Facebook chat is one of the most used instant messaging protocols in today’s world, partly thanks to the fact that nearly everyone around us seems to be on Facebook, or is in the process of creating one. But the thing is, if you don’t have a mobile device of your own, you’re pretty much stuck using Facebook’s website in order to chat with someone. You don’t have the same experience as a separate Messenger would have, as you’d have to open up the full Facebook experience, with all its distractions, every time you just want to have a simple conversation with someone.
If you own and use a Mac though, there’s another way you can use Facebook Chat – add Facebook Chat to the built-in Messages app.
The method to add a Facebook Chat account to Apple’s Messages app and hence use the Messages app to Facebook chat is actually very simple. Follow the steps below:
1. Open the Messages app on your Mac.
2. Click on “Messages” in the top-right corner of your screen, and from the opening pop-up window, select “Preferences.”
3. Open the Accounts tab.
4. Click on the “+” button to add a new account.
5. Select the option to create “Other messages account:”
6. Change the account type to “Jabber.”
7. Now, in the username field, add your account’s username. You need to add “@chat.facebook.com” to the end of your username, as shown in the screenshot below:
Tip: To find/set your Facebook username, open up your Facebook profile, and open up Facebook’s Settings. You can set or find your username in the “General” tab.
8. Enter your Facebook password, and press “Done.” That’s it.
Once that account successfully sets up, a new window will open, showing all of your online friends:
Click on any one of them, and you’ll be able to chat with them, right within the Messages app. Simple.
Using this method is a better way for you to chat with your friends without having to keep the Facebook site open all the time.
Did this method work successfully for you, or did you encounter any issues? Do you like the ability to now chat with your Facebook friends directly from the Messages app instead of opening up Facebook? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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Shujaa Imran
Shujaa Imran is MakeTechEasier’s resident Mac tutorial writer. He’s currently training to follow his other passion become a commercial pilot. You can check his content out on Youtube
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