Facebook, the most popular and widely used social media platform, offers a bunch of features to keep you hooked. From texting with friends and interacting with their activities, to posting cool status updates and showing of your sense of humor — Facebook is one virtual theme park.
Amidst the chatter of exciting new features, most of us have forgotten about one of the most celebrated features of the platform; a feature which meant a great deal back in the day — Poking.
Today, we’ll talk in length about what Poking is on Facebook — teach the younglings of the feature’s glorious past — and tell you how you could Poke your buddies like the good old days, but in 2021.
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What Does Poke Mean On Facebook?
“XYZ Poked you.” Back in the day, this notification had enough to put a smile on our faces — as if someone, actually, poked us. The feature isn’t as talked about in 2021, of course, but it still has its charm.
Poking someone on Facebook means nudging someone; reminding them of you, of your presence. In our books, Poking is the most informal and fun way of saying hello — the perfect excuse of starting a conversation with someone. It’s also a lifesaver when you don’t have the perfect icebreaker for your crush or you simply want to flood a friend’s notifications with unnecessary pokes.
Facebook mentioned in its older FAQs that they thought of creating poke because they found it cool to create a feature without any specific purpose and wanted the users to find their own meaning behind this.
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Can You Still Poke On Facebook?
In 2007, the Poke feature was all the rage on the networking site. People used to poke friends, crushes, and teachers even — for fun, to flirt with them, or only to kickstart a conversation. Unfortunately, the feature’s popularity declined in 2011, when Facebook decided to push the feature out of the limelight, making way for newer, more exciting additions.
Today in 2021, people don’t even know if the feature still exists or not. Surprisingly, it still exists on Facebook but is not easily accessible. Want to know where to find the poke option in today’s Facebook environment? Read on!
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Where Do You Find Pokes On Facebook?
The Poke option on Facebook is not showcased proudly anymore. Instead, it has been buried under the search option. Not only do you have to search to access the feature, but you also have to look tediously for the one you wish to Poke.
At first, you have to go to the search bar on the Facebook application or webpage and search for Pokes. The results will throw up the Facebook “Pokes” activity eventually. Selecting that option will bring you to the list of friends whom you can poke. It also shows the list of people who have already Poked you at the top of your screen.
Related: How To Change Your Name On Facebook
How To Poke Someone On Facebook App on Android
Facebook has a dedicated app — both for Android and iOS — and a website. Let’s check out how you can Poke someone on the Facebook app for Android.
At first, open your Facebook application, and you will see a search button at the top of the screen.
Tap on the Search button to search for anything you want. Here we will search for “Pokes.”
As you can see in the image below, typing “Poke” will fetch you a bunch of results. You’ll have to ignore the temptations and hit the search button instead.
As you can see the very first result is “Pokes,” which happens to be a Facebook shortcut. Tap on the ‘Pokes’ result to see who poked you, and whom you can poke or poke back.
When you go to ‘Pokes,’ the page opens with the suggestion of people you can Poke and the list of people who have already Poked you.
At the top, under the ‘Pokes’ banner, you’ll get the option to ‘Poke Back’ the people who have Poked you. It is to be noted that there is no restriction on the number of times you can Poke someone / someone can Poke you back. So, don’t be afraid to wage a war against your mates.
If you find someone you like under the ‘Suggested Pokes’ banner, tap on ‘Poke’ to Poke them. Finally, at the top, you can see a search bar. Here you can search for the friend you want to Poke. When you get the person you are looking for, tap on ‘Poke.’
How To Poke Someone through the Facebook website
Method #01: Look it up
We’ve already learned how to Poke on the Android application, now let’s see how to poke on the Facebook website itself.
First thing first, go to Facebook.com and log into your account. The main page or frame you see will be something like the image below. At the top-left corner will be a search bar. You will have to click on it.
Look for ‘Pokes’ and hit Enter.
Once you hit Enter, the results will be as follows. The first result on the page is what we want. Tap on ‘Pokes’ — the first result, not the pages.
Facebook will now redirect you to the Pokes page, where you can see who Poked you and whom else you can Poke just like the Android application. Here, too, people who have poked you are at the top, with a ‘Poke Back’ button on their right hand side. Once you tap on ‘Poke Back,’ the person will get a notification and they, too, will get the option to Poke you back.
In the image posted above, you can see the search bar. It works the same as the one in the Android application. Search for the friend you want to Poke and then hit the ‘Poke’ button on the right.
Method #02: Go to your ‘Pokes’ page
If Method #01 is just too tedious for you, you should simply visit facebook.com/pokes to go to your Pokes page. Here, you’ll find the friends that have Poked you, a list of friends you should consider Poking and more. Clicking on the link saves you the hassle of going through the search section, which is excellent when you’re in a hurry.
How to access the poke page with one tap on Android
As we’ve seen accessing the Pokes page is hardly the most straightforward task. This is a major inconvenience if you’re looking to start Poking right away. Thankfully there’s a nifty little trick you can pull to create a shortcut on Android. For this, open Google Chrome — Get Chrome from Google Play Store — on your Android device, and then visit facebook.com/pokes.
Once you’re through with the login procedure (if required), click on the vertical ellipsis at the top-right corner of the screen.
Now, tap on ‘Add to Home screen.’
Then, change the name if you wish to and tap on ‘Add.’
It’ll be posted as a 1×1 widget. Finally, tap on ‘Add’ to add the icon to your home page.
Now, whenever you wish to get to the ‘Pokes’ page, all you need to do is tap on the icon and you’ll be teleported to the scene.
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