Take a peek inside Facebook’s London operations
There’s a common thread that runs between all of the workplaces of the worlds biggest workplaces, from Apple’s shiny new HQ in California, to Google’s Zurich offices, and as we’ve now seen, Facebook’s offices in London. They’re designed to make it as easy as possible for staff to do their […]
Facebook has its sights on a camera-equipped TV and in-home augmented reality tech
Facebook might have more than just serving ads to WhatsApp users and launching video-calling systems on their minds. The social network is reportedly working on a couple of unannounced projects — one of which may be a camera setup designed to be connected to a TV screen. The point? To […]
Facebook’s in-home Portal camera could use the data it collects about you to serve ads
Last week we were very skeptical about Facebook’s new bit of hardware, the Portal tracking camera and video calling system — mostly because Facebook hasn’t got the best track record of keeping user data safe. And we were pretty sure that the company plans to use the Portal to harvest […]
Big Fail: The internet hasn’t helped democracy
Hardly a week goes by without news of another data breach at a large corporation affecting millions, most recently Facebook. In 2016, the issue became political with evidence of Russian interference in the U.S. election and the spectre of foreign control over public opinion. American lawmakers called on Facebook’s CEO to account in […]
The Facebook hack ‘only’ affected 30 million accounts — what we know about the Hackening
Additional information has surfaced that the Facebook hack that occurred on 25 September affected a total of 30 million accounts, instead of the 50 million initially reported. Yup, that makes us feel much better. Thanks Facebook. We already know what happened. Facebook’s ‘View as’ feature was compromised to give hackers access […]
Calling founders of Instagram “product leaders” being interpreted as the ultimate put down
When it first burst onto the app scene in 2010, Instagram was a revelation. This little picture-sharing app let iPhone users not only share their pictures but add clever filters at the touch of a button. Suddenly everyone could be Obie Oberholzer, the extraordinary South African photographer whose richly coloured […]
The social implications of teens leaving Facebook
For years, Facebook grew in size and influence at a staggering rate. But recent reports suggest its hold on users — particularly in the developed world — may be weakening. Globally, Facebook’s user numbers continue to rise steadily as more people in the developing world connect. In the United States, two in […]
Instagram rolls out two-factor authentication without SMS
Data security is a sensitive subject when it comes to anything Facebook-related — but the company might’ve done something security-related that is worth mentioning for Instagram-users. You’ll now be able to set up two-factor authentication (2FA) for Insta, without using the ancient — and less secure — SMS-based system. Starting […]
Facebook launches Portal, because you’ll be fine with a Facebook-powered camera in your home
Facebook, in its quest to become the one part of the internet you cannot do without, has introduced something new. Something different. Something… physical? Something called Portal, which is the name it’s given to a couple of internet-connected cameras designed with video calling in mind. There are two devices in […]
Instagram testing a function that shares location data with Facebook, even when the app’s closed
Here’s something to make you rest a little better this weekend (and for the rest of the year, probably). Instagram is testing a new function that would share your location with Facebook — even when you’re not using the app. Researcher Jane Manchun Wong spotted that Instagram is “prototyping” the ability […]
This time there can be no excuses about whose fault it was for 50m users being hacked
This time Facebook can’t blame a third party for last week’s major hacking of some 50m accounts, nor its seemingly scandalous use of cellphone details for marketing purposes when they were logged as security backup numbers. When the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, Facebook tried desperately to paint itself as the […]