Items tagged with (NASDAQ:FB)
One of the most popular features of apps like Snapchat is messages that disappear after a set period of time. Whether you are sending lewd messages or sensitive information, self-destructing messages can protect against images and information leaking out. Recently, WhatsApp released information about "Disappearing Messages"; its own take on self-destructing messages. This functionality has some odd caveats but could be helpful for people using the Facebook-owned messaging service. Disappearing Messages would work how you would generally expect once the feature is enabled. When a chat with a group or an individual has the feature turned on, messages will automatically disappear after a certain...
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Microsoft, Amazon, and Google all now have cloud gaming streaming platforms, and Facebook is not a company to be left out in the cold. Today, Facebook has announced that it launched “several cloud-streamed games in the Facebook app and on browser — playable instantly, with no downloads required.” This streaming service will not be like the others; however, as Facebook claims it will be launching with native mobile games to kick things off. The typical idea of game streaming services is to bring PC-based games to all platforms, as Microsoft did with Project xCloud. Facebook is doing it differently, though, as the company writes that it is “not spinning off a separate cloud...
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In August, Facebook decided to start merging Oculus and Facebook accounts for their Oculus VR brand. Until January 1st, 2023, existing users will not need to link their accounts, but any new Oculus hardware will require a Facebook account. With the link, Facebook gets to see things such as your VR apps, friends list, and other information. If you decide that Facebook is no good and want to delete your account, you will also lose your Oculus profile, which includes all purchased games. When Facebook announced the move to merge Facebook and Oculus accounts, users found it a bit off-putting and reminisced of Google's push for its own Google+ back in the day. Just a few months later, after some people...
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Ask a question on Facebook and be prepared to get annoyed at some of the answers. Or may that is just me (doubt it). Hey, it is the nature of social media—everyone has an opinion, and most are willing to share it. Sort of along those lines, Facebook is expanding access to its experimental crowd-source predictive technology called Forecast. What exactly does that mean? "Forecast is a social prediction market that lets people make public predictions on a range of questions and then give their reasoning, support someone else’s reasoning, or join in the conversation about a topic. Users can follow other forecasters and visit their profiles to see public predictions and opinions. Users...
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Facebook has announced the arrival of the Oculus Quest 2 today, priced at just $299. With this new VR product, Facebook wants to make standalone VR more mainstream and accessible. In the process, the company has also killed off the Oculus Rift to make standalone VR a focus. According to Facebook, the Quest 2 “packs a suite of innovations to power the next generation of VR games and experiences.” This all-in-one VR solution rocks a Qualcomm XR2 platform, 6GB of RAM and 1832x1920 pixels per eye. The per eye resolution beats out the Valve Index, so it should look good in comparison. The displays will also run at 90Hz for system applications on day one with app developers getting access...
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Oh Facebook, you sly dogs, you. The social media juggernaut temporarily went live with a website detailing its unannounced Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset (as has been previously rumored), which qualifies as a leak. But whether it was a leak in the true sense of the word, well, only Facebook truly knows. Either way, we have some specifications and features to share about the Quest 2. While the revealing webpage is no longer so revealing, a couple of announcement videos have been archived on the web. They provides some details about the upcoming VR headset, as well as some clear looks from various angles, one of which you can see in the image posted at the top of this article. So, what...
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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, is raising concerns about his social competitor, TikTok. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Mr. Zuckerberg has been railing against TikTok in public events and in private to President Trump himself. Last fall, Mr. Zuckerberg went to Washington D.C. to discuss freedom of expression online. Along with this sentiment, he also raised the alarm on Chinese companies, such as TikTok, threatening American interests and beliefs. In a speech to Georgetown students, the Facebook CEO specifically referenced TikTok as a threat and risk. Before this, he made similar arguments in meetings with congresspeople. Around the same time, he also mentioned his opinions of TikTok...
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According to Comparitech researchers, a database of nearly 235 million social media profiles from platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, was exposed on the internet. This could open users up to phishing and impersonation scams as well as unwanted email usage. On August 1st, Bob Diachenko, a cybersecurity researcher at Comparitech, uncovered three copies of the data on servers ultimately controlled by Hong Kong- based Social Data. Social Data is a company that sells data of social media influencers to marketers. According to hints in the database, the data was initially owned by a company called Deep Social, which is now dissolved. It is assumed that this data was collected with web...
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In what could be a dealbreaker for some VR gamers that own Oculus devices, Facebook announced today that beginning in October, it will remove provisions that allow users to have separate Oculus and Facebook accounts. Instead, first-time Oculus device users will be required to login with a Facebook account. Facebook acquired Oculus back in 2014, and has slowly been making moves over the years to align its VR business with its mainline social networking platform. However, it's likely that people that want absolutely nothing to do with Facebook or its tendency to get its feelers into every aspect of our online life will be happy about this change. If you're already an existing Oculus hardware user...
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Both Apple and Google have been catching flak from various entities over policies the companies have instituted in their respective app stores. Many developers that have apps listed in Apple's App Store or Google Play have voiced concern over the significant commissions that must be paid. Apple takes between 15% and 30%, for example, for most app subscriptions and payments made inside apps. After a strategic move that saw Epic file suit against Apple this past week, Facebook has now come out and taken a firm stance against Apple as well. Facebook announced this week that Apple had declined a request to waive a 30% commission fee for a new app feature it's readying to help small businesses. The...
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Serving as yet another reminder that whatever you put out there in the online world should be assumed to exist forever, it was discovered that Instagram (owned by Facebook) was not wiping deleted content from its servers like it was supposed to be doing. The discovery led to a $6,000 payday for the security researcher who discovered the flaw and submitted it to Instagram's bug bounty program. Normally when you delete something from an online service, like a video or a post, it still remains on the service's servers for a period of time. According to Instagram, it takes around 90 days for deletions to be wiped from its systems for good. Or at least that is how it applies to wholesale account deletions,...
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Facebook has finally gained clearance from Apple to launch its Facebook Gaming service in the App Store, though only after gimping the service, much to the social network's chagrin. In order to not be in violation of Apple's rules and guidelines for iOS apps hosted in the App Store, Facebook had to remove the ability to play mini games. For the most part, Facebook Gaming is used to watch others play games, similar to Twitch and Mixer (before Microsoft bowed out and abruptly shut Mixer down). But it does also have some mini games people can play, at least on the Android version in Google Play. No dice for iOS users, unfortunately. And Facebook isn't happy about the decision, as it relayed in a...
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App makers are going to have to rethink things when iOS 14 arrives, because the next version of Apple's mobile operating system has a privacy feature that likes to tattle on certain behaviors. We have seen this a few times already, with the iOS 14 beta—notably, the beta revealed TikTok and a few other apps were sneakily accessing clipboard data on iPhone devices. Now Instagram is finding itself under the spotlight for a supposed bug that is causing the camera to stay on even when users are simply scrolling through their feeds. Instagram (owned by Facebook) obviously needs to access to the camera at certain times, because it's a photo and video sharing service. But some users of the iOS...
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Ever find yourself wondering how many times Facebook will drop the ball when it comes to data privacy? The answer is at least one more time, apparently. In a blog post, Facebook admitted it uncovered a flaw that allowed thousands of third-party app developers to access data that they should not have been able to. You may recall that Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg sat before Congress and answered a bevy of questions about data collection practices, privacy practices, and so forth, after the whole Cambridge Analytica scandal. Zuckerberg has gone on record multiple times saying government regulation of these things is not necessarily a bad idea. One of the criticisms he faced when answering...
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All eyes in the streaming space are on Tyler "Ninja" Blevins following Microsoft's surprise announcement that Mixer is transitioning to Facebook Gaming. The decision to effectively shutter Mixer comes less than a year after Microsoft lured Ninja away from Twitch, reportedly paying him around $30 million to stream exclusively on the now-defunct platform. "Ultimately, the success of Partners and streamers on Mixer is dependent on our ability to scale the platform for them as quickly and broadly as possible. It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences that Microsoft and Xbox want to deliver for gamers now,...
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The main draw of using WhatsApp is enhanced privacy through end-to-end encryption, followed by its popularity—more than 2 billion people in over 180 countries use the instant messaging service. This also makes privacy and security lapses all the more glaring, when they are found. And according to a security who unsuccessfully tried to collect a bug bounty, there is a "privacy issue" that needs addressed. At the center of the issue is the application's 'click to chat' feature. "WhatsApp's click to chat feature allows you to begin a chat with someone without having their phone number saved in your phone's address book. As long as you know this person’s phone number and they have an...
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It is surprisingly easy to amass a sprawling catalog of photos on Facebook, you just need to use the social media service for any length of time—all those lunch pictures, vacation photos, and everything else you upload from your phone, tablet, and/or PC quickly add up. Now you can copy them over to Google Photos, if you wish. The ability to quickly and easily copy Facebook pictures over to Google Photos for safe keeping is part of a larger initiative to foster sharing data between different services. "For almost a decade, we’ve enabled people to download their information from Facebook. The photo transfer tool we’re starting to roll out today is based on code developed through...
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Facebook has announced that new features are being added to Messenger, which aim to make it a safer place to connect and chat with friends and family. One of the new controls is a safety feature that will help millions of people avoid potentially harmful interactions and possible scams without compromising privacy. Facebook's strategy to keep people safe on Messenger is focused on giving users the information and controls needed to prevent abuse from happening, and detecting abuse and responding quickly if it occurs. Safety notices have been introduced in Messenger that will pop up in a chat and provide tips to help people spot suspicious activity. The safety notices that do pop up will give...
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Video calls have become all the rage over the last few months and Zoom remains one of the most popular choices for group video chat. However, recent security issues have caused many to look for alternatives. Facebook recently launched “Messenger Rooms”, a video chat service for up to 50 users and it just became widely available to users. Here is how you can set-up a group call on Messenger Rooms. How To Create A Facebook Messenger Room If you are the host of a video chat, you will need a Facebook account. If you are creating the “room” through a mobile app, you will want to double-check that you have the most recent version of the Facebook and Messenger mobile...
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Many Facebook app users are likely familiar with Giphy, as the API for the animated GIF service is integrated with the website. Facebook says that 50% of Giphy's traffic comes from the Facebook family of apps, with half of that traffic from Instagram alone. For those unfamiliar with Giphy, it's described as a leader in visual expression and creativity. Users will know it as the service that allows you to add gifs and short video clips as a comment on a post rather than typing a message. Facebook has now announced that it has purchased Giphy and will make it part of the Instagram team (the purchase price was a cool $400 million according to Axios). Facebook says that by putting Instagram and its...
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Video and text chatting applications are seeing exponential growth during the coronavirus pandemic as people stuck at home try to keep in touch with friends, family, and coworkers. Facebook has announced that its latest take on video chatting, called Messenger Rooms, is now available to everyone in North America, and will be available globally in the next week. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced availability in a Facebook post, noting that people around the world are relying on video chat to feel connected with the people they care about. Zuckerberg says WhatsApp and Messenger are the most popular video calling services globally. Still, many of the video services out there for large groups are meant...
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The redesigned Facebook desktop UI is rolling out to everyone, and one of the best things about this update is that it brings a dark mode. Anyone who ever gets on Facebook in a darkened room knows the feeling the traditional all-white interface gives. It's almost as if the sun is a few inches from your face. Many Facebook users will want to enable Dark Mode as soon as possible, and here's how you do it. The steps to enable Dark Mode are very simple. Click the upside-down triangle in the top right corner of the new Facebook page. It will open a screen that has your name at the top and stacked links for Give Feedback, Settings & Privacy, Help & Support, and the Dark Mode slider. Click the...
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