So here's what you must do to remove those quizzes, tests, and other annoying apps from your notifications once and for all* (* more about that later in the post).
- Start using Firefox. If you are still using Internet Explorer then, well, you are an idiot to say the least. The previous comment is directed to people who know what Internet Explorer is. For those who don't here's a brief explanation. Things like Google, Facebook, Yahoo are called websites and need a web-browser to display them on your computer. Internet Explorer (IE) is the browser that comes installed with your computer. Microsoft is the company that makes IE. Firefox is another browser. It is free, and it is much better and faster that IE. But most importantly, given our frustration over those silly quiz notifications, Firefox allows you to add small programs (called ad-ons) to your browser. These programs will enhance your experience on the web. For example, there is an ad-on which will remove all ads from most of the pages you browse. Yes! No more ads flashing up on your screen when you visit CNN-IBN's website. So given this background, time has come for you to download Firefox. Go here and on the "Download Firefox" button on that page.
- Now that you have installed Firefox (now referred to as FF) (congratulations! btw (which means by the way btw)), you need to install one of those ad-ons I was talking about in the previous point. The one that you need to remove those intensely moronic quiz notifications (don't forget our main goal now) is called Greasemonkey. Now what Greasemonkey does is to allow you to install small useful tools which will read the webpage that you have loaded and make small changes to them (like removing those at (most) times racist, sexist, downright irritating quiz notifications from your notifications!). So what you need to do is to go here, and press the add to firefox button. After a few seconds there will be an alert asking you if you want to install Greasemonkey and like all things that you usually agree to without reading the text completely, you will press install. Greasemonkey (GM from now... yeah you are getting the hang of these abbreviations already) will be installed, it will ask you to restart FF, which you will and voila! GM is installed.
- I have rid myself of IE, installed GM in FF, what next? you ask. Well, just one more step. You are now going to install one of those tiny tools to remove notifications using Greasemonkey. This tool (called script in computer lingo) has been written by a guy called Stephen Fernandez. If I can meet you right now Stephen, I would hug you and start crying. You are amazing. So this tool is called (very aptly) Facebook Purity. As he (SF) describes it
If you are like me and are sick to death of seeing messages about quiz results and other silly facebook applications, then you have come to the right place!
So now all you have to do is to click here. As usual click on install once you are asked for confirmation and let FB Purity install itself. It may ask you to restart Firefox. But worry not - all your open web-sites will be loaded back after the restart. - That's it! Nothing more to do. Just visit Facebook and those notifications are gone. Start dancing with joy.
Now to deal with that * and explain you how Facebook Purity works. Spoiler - some technical jargon here which I will not explain.
From what I understand, and I don't understand Javascript too well, is that the script calls an event once the notifications are loaded. First thing it does is to add a counter on the right-side panel of the Facebook homepage which keeps a count of the number of applications hidden from your feed and gives you an option to see them. Then it goes through each notification and hides all notifications from Facebook Third Party applications keeping only native Facebook apps like status updates, wall posts, links, notes, photos, etc. thus 'purifying' Facebook. How it performs this magic is by identifying all notifications with facebook.com/apps/ hidden in the code. That's it. Those bloody quizzes are gone.
The only caveat is that Facebook may change their homepage design anytime. This script totally depends on how FB names various blocks in their homepage and so can be broken very easily. The good news is that the developer seems to be active and constantly working to keep the script updated with FB homepage changes. According to him, the link I gave you in point 3 will always point to the latest script. So in case it stops working, just click on that link again. So please bookmark this post for future reference.
That's all for now folks. Hope you are able to remove the notifications and make your FB experience much cleaner and better.
