Although your phone bill can give you useful information about your phone usage that much, it’s not without its issues.
For example, mobile carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile log a lot of data about your usage, a lot of which may appear on your bill.
So, you may be wondering – if you place calls over Facebook or Messenger instead, will these calls show up on your bill?
In this article, we’ll cover everything that you need to know! We’ll also share some details about more privacy-friendly solutions.
Let’s get started!
Will Facebook Calls Show Up On The Phone Bill?
No. Calls placed over Facebook – or Facebook’s instant messaging app Messenger, will not show up on your phone bill in any capacity.
The reason for this makes a lot of sense when you really look into it.
Facebook operates over the internet, where as regular phone calls are routed through cell phone towers.
Because all communication is routed over the internet through Facebook’s servers, your cell service provider really has nothing to do with it – even if they are the ones providing you with a connection to the internet.
Therefore, all call-related information is tied to your Facebook account, but not your phone bill.
This means that calls – just like comments, messages, posts, and anything else, will never appear on your cell phone bill.
What If The Facebook Call Was Made Over Cellular Data?
This brings up an interesting question.
If the reason Messenger calls aren’t logged by carriers is because it operates over the internet, what if you are placing the call through your mobile data? If you are disconnected from Wi-Fi and you place a call on Messenger or Facebook, is it possible it will be logged by the carrier?
The answer here is still no.
Even when you’re disconnected from Wi-Fi, your service provider is simply providing you with internet.
They are able to view the total amount of data you used (which may indicate you’re on a video call with someone), but they’re unable to see who the call is being made to.
This is because this sort of data is encrypted in transit.
Your carrier can see that you’re sending and receiving data from Facebook, but they can’t log information relating to what you’re actually doing.
Still, there are some privacy concerns you may want to know about. To learn more, continue reading!
Alternatives That Value Your Privacy
It goes without saying, but Facebook is about as anti-privacy as it gets.
In fact, their whole business model is to collect as much data as they possibly can on you, in order to better serve you advertisements.
Therefore, it’s worth considering a more privacy-friendly solution to message and place calls on. This will not only make it even harder for other people to know who you’re calling, but you won’t be spied on by the platform itself either.
So, what do I recommend?
Privacytools.io keeps a wonderful, up-to-date list of recommend messaging apps that can act as good alternatives to Facebook / Messenger.
In fact, many of these recommendations offer features that are similar or even improved upon the features that Facebook offers with their messaging solutions.
Therefore, not only do you lead to a much more private experience – it may end up being even better than what you’re used to!
How To Place A Call On Messenger
Messenger is primarily used for exactly that – sending messages.
In fact, a large percentage of users have never placed a call on it at all – or even know how to.
So, how do you place a call on Facebook messenger?
Currently all you need to do is press the icons in the top-right corner, once you’ve opened up the messaging page for the person you want to call.
To place an audio call, tap on the icon of the phone.
To place a video call, tap on the icon of a video camera.
This will ring the other person – once they’ve accepted the call, the two of you will be connected!
Conclusion
Thankfully, calls made over Facebook – or over Facebook’s Messenger app, do not show up on your phone bill in any capacity.
However, somebody with access to your account will still be able to see who you’ve placed calls to, along with the time they were placed. Therefore, you may consider switching to an app that hides this information entirely.
I hope that you’ve found this article to be helpful. If you have any other questions – about Facebook, Messenger, or the contents of your bill, please ask them using the comment form below.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister
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