Nope, you don’t need a fancy smartphone app to post snapshots to your Facebook timeline while you’re on the go. All you need, in fact, is a camera phone that can send e-mail.
The trick? Getting a custom “post-by-e-mail” address, which you can find in your Facebook account settings.
Here’s how it works…
- From any Facebook page, click the little downward arrow in the top-right corner of the screen, select Account Settings, then click “Mobile” in the left column.
- At the bottom of the Mobile Settings page, you’ll find a “Post-by-E-mail Address” heading—and right next to it, you’ll see a customized address that looks something like “abc123def@m.facebook.com.” Go ahead and copy that address into your phone’s contact book, using (for example) “Facebook photo” as the name. Note: Don’t see the “Post-by-E-mail Address heading? It’s probably because you haven’t added a mobile number to your Facebook account yet.
- Now, when you want to share a photo from your camera phone on Facebook, just view the picture in your phone’s photo gallery, select the option to send it in an email message (the method depends on the make and model of your phone), put a caption (like “Check out my photo!”) in the subject line, and send it to your personal Facebook email address. Once you do, presto! The photo and caption will appear on your Facebook timeline.
- Before you e-mail any photos to Facebook, though, make sure to check your default privacy settings first. Go back and click that little arrow in the top corner of any Facebook page, select Privacy Settings, then head for the “Control Your Default Privacy” section. From there, you can choose the privacy setting for any photo you upload to Facebook via e-mail—from “Public” (meaning anyone and everyone) to “Only Me” (in the “Custom” option).
Now, here’s the thing when it comes to your “post-by-e-mail” address for Facebook: make sure to keep it to yourself.
Why? Because anyone with your custom Facebook photo address could post random photos to your Facebook timeline. Not good.
So, what happens if lose your phone, or if you’re worried that your custom e-mail address has been compromised? Well, you can always reset it.
Just return to the Mobile Settings page and click the “Refresh” link in the “Post-by-E-mail” section to delete the old address and get a new one.
Looking for more Facebook tips? Click here!