Facebook 6.0 for iOS brought major update to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch featuring iconic Chat Heads, and Stickers from Facebook Home for Android. However, due to iOS restrictions, Facebook could not implement the chat heads feature system-wide on iPhone, which means Chat heads are locked down to being in-app only. But thanks to Jailbreak community that there’s a way to enable Facebook chat heads features system-wide in iOS.
A jailbreak tweak dubbed Message Box was in works that could bring chat heads system-wide to the iPhone. Adam Bell, the developer of Message Box, has just released Message Box into Cydia, available under BigBoss repo. Once installed, Message Box Cydia tweak will make Chat heads visible anywhere in iOS.
Set your Facebook Chat Heads free!
The Facebook app has Chat Heads locked down to being in-app only, this’ll help fix that! Take them out of the Facebook app and do whatever you’d like!
How to install Message Box
- Install the Facebook iOS app on your iPhone.
*Note* It’s much easier if you have the Facebook Messenger app either logged-out, or uninstalled. That way you won’t get confused with the push notifications. - Now open Cydia on your jailbroken iPhone and search for “Message Box” and install it.
- Tap the Restart SpringBoard button. Voila!
You can configure options under Settings app. A manual chat refresh timer is configurable in settings, though keep in mind a shorter delay will decrease battery life.
Now to system-wide Chat heads in action, simply launch the Facebook app, initiate chat with any of your Facebook contact (which should open a Chat head), and quit the Facebook app. The chat heads should still be accessible from your home screen. To remove a Chat head, simply drag it down to the bottom of the screen.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts on system-wide Chat heads and also checkout our list of Best Cydia Apps list.