3 Ways Facebook Hello Makes Android Searching Better

Facebook is ubiquitous these days and the company isn’t slowing down anytime soon, and it actually wants to be even more deeply integrated into the daily lives of smartphone users. Facebook Messenger is now a standalone messaging app that takes on WhatsApp, Google Hangouts and more. on Facebook today announced A brand new app for Android called Hello, based on Messenger and calling features.

This morning Facebook released a new app called Hello for Android. Simply put, it replaces the stock dialer and phone app on your Android smartphone and aims to make your device smarter when making calls. It’s basically a phone app, caller ID and more in one.

The purpose behind Facebook’s Hello dialer is to take over our Android phones even more. They want you to make calls with Hello, which uses Facebook Messenger to make calls over the internet or WiFi instead of your carrier minutes. You don’t always have all your Facebook friends in your contact list and you don’t always know who’s calling, so Hello is here to solve this problem for the few people who are actually experiencing it.

While I won’t personally try Facebook Hello, it’s actually a brand new app that has a lot to offer and aims to make our Android phones smarter, more secure and easier to use when making and receiving phone calls. You can block known numbers that you don’t want them to call you or incorrect numbers in a block list. It features a rich and intuitive caller ID drawn from your own contacts and Facebook friends, and even has some neat tools to instantly find details about a business and then search for it.

Our Android phones have a dialer app built by the manufacturer like Google or Samsung, but you can also change the dialer if you want, just like with text messaging apps or keyboards. So, you can replace your phone app with Facebook Hello and enjoy the features mentioned below.

• See who is calling you even if this phone number is not saved on your phone.
• Easily block unwanted calls.
• Automatically block calls from numbers blocked by many people.
• Search for contacts on your phone and people and places on Facebook without switching between apps.
• Always have the latest information about your contacts, including profile pictures and birthdays.
• Open a Facebook profile or Page with one tap.
• Call and text for free with Messenger.
• Search, add and edit contacts just like you would on your phone.

See Caller Details

The biggest headline feature here is that, in a sense, Facebook is integrated into your contacts. You can’t always know who is calling or have the number of all your friends on Facebook. And while some don’t want them all in one contact list, you don’t have to. With Hello, you will see who is calling whether they are in your device’s contacts (such as Gmail contacts) and if that person is a friend on Facebook, you will also receive this information even if you do not have their phone number.

Users can share their number and information, and Hello will share the caller’s details. You’ll see their Facebook photos, see if they’re friends, how many mutual friends they have, where they work, and more. All based on what that user shared on their Facebook account. Essentially, this is forwarding Facebook profiles and information to phone calls. It makes your Android smartphone even smarter.

If this friend has an upcoming birthday, has invited you to an upcoming event, or has other things to display on the incoming call as well, as shown above. It’s a great idea, but only for those deeply invested in Facebook.

You will know whether it is a friend, an acquaintance, that person’s birthday and more in your dialer app during incoming or outgoing call. It’s a good idea, but we’re not sure who really needs it. You can even call a friend and call them directly from within the app, even if they’re not in your friends list.

Block Numbers

Another important feature is call blocking. With Facebook Hello, you will be able to see a list of blocked numbers or how many times a particular number has been blocked. So, if you receive a random call and it is blocked frequently, you will be notified and know that you will not answer. Then of course add it to your own blocked calls list so you won’t be bothered again.

You can block specific numbers from your settings and set whether you want to automatically block calls from commonly blocked numbers. Blocked calls go straight to voicemail and can be reviewed on your recent calls.

Business Information

You don’t have to switch between apps to make a call and the contact won’t be in your contacts as it gets it from all the contacts on your SIM, your Gmail or contacts account, and your Facebook friends. Another nice touch is being able to call people, friends or even a business. From here you can view a profile, learn about a business, and search all in the same app with the touch of a button.

Users can search for a friend or a business a friend has mentioned within the app and instantly get all the information they need and search. This is good for finding a nearby business, their opening hours, and then performing a search.

In general, Facebook Hello doesn’t do anything you can’t do anyway, it just makes things easier for most users. This has integrated Facebook into our smartphones and our lives more deeply than ever before. So far everything looks good on paper, but reviews on the Play Store are mixed. Hello Download and give it a try today.