Facebook

Facebook is the quintessential social network, but you may not always feel like being social every time you log in to your Facebook account. Whether it's because you don't have the energy or the time to engage with friends, you do have the option to browse Facebook without anyone knowing you're online. The way to achieve this is by turning off your "Active Status," which can be done within...

Facebook has introduced a tool that lets users export notes and text-based posts to third-party services, making it easier than ever to leave the social network without saying goodbye to your content. The new "data portability types" mean people can now directly transfer their notes and posts to Google Docs, Blogger and WordPress. The updates are extensions to Facebook's existing tool that...

When it came to adding a Dark Mode option to its iOS app, Facebook was late to the game. The social network announced it was coming in June 2020, but dragged its feet for months before eventually rolling it out to mobile users in November the same year, over 400 days after Apple first introduced the feature in iOS 13. Dark Mode‌ has been available on the social network's website for a while ...

Facebook has just made a photo transfer tool globally available that lets account holders easily download all their pictures and videos from the social network to Google Photos. Previously, the majority of Facebook users wanting to download their media from the site had to do it manually. From today, however, users with a Google Photos account can automate the job, and Facebook says more...

After previously only existing as an "Easter Egg" setting, Facebook in April 2019 added a Dark Mode theme as an official display feature of its standalone Messenger app. Facebook says that Dark Mode is designed to provide less harsh brightness in situations where ambient lighting is lower while maintaining contrast and vibrancy. If you have an OLED iPhone, such as an iPhone X, iPhone XS,...

With the release of iOS 11, Apple nixed its built-in integration with Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Vimeo, a feature that allowed iPhone and iPad users to store their third-party account information and access it within apps that needed to use those services. The equivalent feature remains in macOS High Sierra, although Apple has removed it completely from macOS 10.14 Mojave, which many...

Continuing in the tradition of changing Reactions to suit a theme or holiday, Facebook today has begun rolling out a Halloween version of the six Reaction buttons. Replacing Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry are a skeleton's hand, candy heart, witch, ghost, Frankenstein's monster, and a pumpkin. Some Reactions, including Like, change into their festive versions after being tapped Using...

During the Money 20/20 conference taking place in Las Vegas this week, MasterCard announced that it's creating a chatbot for Facebook Messenger that will allow customers to "transact, manage finances, and shop via messaging platforms." Like many other companies, MasterCard is getting in on the chatbot craze to boost customer loyalty and profits; according to Gartner "nearly $2 billion in online...

In the consistently updated Facebook app for iOS, the social media company is today introducing a slew of new features focused on event discovery and streamlined interaction with brands. Notably, now in the company's mobile app users will be able to purchase tickets to movies and concerts, buy food, or book an appointment without leaving Facebook. For food and ticket orders, the feature is...

Following the launch of "Instagram Stories" in August, Facebook is now preparing to ape Snapchat in its own Messenger app, with a feature called "Messenger Day." Originally launched to users in Poland, Messenger Day is now expanding and gaining attention with Facebook users in Australia (via Mashable). With the new feature in the Facebook Messenger iOS and Android apps, Messenger Day lets...

Facebook recently announced that users are now able to select the "initial view" for 360-degree photos when uploading pictures to the iOS, Android, and Chrome for Desktop Facebook apps. Prior to the update, Facebook would randomly choose a section of the 360-degree photo to showcase on the service, so now users can personally select the best section to show their friends and family (via The Next...

Facebook yesterday announced an update to its flagship app that lets users stream video from their iOS device directly to an Apple TV. Now, when a video is selected in the app's news feed or from the Saved tab, a small button appears in the top right corner which, when tapped, offers to send the video to an Apple TV on the same wireless network. If you’re streaming a Facebook Live...

Facebook yesterday officially launched its 'Workplace' platform, an organization and business collaboration tool to rival the likes of Slack. Previously known as Facebook Work, Workplace combines social network, chat messenger, and productivity features to help teams work together online. The app includes groups, custom profiles and ad-free news feeds, including tools for team members to make...

Facebook yesterday announced the launch of a standalone iOS app that lets users of the social network directly access its "Events" features, which the company says have more than 100 million daily users. Today we're announcing Events from Facebook, a new app we designed for event seekers who are passionate about keeping up with nearby events and finding things to do with their friends. Whether ...

Facebook is launching a new user-to-user e-commerce service called "Marketplace" this week in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand (via The Verge). The new buying and selling service will replace the Messenger tab in the main Facebook mobile app for iOS and Android. According to Facebook Marketplace project manager Bowen Pan, almost 450 million people use the social...

Facebook marketing lead Lindsey Shepard recently posted a blog sharing new details of the company's celebration of Star Trek's 50th anniversary, taking place today. After updating the "Like" button to a set of emotional reactions earlier in the year, the social network is temporarily giving each reaction a Star Trek themed makeover to celebrate the franchise's premiere on September 8, 1966. In ...

In yet another deeper push into video, Facebook today is rolling out a new update to its Messenger app [Direct Link] that adds a new live video button into every chat window. When used, Facebook users will begin live streaming in a small pop-up window with sound turned off by default, allowing them to keep texting with the person on the other end while sharing visual details of their location...

WhatsApp has updated its terms of service and privacy policy to reflect that it will begin sharing select data with Facebook, including the phone number a user verifies during the registration process and the last time a user accessed the service. Facebook, which acquired WhatsApp in 2014, will use the information to provide better friend suggestions and targeted ads and offers to users of its...

Starting today, Facebook will begin testing autoplay videos -- including ads -- with sound in its iOS and Android apps. Facebook told Mashable the test will be limited to Australian users and rolled out in two different ways to gauge how users react. In both versions of the test, sound will only play if the iPhone's volume is turned up, and sound can also be turned to "always off" in Facebook...

Facebook has released a new teens-only social app called "Lifestage" that asks users to create profiles by uploading video clips instead of filling in text fields. The standalone app is aimed at high school kids aged 21 and under, and doesn't require a Facebook account. Users are asked to select their high school and are then shown video profiles of people at the same school or ones nearby, as ...

After acquiring live filter app MSQRD back in March, Facebook today has begun officially integrating its capabilities into the main Facebook mobile app, focusing first on a soft rollout in Brazil and Canada (via TechCrunch). The Olympics-themed launch will greet users with an open, front-facing camera window when first jumping into Facebook, letting them swipe between various filters that add...

Yesterday on Facebook, the company's dedicated messaging app, Facebook Messenger, posted news regarding its recent milestone of surpassing 1 billion monthly active users. As The Next Web pointed out, that's a growth of 200 million users since January, and roughly suggests that 1 out of every 7 members of the population are logging onto Facebook Messenger each month to text with friends and...

Facebook Messenger today was updated to version 79.0, bringing with it the debut of new Peek and Pop gestures within the messaging client. On the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, users will now be able to try out the pressure sensitive abilities of 3D Touch to more easily navigate through the app. Within each conversation thread, 3D Touch allows for quick previews of any links or contacts posted...

Facebook has announced that it will begin rolling out optional end-to-end encryption within its Messenger app for iOS and Android on a limited test basis, ahead of the option becoming more widely available through early September. Messenger users will be able to create one-to-one "Secret Conversations" in Messenger that will be end-to-end encrypted and which can only be read on one device of ...

Facebook is shutting down news creation and curation app Paper, reports The Verge. Paper, which debuted in 2014, was the first product to come out of Facebook Creative Labs, which has since been dismantled. Paper, a Flipboard competitor, consisted of a news reader that pulled content from a user's Facebook News Feed and a variety of well-known online publications, organizing it all into a...

Facebook has never specified the exact methods it uses to present friend suggestions within its "People You May Know" tab, but a new report by Fusion suggests that a shared GPS data point could be a bigger factor in curating friendship than Facebook wants users to know. A nameless source told the site that he suspected the social network of digging into his location information to curate...