If you're browsing the web version of Facebook, the banner to install their app links directly to an APK, not Google Play.

"Better with the app" shows in a bunch of places alongside a "accidentally broken" suggestion bar whose "X" doesn't work.

Messenger refuses to work on the web and requires you to download the app, unless you pretend to be a desktop browser.

Source: I refused to install Facebook's app while on Android and had to use the intentionally slowed-down and crashy web version. (on a flagship processor)

> If you're browsing the web version of Facebook, the banner to install their app links directly to an APK, not Google Play.

Can you please show me how you managed to make this happen? I just browsed to Facebook and the top banner takes me to the Play store.

I would be VERY surprised if facebook forced users to go into the special apps access settings page and enable installing apks. That's a power user feature.

If you're browsing it for a while (recurring use), it starts suggesting "Facebook Lite" and links to an APK to install, instead of Google Play. This was on Android, on a Pixel 2, but since then I've switched to iOS last year so I can't reproduce it right now.

This isn't the case, there's 0 chance Facebook redirected people to instructions to pull this off

Facebook doesn't need to; as far as I'm aware Android has done nothing as drastic as Apple's tracking opt-in. Android is already open enough for Facebook to do whatever they want.