miss important updates.
Why use Facebook Lite?
There are a few key reasons why people choose to use Facebook Lite over the regular Facebook app:
- Uses less data – Facebook Lite is less than 1MB in size compared to over 100MB for the main Facebook app. This makes it much more data efficient if you are on a limited data plan.
- Works better in areas with slow/unreliable networks – The light version loads faster and works better in areas with slow 2G and 3G networks where the main Facebook app may struggle.
- Saves phone storage – The small app size also takes up much less storage space on your phone.
- Increases battery life – Facebook Lite uses fewer resources which results in less drain on your phone’s battery.
The tradeoff is that Facebook Lite does not have all the features of the main Facebook app. However, it still provides core Facebook functionality like News Feed, Messages, Notifications, Profile, and Groups in a much smaller package.
How to turn on notifications in Facebook Lite
Enabling notifications in Facebook Lite allows you to receive alerts about messages, friend requests, posts you’re tagged in and other activity while using other apps on your phone. Here are the steps to turn on notifications:
- Open the Facebook Lite app on your Android phone.
- Tap on the More Options icon (3 horizontal lines) in the top right.
- Select Settings from the menu.
- Tap on Notifications in the Settings menu.
- Toggle on Allow Notifications to enable notifications.
Once you have enabled notifications, you can customize what types of alerts you receive:
- Sound – Toggle sound on/off for notifications.
- Vibrate – Toggle vibration on/off.
- Light – Toggle LED light on/off.
- Pop on screen – Allow notifications to pop up over other apps.
- Trending first – Prioritize notifications about trending stories.
You can also select which specific notification types you want to receive:
- Friend Requests
- Messages
- Groups
- Live Videos
- Fundraisers
- Pages
- Events
- Birthdays
- Weather
- Trending
- News Feed
- Other
Tap on each notification type to toggle it on or off as per your preference. This allows you to customize and only receive alerts that are important to you.
Notification channels in Facebook Lite
Facebook Lite groups notifications into channels. Channels allow you to control notification settings at a more granular level. There are 7 notification channels in Facebook Lite:
| Channel | Types of Alerts |
|---|---|
| Primary | Friend requests, messages, notifications, updates from groups and pages you follow |
| Mentions | When you are mentioned in a post or comment |
| Recommendations | Recommended/suggested posts and pages Facebook thinks you may like |
| Live Videos | When friends go live or live videos matching your interests |
| Events | Event invites and reminders |
| Offers | Coupons, deals, offers from businesses and pages |
| News Feed | The latest News Feed stories |
You can long press on any notification channel and select “block channel” to disable all notifications for that channel. This provides more control than just toggling off individual notification types.
Notification badges
Facebook Lite shows notification badges – small dots – on the app icon and next to icons within the app. Here is what the notification indicators mean:
- Red dot – Unread notifications
- Blue dot – Unread Facebook messages
- Green dot – Friends currently active on chat
Tapping on icons with notification badges will take you directly to those alerts so you can view and respond to them.
Managing notifications
Here are some additional tips for managing your notifications in Facebook Lite:
- Go to Settings -> Notifications and toggle off any notification types you do not need.
- Customize vibrate, sound, pop up preferences for different situations like overnight or in meetings.
- Temporarily disable notifications for specific periods using Do Not Disturb – access this quickly from the notification shade.
- Block notification channels that are not relevant.
- Toggle off News Feed notifications if you find them too noisy.
- Turn off LED light if you find it too distracting overnight.
- Adjust in-app notification settings for groups and pages you follow.
Troubleshooting Facebook Lite notifications
If you are having issues with notifications in Facebook Lite, here are some steps to troubleshoot:
- Confirm notifications are enabled in the Facebook Lite app Settings.
- Check notification settings for your Android device and ensure Facebook Lite has notification access.
- Make sure Background app refresh is enabled for Facebook Lite in your device Settings.
- Check if your device is in Do Not Disturb mode which blocks notifications.
- Force close and clear cache for the Facebook Lite app.
- Uninstall and reinstall the latest version of Facebook Lite.
- Temporary disable battery optimization for Facebook Lite if using a battery saver app.
- Switch your device between normal mode and airplane mode to re-register the cellular connection.
- If issues persist, contact Facebook support for further help.
Conclusion
Facebook Lite provides a lightweight way to use Facebook on slower networks while still allowing you to receive important notifications. You can enable notifications in the Settings and customize alerts from the different notification channels based on your preferences. Make sure to tweak notification settings to suit your usage and troubleshoot any issues that arise. With notifications enabled, you can stay up-to-date even when using the streamlined Facebook Lite app.