Social Media

HIGHLIGHTS Facebook declined to explain why Joseph Chancellor left the company He worked as quantitative researcher on its User Experience Research team Facebook has been under the scanner of lawmakers after the data scandal After becoming infamous for helping the controversial British political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica harvest tens of millions of Facebook users’ profiles, a psychology researcher with the social networking ... Read More »

Facebook’s smart speaker ‘Portal’ and voice assistant ‘Aloha’ have been spotted in a new leak HIGHLIGHTS Facebook’s rumoured Aloha AI assistant leaked again The new feature was found inside Facebook and Messenger Android apps It can connect to external Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices Facebook has already been quite late in joining the voice computing revolution, but it might just be ready ... Read More »

Facebook said Tuesday is cutting more than 5,000 ad-targeting options to prevent advertisers from discriminating based on traits such as religion or race. The shift eliminates the ability to direct Facebook ads at people based on ethnicity, beliefs, political affinity or other data that could be considered sensitive or personal. “While these options have been used in legitimate ways to reach ... Read More »

Facebook users who say their personal data was misused, potentially to distort the last US election, must wait to see if they can wring more information from Cambridge Analytica, the disappearing company that played a key role in the drama. The political consulting firm is winding down in both Britain, its home country, and in a New York Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. ... Read More »

Facebook Messenger gets new ,multiplayer video AR Games feature HIGHLIGHTS Facebook has now launched AR Games in Messenger It allows users to play games while video chatting Up to six people can play these multiplayer games Facebook has copied another one of Snapchat’s features, and this time it brings augmented reality games to Messenger video chats. Facebook Messenger now has two AR games ... Read More »

Facebook on Thursday said it was moving to prevent the sharing of blueprints for 3D-printed guns on the social network, which violates its rules on regulated goods. “Sharing instructions on how to manufacture firearms using 3D printers or CNC milling machines is not allowed under our Community Standards,” a Facebook spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry. “In line with ... Read More »

A Paris court on Thursday ordered Twitter to change its smallprint, according to a consumer group which accused the tech giant of having “abusive” clauses in its terms and conditions. UFC-Que Choisir claimed victory in its case against the US social media platform, saying “the conviction has a gigantic scope for the protection of users’ personal data”. The consumer association had called ... Read More »

HIGHLIGHTS New smartphone-based payment service will be named PayPay It will be a joint venture between SoftBank and Yahoo Japan PayPay is planned to launch in fall 2018 SoftBank has announced that it will leverage the technology of India-based digital payments company Paytm in a new mobile payments service it is launching. The new smartphone-based payment service, named PayPay, will be a joint ... Read More »

HIGHLIGHTS LinkedIn has upgraded its messaging experience There is an option stretch the compose box LinkedIn for iOS has brought translations to posts in the newsfeed Messaging on LinkedIn has been upgraded with a bunch of new features to deliver an enhanced conversational experience. To give more space to compose a longer message, LinkedIn has now started offering the ability to stretch ... Read More »

HIGHLIGHTS The app will also show the last active status Visibility can be turned off in Activity Status settings Online status is also available on Facebook Messenger Popular image and video sharing app Instagram in a blog post on Thursday announced the launch of a new feature that would be particularly frustrating for users who like to stay discreet on the platform. In the Instagram ... Read More »