Friendly Social Browser vs Messenger
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Friendly Social Browser
Access all your social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, in one streamlined browser. Enjoy an ad-free experience with built-in privacy features, media controls, and customization options.
- Access multiple social networks in one app
- Block ads and trackers
- Save device space and battery
- Download photos and videos
- Advanced media player
- Privacy Shield with passcode lock
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Friendly Social is an elegant companion for posting and browsing across your favorite social media networks! Access your Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Reddit, Snap, TikTok and other social accounts all through one powerful browser app. Friendly Social, by Sensor Tower, unlocks the potential of your social media. One app for all your social media accounts: - Block ads and trackers on your feed - Save space on your device - Preserve your battery - Save on mobile data usage - Easily switch between multiple accounts and networks Take control of your privacy and enjoy an ad-free experience with our built-in ad blocker, filtering in-feed and in-video ads from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. Each social media network runs in a dedicated web container for optimal privacy and control over your data: - Friendly Privacy Shield blocks content trackers, click trackers, and social media ads - Protect your social media accounts with FaceID, TouchID, or a passcode Take Control of your data: - Easily download or repost any of your photos or videos, as well as your friends - Our advanced media player allows you to play in background, adjust speed, and use Picture-in-Picture - Order feed by most recent - Filter or highlight posts in your feed by keywords Enjoy your social media experience again with Friendly! Some of our other features include: - Colorful themes - Night mode - Adjustable font size GIVE FRIENDLY A TRY! And don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything CONTACT / HELP & FEEDBACK Please use link on this page, or message us from the app help menu Notes: - Facebook® and the Facebook logo are trademarks of Facebook Inc. - Friendly is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Facebook
Messenger
Connect with friends and family through text, audio, and video calls. Share photos, videos, and large files, and express yourself with custom themes and animated content. Features an AI assistant for help and support.
- Text, audio, and video calls
- High-definition photo sharing
- Shared photo albums
- QR code connections
- Large file sharing (up to 100MB)
- Edit and unsend messages
- Disappearing messages
- AI assistant
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Messenger is a free messaging app that helps you connect with anyone, anywhere. Stay in touch with your friends and family, explore your interests with people like you, build your community, and share your vibe beyond words, all in one app. CHAT AND CALL ANYONE, ANYWHERE Find and connect with your friends and family on Facebook and Messenger, no phone number needed. GET INSTANT ANSWERS FROM YOUR AI ASSISTANT* Meta AI is your assistant that can answer any questions, give you advice, help with homework, and more. SEND YOUR PHOTOS IN HIGH DEFINITION Send and receive clearer, crisper picture of your favorite moments with Messenger. CREATE SHARED ALBUMS From a recent summer vacation to your grandma’s 80th birthday, create albums of photos and videos to share, organize and reminisce over important moments in your group chats. EASILY ADD NEW CONNECTIONS WITH QR CODES Connect with people you meet in real life by scanning their Messenger QR code or sharing yours via a link. SHARE LARGE FILES DIRECTLY IN CHAT Whether it’s a Word, PDF, or Excel doc, you can send large files up to 100MB right inside of Messenger. EDIT AND UNSEND MESSAGES Hit send too soon? You can edit the message up to 15 minutes after sending DISAPPEARING MESSAGES Some things aren’t meant to last forever. Choose how long your end-to-end encrypted chats stick around after they’ve been read. COME TOGETHER WITH YOUR COMMUNITIES Meaningfully connect with people like you from your school, neighborhood, and interest groups. GET IN YOUR FAVORITE CREATORS’ INNER CIRCLE Stay in the know with creators by joining their broadcast channels for authentic and casual content. UNLEASH YOUR IMAGINATION W/ META AI* Tap into your go-to creative partner to create, edit, animate images and more. CAPTURE EVERYDAY MOMENTS ON STORIES Highlight moments of your day using photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours in Stories. DROP A NOTE WITH YOUR THOUGHTS Stay connected with your friends by sharing quick updates that disappear after 24 hours. BRING YOUR VIBE TO YOUR CHATS Sometimes words just don’t cut it. Tap into more ways to express yourself with animated stickers, GIFs, reactions and more. SET THE MOOD OF YOUR CHAT WITH THEMES Customize your chat with a large and constantly evolving list of themes featuring popular artists, holidays, and more. *Meta AI is available in select languages and countries only, with more coming soon.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Friendly Social Browser at none against Messenger's shown. Messenger's advantage is ratings volume (14M vs 84K) and review sentiment (66% vs 48%). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Friendly Social Browser sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Messenger sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Friendly Social Browser against 4.7 for Messenger. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Messenger has 14M ratings behind it against 84K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 48% of Friendly Social Browser's written reviews are positive against 66% of Messenger's.
Friendly Social Browser ships an update every 2 weeks, Messenger weekly. Both last shipped on October 18, 2026.
| Parameter | Friendly Social Browser | Messenger |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (84K ratings) | 4.7 (14M ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 48.3% of reviews | 66.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 84K | 14M — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #204 | #7 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 281 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Friendly, Inc. | Meta Platforms, Inc. |
Customer experience
Friendly Social Browser
Messenger
User reviews
Friendly Social Browser
From 84K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Efficient app
- 🔒 Private experience
- 👍 Customization options
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Convenient all-in-one app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Glitchy performance
- 🐛 Unreliable notifications
- 🐛 Inconsistent navigation
- 🐛 Issues with video playback
Messenger
From 14M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📱 Useful for staying connected with friends and family
- 🗣️ Enables easy communication through text, voice, and video
- 💬 Convenient group chat features
- 🌐 Works across multiple devices and platforms
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Privacy and security concerns
- 🔄 Unnecessary updates that remove useful features
- 📤 Issues with message delivery and notifications
- 🗂️ Cluttered interface and poor organization of chats
Bugs and requests
Friendly Social Browser
Reported bugs
5 issues- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Issues with loading posts and comments
- Problems with logging in and staying logged in
- Inconsistent behavior when navigating between screens
- Inability to upload videos or images in certain scenarios
Requested features
5 requests- Add voice/video chat in Messenger
- Improve real-time notifications
- Enhance integration with other social apps
- Provide better support for Facebook Pages
- Add option to disable automatic feed refresh
Messenger
Reported bugs
4 issues- Unable to log in or access account
- Messages failing to send or receive
- Unexpected app crashes and freezes
- Syncing issues between devices
Requested features
4 requests- Add option to delete or unsend messages
- Improve search functionality for chat history
- Introduce customizable notification settings
- Bring back old features like emoji reactions and location sharing
In-app purchases
Friendly Social Browser
- Nice tip$0.99
- Friendly Plus$1.99
- Generous tip$4.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Amazing tip$8.99
Messenger
- Avatar Item$0.99
- Avatar Item$1.99
- Avatar Item$2.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Avatar Item$3.99
- Avatar Item$4.99
- Avatar Item$6.99
- Avatar Item$7.99
- Avatar Item$8.99
- Avatar Item$9.99
- Avatar Item$10.99
Questions
Is Friendly Social Browser free?
Is Messenger free?
Which has better reviews, Friendly Social Browser or Messenger?
Do Friendly Social Browser or Messenger have ads?
Which is updated more often, Friendly Social Browser or Messenger?
Which is more popular, Friendly Social Browser or Messenger?
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