Many Android users try to move or install the Facebook app to an SD card to save internal storage space on their phones. However, Facebook does not allow its app to be moved to external storage. There are a few reasons why this is the case.
Facebook App Size
The Facebook app is quite large, often over 100MB in size depending on the version. This takes up a significant amount of storage space on internal storage. With limited internal storage on many lower-end and older Android phones, users quickly run out of room for apps and files.
Being able to move the Facebook app to an SD card would free up this storage space. However, Facebook does not allow the app to be moved. The primary reason is that Facebook designs its app to run fast and smoothly. Having the app installed on external storage can cause slowdowns and performance issues.
External Storage Is Slower
SD cards and other external storage methods are much slower than internal storage. This is especially true for low-cost SD cards. Internal storage uses faster NAND flash memory, while cheaper SD cards use slower flash memory. This means reading and writing data to external storage is slower.
The Facebook app needs fast performance to quickly load news feeds, photos, videos and more. If the app is installed on slower external storage, load times will increase. The app may also crash more frequently. With 100+ million lines of code, the Facebook app is already resource intensive. Being on external storage will exacerbate these issues.
Security and Encryption
Facebook also cites security reasons for not allowing the app on SD cards. External storage is more vulnerable to hacking, malware and other security issues. The Facebook app contains sensitive user data like login credentials that need to be securely encrypted.
Internal storage uses encryption that is tied to the device hardware. External storage does not have this level of integration. Facebook cannot guarantee the same level of security for user data stored on SD cards. As a result, it restricts the app to only internal storage.
Google Play Policies
Google Play Store policies prohibit apps from being installed directly to external storage. Apps can only be installed to internal storage. Some apps try to work around this by having part of the app installed internally, and movable components installed externally. However, Facebook does not utilize this method.
Google introduced this policy due to the performance and security concerns of external storage. While Google does allow some media files to be moved to SD cards, it is still not possible to move entire apps.
Workarounds Don’t Work
Some Android users try workarounds like rooting devices or using ADB commands to try forcibly moving the Facebook app to external storage. However, this does not work as intended. The app may crash frequently or have problems loading data and features.
Rooting and other advanced tactics allow you to move the install folder to external storage. However, key components of the app still need to be installed internally. This prevents the app from fully running on the SD card. Facebook’s code is also designed to detect if it is running externally, and may disable features.
What Are Some Alternatives?
If the Facebook app is taking up too much space, there are a few alternatives to try:
- Clear cache and data – This frees up some storage used by the app.
- Delete and reinstall – Removes any accumulated junk files.
- Use Facebook Lite – A scaled-down version of the app designed for low-end phones.
- Use the mobile site – Access Facebook through the web browser instead.
- Get a phone with more storage – Upgrading to a model with greater internal storage capacity.
While these alternatives can help, there is no way to fully move Facebook off internal storage on an unmodified Android phone.
Does iPhone Have the Same Limitation?
iPhones do not have external storage like SD cards. However, iOS apps do allow moving some app data to iCloud storage:
- Photos and videos can be set to only download when connected to WiFi.
- Messages can be stored in iCloud rather than local storage.
However, the core Facebook app itself still cannot be offloaded from the built-in storage. The app must stay installed on the iPhone’s internal storage.
Why Does Storage Space Matter?
With modern smartphones having so much internal storage, why does the Facebook app’s large size matter?
Here are some reasons why limiting storage used by the Facebook app is still important:
- Allows installing more apps – Especially important for budget phones with only 8 or 16GB storage.
- Store more photos and videos locally.
- Keep enough free space so the phone runs smoothly.
- Use less mobile data by storing content offline.
While phone storage keeps increasing, so do app sizes and media quality. Managing storage will remain important going forward.
Does this Issue Affect All Apps?
The Facebook app is not the only one affected by this limitation. Many large apps like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Snapchat do not allow moving to external storage.
However, some app developers do enable part of their apps to be moved. For example, photo and video files from WhatsApp and Viber can be set to only download on WiFi. This prevents these large files from being stored locally.
So while the core apps must stay on internal storage, some of their additional media files can be managed.
What Are Some Tips for Managing Storage?
Here are some tips for freeing up storage being used by the Facebook app and other social media apps:
- Set photos/videos to download only on WiFi in app settings.
- Manually delete old photos/videos from local device storage.
- Uninstall apps not being used.
- Use cloud storage services like Google Photos to upload files.
- Clear cached data, search history and old files in apps.
- Facebook allows choosing lower resolution photos to save space.
- Use a memory card for non-app files like music, ebooks, etc.
Getting a phone with more internal storage is the best long-term solution. But carefully managing storage use can buy more time before an upgrade is needed.
Will This Limitation Change in the Future?
It is unlikely that Facebook will change its policy and allow the app to fully move to SD cards. Some of the core reasons include:
- Performance concerns due to slower external storage.
- Security issues from encryption limitations.
- Google Play policy prohibiting app offloading.
- Codebase complexity makes it difficult to modify.
With phones now commonly having 64GB+ base storage, the pressure on Facebook to change is low. They can justify keeping the app constrained to internal storage for technical and security reasons.
Conclusion
The Facebook app unfortunately cannot be moved to external SD card storage on Android phones. Facebook limits the app to internal storage due to performance, security, Google policies, and complexity of code changes. This causes frustration for users with limited internal phone storage.
While there is no way around this restriction currently, alternatives like Facebook Lite, cloud storage services, and storage management can help mitigate the issue. But fully moving the Facebook app will not be possible on unrooted Android phones.
In summary:
- Facebook app is large, taking up significant internal storage.
- App performance and security relies on fast internal storage.
- Google Play policies prohibit full app offloading.
- Workarounds like rooting often don’t work as intended.
- Alternatives like cloud storage help manage some media files.
- Facebook is unlikely to change this restriction due to technical reasons.
Understanding these limitations can help users better manage their storage without expecting the Facebook app to move off internal storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I move any part of the Facebook app to SD card?
No, the core Facebook app must remain on internal storage. Only some associated media files like cached photos and videos can optionally be set to store on external SD card storage.
What happens if I try to move Facebook to SD card?
The app may allow moving some data but key app functions will still be stored internally. This usually results in crashes, broken features, and general instability of the app.
How much space does the Facebook app take up?
The Facebook app takes up over 100MB typically. The exact size varies across versions and device models. It consumes a significant chunk of limited storage on budget Android phones.
Does this issue affect all social media apps?
Many other large social media apps have the same limitation, including Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok. Their core apps are restricted to internal device storage.
What are the alternatives to moving Facebook to SD card?
Alternatives include using Facebook Lite, clearing cache/data, reinstalling the app, accessing Facebook through the mobile site, upgrading your phone’s storage, and using cloud storage services.
How can I free up space used by the Facebook app?
Options to free up space include clearing cached data, uninstalling the app, restricting media downloads to WiFi only, using lower resolution images, and offloading files to cloud storage services.
Example Storage Management Table
| App | Can Core App Move to SD Card? | Can Media Files Move to SD Card? |
|---|---|---|
| No | Some files like cached photos/videos optionally | |
| No | Some files like cached photos/videos optionally | |
| No | No | |
| Snapchat | No | No |
| No | Media files can be set to SD card |
This table summarizes whether core app and associated media files can be moved to external storage for some popular social media apps.
The Future of App Storage Management
While current restrictions remain in place, there are some promising developments that may improve app storage management in the future:
- Faster external storage – UFS and NVMe cards offer much better speeds compared to traditional SD cards. This can help with app performance.
- Adoption of Android App Bundles – These shrink app sizes by not including unused code for different device models.
- Widespread 5G connectivity – Makes offloading files and media to the cloud more practical with faster speeds.
- Google policy changes – Google may eventually relax some restrictions on fully moving apps to external storage.
However, changes will likely come slowly over years. In the meantime, users have to work within current limitations of app storage management on Android and iOS.