Facebook said to be testing new ‘Today In’ local news and events section in the app

Facebook wants to make it easier for us to stay updated with local news and events dubbed ‘Today In’. Testing of the feature is running in just six cities for now: New Orleans, La.; Little Rock, Ark.; Billings, Mont.; Peoria, Ill.; Olympia, Wash.; and Binghamton, N.Y. Continue reading “Facebook said to be testing new ‘Today In’ local news and events section in the app”

Facebook M personal digital assistant shutting down on January 19

Facebook M

Facebook today announced that it is shutting down it’s text-based virtual personal digital assistant M which was first introduced back in 2015. The human-enhanced M was available through bots in Facebook Messenger to just 2,000 people in California.  Continue reading “Facebook M personal digital assistant shutting down on January 19”

Facebook starts testing Aadhaar prompts for new users [Update]

Facebook

Update: Facebook has officially posted an update on its site saying that the new Aadhaar prompt was a test among small number of users and the test is complete. It also said that it has just added additional language on the account sign-up page to explain that using their Aadhaar name will help family and friends recognize them and said that it is not collecting Aadhaar data and do not require people to enter their Aadhaar name when they sign up to Facebook. Continue reading “Facebook starts testing Aadhaar prompts for new users [Update]”

Facebook and Universal Music Group sign multi-year agreement to license recorded music

Facebook

Universal Music Group (UMG) has signed a multi-year agreement with Facebook to license its record music for users on the platform to use it in their videos. This agreement also covers Instagram and Oculus.  Continue reading “Facebook and Universal Music Group sign multi-year agreement to license recorded music”

Facebook rolls out new tools to prevent unwanted friend requests and messages

Facebook Ignoring Messages

In order to tackle with annoying and unwanted contact requests and messages on Facebook and Messenger, Facebook today has announced new tools that will help you prevent harassment on the platform based on the feedback received people who might have experienced such issues. Continue reading “Facebook rolls out new tools to prevent unwanted friend requests and messages”

Facebook to use Facial recognition technology to manage your identity in photos

Facebook

Facebook facial recognition technology is one of the key features of the platform that is used in suggesting friends, and more. Today the company has announced yet another use case of the technology which now alerts you if it thinks that you are in a photo that is uploaded to Facebook regardless of whether you are tagged or not. Continue reading “Facebook to use Facial recognition technology to manage your identity in photos”

WhatsApp ordered by French data protection authority to stop sharing user data with Facebook

WhatsApp logo

France data privacy watchdog; CNIL has given a 1-month ultimatum to WhatsApp over Facebook data transfers without proper users consent. It ordered WhatsApp to stop sharing data with Facebook without proper permissions, and if WhatsApp fails to follow the order, the watchdog said that it could sanction the company. Continue reading “WhatsApp ordered by French data protection authority to stop sharing user data with Facebook”

Facebook to block Engagement Bait posts from news feed

Facebook Engagement bait

Engagement bait posts that ask for like, share and comment are abundant on the Facebook news feed and they are an indirect way from pages, people to gain reach. In order to tackle the issue, Facebook today announced that it will begin demoting individual posts from people and Pages that use engagement bait. Continue reading “Facebook to block Engagement Bait posts from news feed”

Facebook adds Snooze button to mute updates from a person, page or group for 30 days

Facebook Snooze

Facebook today has announced that it will add snooze button over the coming week that will let you unfollow person, Page or group for 30 days and you won’t see any content from that particular page or person for 30 days in your news feed.  Continue reading “Facebook adds Snooze button to mute updates from a person, page or group for 30 days”

Facebook starts rolling out Click-to-WhatsApp Button in Facebook ads

Facebook Ad Click-to-WhatsApp

Though WhatsApp has always been an ad-free network, Facebook has encouraged advertisements of businesses and individuals. However, that changes today as Facebook is now rolling out Click-to-WhatsApp button; a new ad unit that will let businesses ads create a link between the two platforms.  Continue reading “Facebook starts rolling out Click-to-WhatsApp Button in Facebook ads”

Facebook introduces AR-based World Effects for Messenger; opens AR platform for Developers

Facebook World Effects

Facebook’s Messenger platform is visually rich with features like photos, videos, emojis, stickers, and GIFs make and recently the company has also included the ability to send high-res 4K images as well. On the occasion of one-year completion of native Camera feature in Messenger; Facebook has announced new AR-based ‘World Effects’ feature which lets you drop 3D objects into your surrounding. Continue reading “Facebook introduces AR-based World Effects for Messenger; opens AR platform for Developers”

Facebook Messenger Instant Games get live streaming and video chat support

Livestreaming

Facebook Messenger games complete one year and to celebrate the occasion, the company is introducing new games and new features. The platform currently has over 70 games from more than 100 developers which are available worldwide. Continue reading “Facebook Messenger Instant Games get live streaming and video chat support”

Facebook Messenger Kids app with parental controls launched for iOS

Messenger kids

Facebook today has launched ‘Messenger Kids’ a standalone dedicated messaging app for kids in the USA for iOS. The Messenger Kids lets your kids to chat easily, start a video call and connect with family members and friends all of which is controlled from a parent’s Facebook account.  Continue reading “Facebook Messenger Kids app with parental controls launched for iOS”

Facebook said to be working on a new shortcut to tag friends in comments

Facebook

Facebook is reportedly working on a new way to tag your friends in the comments and the feature is currently hidden and is being under testing. To tag your friends you just need to type @ followed by his/her name.  Continue reading “Facebook said to be working on a new shortcut to tag friends in comments”

Facebook Messenger now lets you send and receive high resolution photos

4K_images_in_Messenger

Facebook today has rolled out yet another exciting feature to the messenger which lets you send and receive images in messenger app at 4K resolution in addition to the features like PayPal support, new filters, stickers and more. The company says that text is no longer the only means of communication as people started exchanges images for better visual experience. Continue reading “Facebook Messenger now lets you send and receive high resolution photos”