Google is stepping up its search game on mobile devices. When you search Google on an mobile device, you’ll now see results for content found within apps. Google calls it “deep linking” and it’s also known as app indexing.
App makers can now build this feature into their products and allow Google to return search results based on content inside their apps.
One of the first companies to get on board is Facebook. Public content from the Android Facebook app will now be included in search results on your mobile phone. That’s just public content. Posts that are private will not be displayed. So, it’s a good time to check those Facebook privacy settings.
Google has been pushing this app indexing to its developers for some time now, but Facebook is the biggest player to put it into practice.
If content is within an app that’s not installed on your phone, Google will stream the content. You’ll actually be able to use the content without downloading the app. You will need to be on WiFi to do this. For example, if you wanted to search for tickets to a specific concert, results within the LiveNation app would display on your phone. You could then purchase the tickets without having to install the live nation app.
Google so far has more than 100 billion of these “deep links” available for search results. Since more searchers are done on mobile phones than on desktops these days, it makes sense to provide relevant data to mobile users.
~ Cynthia
Google will only index public posts. If you want to search for all of your own Facebook posts, photos, videos, events places and comments on your posts, you can use iOS app Search For Posts. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/search-for-posts/id661005085
This is why no FB app on phone, use a browser to access.
Janet:
Using it on a browser has no real affect on this feature. Public posts will now also show up in browser results as well.