Data privacy tip: Try using the basic version of Facebook

Facebook’s Messenger collects a lot of sensitive data on its users, and the security of its communications is questionable. — dpa

For many smartphone users, Facebook’s Messenger is an indispensable app for staying in contact with friends and family. Still, Messenger collects a lot of sensitive data on its users, while the security of its communications is questionable.

Advertising videos will also be played in conversations soon as well. That’s why some data privacy advocates are advising against using the Messenger app.

Users don’t have to entirely forego chats with their friends, however. Consumer advocates instead recommend basic access to Facebook.

Under mbasic.facebook.com/messages, users can access a version of Facebook for people without a modern smartphone. While the functions here are somewhat limited, the basic access version is always sufficient for reading messages.

Users can also bookmark the login page in their browser or put down a direct link to this address on the home screen of their smartphone to save themselves the trouble of manually typing in the link.

The standard way to access Facebook via smartphone browsers under m.facebook.com is unfortunately no longer an alternative for users who are not fans of mobile apps. Users have been unable to access chat messages via this page for some time now.

Those who find the basic access version to be too plain can also call up the web version of Messenger at messenger.com via the Chrome browser for iOS and Android and request the desktop version of the website via the touch of a finger on the options menu in the upper right corner. – dpa