Facebook for iPad Hidden Within iPhone App, Here’s How to Get it Right Now

TechCrunch has reported that the rumored Facebook for iPad app is hidden within the iPhone app. How so?

A Twitter user by the name of Marvin Bernal found that changing the “UIDeviceFamily” from 1 to 2 in the info.plist of the iPhone app will display a hidden Facebook iPad app. This also hints that hidden app will become a universal application, meaning that the same app can be downloaded on both an iPhone and an iPad.

Here’s how to get the secret Facebook for iPad app on your own iPad right now…
“Hidden in the code of Facebook’s iPhone app is the code for something else. Something everyone has been waiting over a year for. The iPad app. Yes, it’s real, and it’s spectacular (well, very good, at the very least). And yes, it really is right there within the code. Even better, it’s executable.

TechCrunch’s MG. Siegler confirmed that this is the real, upcoming iPad app for Facebook that we’ve all been waiting for,

“Update: We’ve just talked to a source who had previous seen the app and says that this is in fact the app Facebook was intending to launch shortly. We’ll see if that gets sped up now.”
How to get the hidden Facebook app on a jailbroken iPad:
The Easy Way

Step 1: Download the latest version of Facebook for iPhone to your iPad.

Step 2: Find and install the “FullForce” tweak for free from developer Ryan Petrich in Cydia. Version 1.3.3 will enable the new Facebook for iPad app.

Step 3: Respring your iPad.

Step 4: Go to your iPad’s Settings and find the FullForce settings tab.

Step 5: Switch the toggle for the Facebook iPhone app to On.

Step 6: Exit Settings and enter the Facebook app on your iPad. The hidden app will now be enabled.

The Hard Way

Step 1: Download the latest version of Facebook for iPhone to your iPad.

Step 2: Download and install iFile from Cydia.

Step 3: In iFile, navigate to Applications > Facebook

Step 4: Enter the “Facebook.app” folder.

Step 5: Select the “info.plist” file.

Step 6: Navigate to Display Properties > UIDeviceFamily

Step 7: Change the number “1” in the upper right corner to “2”

Step 8: Respring your iPad!

On a non-jailbroken iPad:
Step 1: Download iPhone Explorer and Xcode on your Mac.

Step 2: Open the info.plist file in the Facebook for iPhone app in Xcode.

Step 3: Change the UIDeviceFamily property from “1″ to “2.”

Step 4: Respring your iPad!

After using the app for awhile, I found that it’s definitely 100% usable, but it still has a few minor bugs. For instance, when posting a status update, it says “via iPhone” instead of “via iPad.” The UI is also very nice. Also, the app is developed in mostly HTML 5, meaning the app is pretty snappy.

This hidden iPad app happened to appear after the recent Facebook for iPhone 3.4.4 update. By secretly releasing an official iPad app, Facebook has hammered the nails in the coffin for 3rd party Facebook apps on the iPad.

What are your thoughts on this? Are you going to try installing the app? Let us know how it works for you in the comments!