Sync Facebook Contacts Without Disclosing Information To Third Party Apps

Although Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has officially been announced and many enthusiasts have already unofficially ported it to various devices, most users are still on ICS, if not an even older version of Android thanks to the unsolved-as-yet fragmentation issue. ICS is generally considered pretty great but a few small things often stick out. One such issue is the lack of an option within ICS to enable syncing of Facebook contacts.

Considering Facebook’s massive user base and how just about every other person seems to be on this social platform, it would have been extremely convenient if Ice Cream Sandwich had the ability to sync Facebook contacts. However, developers always seem to find some sort of a solution. To fix this particular issue, you can easily find a third party app. These apps such as the Facebook Contact Sync and HaxSync enable easy syncing of Facebook contacts with Android.

As an alternative, you can opt for a slightly longer method. Obviously, you’ll want to go for the easiest way. However, keep in mind that if you choose to use the aforementioned third party apps or something similar, it will require you to disclose personal information such as contact info. Today, privacy over the internet is a concern for many people. So if you feel reluctance or are simply uncomfortable at the thought of using a third party app at the cost of personal information, you now have another option thanks to XDA Developer’s member Deadknight.

Deadknight’s method involves creating your very own Facebook app. You will be required to use this application that you yourself will have created together with a sync tool provided by the developer. The method is simple enough and at the end you will still be the only party privy to your contact info or data.

Follow the instructions below:

Step 1: You will need to create your own Facebook application, as mentioned earlier. To do this you will need to visit developers.facebook.com. For a simple tutorial, check out the YouTube video embedded below.

Step 2: Every Facebook application has a unique ID. Enter this Application ID into the Application ID field on preferences of application.

Step 3: Enable High Resolution photos and disable the Crop feature.

Step 4: Press sync. The Facebook login page will now pop up. Log in to your Facebook account from within the application.

Step 5: You will be asked to authorize if you didn’t add the application to your Facebook account. If this is the case, authorize it.

Step 6: It will now automatically sync contacts.

If it fails to do so, simply press Sync again. You will not be required to enter Log In details again.

For more details as well as download links, head over to the source link given below.

[Via]