Facebook is a great service and it is useless to persist in saying that it is only a fashion or that it is useless if not to waste time. As further proof of this affirmation of mine, I will go on to explain a new function, which has been available for a few days, which is really very important and will make many people truly happy: the possibility of sending free sms to the mobile phones of their friends .
Notifications can now be received via SMS on Tim, Wind and Vodafone mobile phones and, as notifications include private messages, here is the possibility to send SMS as Facebook messages to friends.
By imagining a world where everyone has a smartphone or an iPhone that is always connected to the internet (as is normal for a smartphone), you can receive Facebook messages (or even Email) with push notification thanks to Facebook applications for mobile phones.
Now the notifications can be received via SMS and owners of Tim, Wind and Vodafone mobile phones can tell relatives and friends to write private messages on Facebook and save money.
READ ALSO: With Facebook Messenger you can send and read SMS .
To activate the reception of SMS from Facebook you need to go to Account Settings -> Mobile (or go to www.facebook.com/settings?tab=mobile ).
If a mobile number has already been added, and it is Tim, Wind or Vodafone, the button to activate the SMS notification should appear.
If not, you need to add a new phone number, choosing country and operator.
In the next step you are asked to send a message from your mobile phone, with the word F, to the number indicated (3424860900 for Vodafone, 4850105 for Wind).
If you prefer, you can remove the check mark where it says " Add this phone number to my profile " so it won't appear in your information card.
After receiving the confirmation code via SMS on the mobile phone, (made two tests and it arrived immediately), you can write it in the appropriate field and continue the activation.
The next screen for configuring SMS notifications allows you to decide which messages to receive on your mobile between the various Facebook events.
As I see it, it is better to put only the messages and neglect the rest (otherwise you will receive sms for any nonsense).
To configure SMS notifications at any time, you can go to the page //www.facebook.com/settings?tab=notifications.
Also put the flag to " Send SMS only from friends " so as to avoid receiving messages on the mobile phone even from strangers (or to receive spam).
Continuing the configuration, the choice of receiving notifications on the mobile phone only at set times is very nice so as to prevent the reception of SMS messages at night or during working hours.
Also good is the ability to disable SMS notification if you are using Facebook when you can read private messages from your computer.
By also removing the confirmation message, you can save your preferences and communicate to friends that there is no longer any need to pay to send normal SMS, just write a private message on Facebook, which is and always remains free .
The whole procedure is free and there are no additional costs.
In my test (done with Wind) the messages arrived a few times immediately, other times after a maximum of 10 minutes.
The maximum length of the SMS is about 110 characters and the SMS arrives with this form " From claudio pomhey to me: bla bla bla //fb.me/gsdgdgfhd34 " the internet address at the end is the web page of the message.
Who sends a message from Facebook will have to tick the SMS box which is activated only if you write to people who have activated the function of receiving notifications on mobile.
Privacy chapter (see privacy settings guide)
The fact that your mobile number ends up on Facebook shouldn't scare you and, on the contrary, it helps to get in touch.
In order not to show it to everyone, go to the personal information tab, press the Edit button in "Contact information" and choose who can see the number by putting only friends or only me so as not to let anyone see it.
