While desktop users have had access to Facebook’s somewhat creepy Graph Search feature for months now, it hasn’t made a jump into the company’s mobile apps, save for a select few people included in a beta test earlier this month.
Now, iPhone users can get a taste of mobile Graph Search, even if they aren’t one of the anointed few selected to take part in the test.
To give Graph Search on iOS a try, open Safari, and type in fb://search in the address bar. That should open the Facebook app, and bring up Graph Search, Facebok’s user-friendly way of letting people dig through information and images posted by their friends.
On the desktop, typing search terms like: “single friends of my friends who live in Seattle, WA” will turn up just that — a list of people your friends know who are single and in Seattle.
On my iPhone, I’ve found that while typing search terms won’t actually turn up results, it’s possible to use some of Facebook’s pre-populated searches, like “Recent photos of my friends” or “restaurants nearby.” Once one of those searches works, it’s possible to tweak the results using the filter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the app.
Unfortunately, once someone who doesn’t normally get access to Graph Search closes the search, the only way to get it back is by re-entering the URL. It is possible to automate that process with Launch Center Pro, an app that allows users to launch apps using URL schemes like the one that triggers Graph Search.
Facebook is known for extensively testing updates on a subset of users before rolling them out to everyone on the social network, but the addition of this URL seems like the company is gearing up for a roll-out of mobile Graph Search soon. Considering that almost 300 million Facebook users only access the service from its mobile apps every month, some poeple have been ignoring the powerful search feature, which means this roll-out gives more people more frequent access to Graph Search.
This added functionality comes a week after TechCrunch reported about a new “People” tab the company is also testing in its mobile apps, including “Highlights,” which offers an at-a-glance look at important goings-on in your friends’ Timelines.
Facebook did not respond to a request for comment on this piece.
