[ANNOUNCEMENT] SlimSocial for Facebook is reborn in Flutter

[rignaneseleo]

Dear all,

I am pleased to make a long-awaited announcement: SlimSocial for Facebook, the lightweight and customizable alternative to the official Facebook app, has been updated with new features and a better-than-ever codebase.

As many of you know, I created SlimSocial when I was just 17 years old, and had to put it on hold due to my university and work commitments. But the app has always been close to my heart, and in the last weeks I have been working tirelessly to bring it up to date with the latest technology: Flutter.

With this new update, SlimSocial retains its original values of lightweight design and privacy while also introducing new features, including the ability to hide ads and a better user interface. I have completely re-coded the app, making it more modern and user-friendly than ever before.

I believe that SlimSocial still has a place in today's world, even as Facebook has become less popular and phones have become more powerful. The app is customizable and easy to use, making it the perfect alternative to the official chunky Facebook app. You can now run your own user-agent, CSS, and Javascript code.

I am confident that you will find the new codebase of SlimSocial improved and easier to read.
I am excited to share it with you and am grateful for your continued support.

Thank you for using SlimSocial for Facebook. 💙

Best regards,
Leonardo

[rignaneseleo]

The old codebase will be available in the branch old-java-app

[gothmog123]

you are a rock star sir

[ballo]

Is there any way to get notifications for message requests? The official apps don't have an option for this. Any help would be appreciated

[rignaneseleo]

Is there any way to get notifications for message requests? The official apps don't have an option for this. Any help would be appreciated

I doubt it. Facebook removed messenger from every domain on web...

[ballo]

Why would you use web for Messenger, anyway? Why not their APIs?

[rignaneseleo]

their APIs are closed AFAIK. The only API there are, are for business chats.

[HarriBuh]

I would never have thought of you and your app returning to the scene, especially since almost 100% of all forks and wrappers of the Facebook app have died during the last years. I hope you will stay on track. Thank you so much.

[fidelius-dc]

Awesome! I'm stunned you even made it to integrate Messenger. Only thing that bothers me with the new version is that posts take up way more screen estate than before. An option to have smaller pics or viedo-previews would be great. or can this be achieved trough a custom CSS ?

[rignaneseleo]

Awesome! I'm stunned you even made it to integrate Messenger. Only thing that bothers me with the new version is that posts take up way more screen estate than before. An option to have smaller pics or viedo-previews would be great. or can this be achieved trough a custom CSS ?

Yes, with custom CSS and custom JS there are endless editing possibility

[Krawei]

Will the app be released on F-Droid,too?

[gothmog123]

it's already there! thanks dev!

[LoneFenris]

Are android notifications planned? (E.g. comments, messages, etc)

[rignaneseleo]

Are android notifications planned? (E.g. comments, messages, etc)

I don't think so. Without API is really complex and RAM consuming to enable the notifications.
If the app gets popular again, I might think about it :)

[LoneFenris]

@rignaneseleo Thanks, that's fine.

Though I believe the way other wrappers like Frost avoid excessive resources is by using a periodic check for new notifications (e.g. once per 15, 30, or 60 minutes), rather than keeping the site loaded all the time.

[ballo]

their APIs are closed AFAIK. The only API there are, are for business chats.

lame.

So basically Meta decides how your app behaves, and not you.

[Maythesaucebewithyou]

Legend!

[edrex]

Thanks for your work over the years creating and maintaining SlimSocial! I've reached for it in various devices when i needed to access Facebook. 🎂🚀🍺

Feedback: new apk is 20MB, , while F-Droid description still claims "less than 100kb"

• description needs update.
• assuming increased size is flutter runtime/library overhead. Anything to be done to shrink/optimize the build? https://docs.flutter.dev/perf/app-size

[HarriBuh]

Is SlimSocial getting abandoned again? No news since May...

[rignaneseleo]

Thanks for your work over the years creating and maintaining SlimSocial! I've reached for it in various devices when i needed to access Facebook. 🎂🚀🍺

Feedback: new apk is 20MB, , while F-Droid description still claims "less than 100kb"

• description needs update.
• assuming increased size is flutter runtime/library overhead. Is anything to be done to shrink/optimize the build? https://docs.flutter.dev/perf/app-size

That's right. FDroid should be updated. With Flutter is difficult to make a tiny APK, however phone devices have much more powerful in the last few years so I don't think it's a big problem.

Is SlimSocial getting abandoned again? No news since May...

SlimSocial is a hobby for me. I have a real job so I don't have a lot of free time to work on it. Everyone is very welcome to help tho.

[Meatloaf125]

Thanks for this, the new version is really great!