How to access your 'other' inbox on Facebook for Android

The initial Facebook for Android beta includes access to a hidden messages folder for your account. Here's how to access it.

You know you have a hidden inbox on Facebook, right? The "other" message folder is reserved for those people who message you and aren't one of your Facebook friends.

There's a chance some messages from non friends will go to your main inbox (depending on your settings), but most of the time these messages make their way to your other messages, without you ever being notified of a waiting message. Unless the sender decides to pay $1 to guarantee the message ends up in your main folder.

Up until recently, the only way to access your other inbox was to log on to Facebook.com and navigate to it on the Messages screen. It appears Facebook is finally ramping up plans to bring it to your Android device, as the feature is included in the latest Facebook for Android beta build.

To be able to view your other inbox, you'll need to sign up to participate in the Facebook for Android beta, which is free and requires a Google account. Once you've signed up and downloaded the beta from the Play store, you can begin digging around and finding new features.

One of those new features, of course, is a gear icon next to Messages in the navigation window. Tapping on the icon lets you navigate to your archived messages or your other inbox. Here you'll find any missed connections, or random messages from complete strangers wanting to chat it up; if you find anything at all.

How to sign up for Facebook's Android beta program

Facebook wants some brave Android users to test its app and provide feedback. Here's how you can sign up to be part of the testing.

On Thursday Facebook announced its plans to begin letting Android users test unreleased builds of its app. The testing will allow Facebook to gain more insight on how its app behaves across a wide range of carriers, devices, and operating systems. The best part is that it's an opt-in program, so only users who want to deal with issues and bugs typically found in beta builds of an app will sign up.

Are you willing to deal with some issues in order to make the Facebook Android app better for everyone? If so, make sure you use the same Google account you use for the Google Play Store to sign up for the the beta and follow the directions below:

• Visit this Google Group page and log into your Google account if prompted. After you're logged in, click on the "Join Group" button.
• You'll be prompted to enter personal information and link the group to your Google Plus account. None of this really matters since Facebook has created a (you guessed it) Facebook group for users to provide feedback. The Google Group is simply a means to the end of distributing the beta builds through the Play Store.

• After filling out your info (or skipping the personal details), you'll need to visit this page and click on the big blue "Become a Tester" button in the middle of the screen.
• Launch the Play Store on your Android device and view your apps. You should see that Facebook now has an update waiting for you. If it's not appearing right away, give it a few minutes and try to view updates again. Once you download the update, you'll be on the latest beta build of Facebook for Android and able to provide feedback.
• Lastly, to stay up on any news and interact with fellow beta testers, join this Facebook Group.

To submit feedback directly in the app, tap the menu button in the bottom-right corner of the app and select "Report a Bug," then select a category. You'll then see a screenshot of your current view in the Facebook app and a text field for comments on the issue you're experiencing. Make sure to be as detailed as possible when filing bug reports; the developers will love you for it.

You can find more details about the program and its intent directly from Facebook here.