When it comes to the big instant messaging apps used internationally, three apps are clear at the top: WhatsApp, WeChat, and Facebook Messenger. WhatsApp has been in the game for a long time and is easily the king. You might have never heard of WeChat either because most of its userbase is in China. Then, of course, there is Facebook Messenger, owned by the same parent company as WhatsApp.
Let’s move our focus to Facebook Messenger. With 1.3 billion monthly users as of March 2022, it has finally surpassed WeChat to take second place in the messaging app market. With so many people using this app at least once a month, it is hard to find someone who doesn’t use this app. In the United States, it is the leading messaging app as WhatsApp isn’t as used in North America compared to the rest of the world.
In the US, the Amazon Echo was the most popular smart speaker in households in 2020, with almost 47 million units. That makes up more than half of all smart speakers. Considering how prevalent Facebook Messenger and the Alexa-enabled Echo devices are, many people wonder, can Alexa use Facebook Messenger? That would be really convenient, wouldn’t it? You could have Alexa read out messages for you and send them too.
Well, that’s what I am here to answer for you. I’ve done all the research for you, so let’s get right into all the things that I found out.
Do you have a particular question about Alexa using Facebook? Then use the table of contents below to jump to the most relevant section. And you can always go back by clicking on the black arrow in the right bottom corner of the page. Also, please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. For more details, check the Disclosure section at the bottom of the page.
Here's what we'll cover:
Can you use Facebook Messenger on Alexa?
To put it simply, there’s no official way to get Facebook Messenger on your Amazon Echo device. This means that you can’t find a Facebook Alexa skill to download, as none exists right now. This is unfortunate as there is so much we can think of that you’d be able to do if there was an official app available to use.
However, there are some workarounds that you can take advantage of. There are some third-party skills that you can download for your Amazon Echo that can help direct your social media notifications to Alexa. In some of these cases, you will need a companion app on your smartphone to take full advantage of their features.
So, while these aren’t dedicated apps for Alexa, they do get the job done to an extent. I will tell you more about these apps in the next section.
How to connect Facebook to Alexa?
So, there’s no official way to connect Alexa to Facebook Messenger. If you want to pair Alexa and Facebook, you can do it on the Echo Show, but that’s only to get it to work as a digital photo frame and display your pictures. It can’t do anything like send or receive messages.
The skills that I am about to mention can add this kind of functionality. So you can try them out to see if they do everything you’re looking for.
Phone Link
Phone Link is perhaps the best app to get Alexa and Facebook working together in synchrony. Of course, we assume that it would be a smoother experience if it was an official app. Still, we really appreciate what this third-party app can do.
Phone Link cannot only read out your messages, but it can send messages too. It does this by using the same features that let your smartwatch reply to messages, so you don’t need to worry about it being buggy or anything. In addition, it works with Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and many other messaging apps. Just say “Alexa, Ask Phone Link to send a text on Messenger” or anything similar, and it will take care of the rest for you.
It can even make calls, play music, and help you locate your phone when you can’t find it at home.
To use Phone Link, you will need to on your Echo device first, and then afterward, download the companion app from the Google Play Store. Unfortunately, the application is only available for Android users.
Pingloud
First off, if you use an iOS device, you won’t be able to use this skill. But, hopefully, they’ll introduce support for Apple devices soon.
Pingloud is cool because it can read out all kinds of messages when you tell it to, whether Facebook Messenger messages, texts, emails, etc. You will need to download the Android companion app for this Facebook Alexa skill to work. However, note that it is a paid app with a two-week free trial, so you can give it a shot to see if you like it.
Once you download and install the app, go into the Alexa menu in Settings and connect your Amazon account. Then install the from the Alexa app and enable it! Now it will be able to read your messages, including Facebook Messenger ones.
Credits: Thanks for the photo to Canva.
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