LatchHow to keep Facebook or Instagram for messages without the feed
You can keep Facebook for family and Instagram for work by separating the messages from the feed: use Messenger on its own, open the full apps only on a computer or at set times, and block the feed apps on your phone. Meta even lets you deactivate Facebook and keep using Messenger.
Why you can't just quit
A common story: someone wants off social media, but the family group chat lives on Facebook, or their job means posting to Instagram every day. Quitting outright isn't realistic, so they keep the app, and the app keeps showing them the feed.
Usually the part you need and the part that eats your evening are different. Messages, a family group, a page you manage for work: those take a few minutes. The feed is what keeps going. You can keep the first and make the second hard to reach.
How to keep Facebook Messenger without Facebook
Use the Messenger app on its own
Install Messenger, sign in, then remove the Facebook app from your phone. You keep your chats with family and friends without a feed one tap away.
Or deactivate Facebook and keep Messenger
Meta's help pages say "you can keep using Messenger after you deactivate your Facebook account," that using Messenger won't reactivate it, and that your Facebook friends can still message you (Messenger Help). When you deactivate, Messenger stays active if you choose to keep it or are logged in to it. Nobody can see your profile, though your profile picture still shows in your conversations, and any Pages only you control are deactivated too (Facebook Help). If you want to go further and delete the account, read how to delete your Facebook and Instagram accounts first, because deleting is permanent.
Check groups on a computer
If the family shares photos in a Facebook group, look at it once or twice a week on a laptop. The website on a computer is slower to drift around in than the phone app, and it isn't in your pocket at 11 pm.
How to use Instagram for work without scrolling
Post and reply at set times
Pick one or two windows a day for posting, comments and messages, such as mid-morning and late afternoon. Outside those windows, the app stays closed. The same idea helped people who checked email at set times feel less stressed, which we covered in checking email less often.
Do the work from a computer when you can
Instagram's website on a computer handles messages and lets you check your account without the phone's endless swipe. Many scheduling tools for business accounts also let you plan posts without opening the app at all.
Use a separate device for work accounts
If your job depends on social media, an old phone or tablet that stays at your desk can hold the work apps. Your personal phone then has nothing to scroll.
Block the feed apps and keep the messaging ones
The simplest setup on your own phone is to block the apps with feeds and leave the messaging apps alone. Block Facebook and facebook.com, keep Messenger and WhatsApp. Block Instagram outside your work windows. With Latch, you can put Facebook, Instagram and their websites in a profile on a schedule, while Messenger stays open all day.
- 1KeepMessenger, WhatsApp, texts and calls.
- 2MoveGroups and pages to a computer, once or twice a week.
- 3ScheduleWork posting in one or two set windows.
- 4BlockThe Facebook and Instagram apps and websites the rest of the time.
When you'd rather keep the app
Some people want to keep the full app and just use it less. A daily limit of 15 or 20 minutes gives you time to check in and then stops. A small physical step helps too: if opening Facebook means walking to the kitchen to scan a key, quick checks stay quick. We wrote about why that works in why a few steps beat willpower.
Common questions
Can I use Messenger without Facebook?
Yes. Meta says you can keep using Messenger after you deactivate your Facebook account, and using Messenger won't reactivate it. You sign in to the Messenger app or messenger.com with the same email and password you used for Facebook.
How do I keep Facebook for family but stop scrolling?
Use the Messenger app for chats, check family groups on a computer once or twice a week, and remove or block the Facebook app and website on your phone. If you keep the app, a short daily limit stops the scrolling once your time is up.
How can I use Instagram for work without getting sucked in?
Post and reply in one or two set windows a day, do as much as you can from a computer, and block the app on your phone outside those windows. Some people keep work accounts on a separate device that stays at their desk.
Can I block the Facebook app but keep Messenger?
Yes. Messenger is a separate app, so you can block Facebook and facebook.com while Messenger stays open. Most app blockers, including Latch and Screen Time, let you choose apps one by one.
Where Latch fits
Latch is an app blocker that only unlocks when you scan a key you keep somewhere else: an NFC sticker, a printed QR code, or a number of steps. It's free to start, out now on the App Store and Google Play.
Sources
- Messenger Help Center. How to use Messenger with a deactivated Facebook account. Messenger
- Facebook Help Center. Temporarily deactivate your Facebook profile. Facebook
Photo: public domain (CC0).