Facebook announced Thursday, June 7, it launched the App Center - a dedicated hub for finding social apps. Previously, finding apps on the social network was done through searching on the Web site.

Selecting the Best

The App Center includes mobile and Web apps; examples given were Draw Something and Pinterest, along with new apps such as Jetpack Joyride and Ghost Recon Commander.

The App Center gives personalized recommendations, and allows users to browse apps friends use. "It only lists high-quality apps, based on feedback from people who use the app," the company said on its blog. The service is presented in a two-column interface, with Recommended Apps on the left and Friends' Apps on the right. Up top are the highlighted apps, which can be scrolled through by tapping an arrow to move forward or back.

Categories and Subcategories

Below the two columns are three tabs for Top Rated, Trending - presumably meaning the currently popular - and Top Grossing apps. Below the name of each app is an out-of-five stars rating, and hovering over the rating shows a breakdown of user scores.

Users can also filter by category on the far left, from Games to Lifestyle to Utilities. Clicking on a main category presents subcategories; for example, Games shows different genres such as Adventure and Family. There's then a single column in the middle of the page, with four tabs: Top Rated, Recommended, Trending and Friends'.

Mobile Support

iOS and Android versions of the App Center are available from within the Facebook app in addition to on Facebook.com, where apps can be sent from a computer to mobile devices through the "Send to Mobile" feature. Apps that require a download will tell the user to head to the App Store or Google Play.

Like iOS's and Android's respective app stores, the App Center includes screenshots and a description for previewing along with the publisher and number of active users.

"It helps you control your privacy by showing the information an app needs and letting you choose who can see your activity on Facebook. If you decide you want to use an app, you can get started directly from the App Center," Facebook added.

The Facebook App Center began releasing for users in the U.S. on June 7, and features more than 600 apps. Everyone will be able to use the service in the "coming weeks."

A screencast of the service is available, an overview of the service.