3 ways Facebook and other social media companies could clean up their acts – if they wanted to
Facebook is in crisis mode, but the company can take major steps to fix itself – and the global community it says it wants to promote. Facebook founder, CEO and majority shareholder Mark Zuckerberg need not wait for governments to impose regulations. If he and other industry leaders wanted to, they could make meaningful changes fairly quickly. It wouldn’t be painless, but Facebook in particular is...[Read More]
WhatsApp skewed Brazilian election, proving social media’s danger to democracy
Misinformation via social media played a troubling role in boosting far-right Congressman Jair Bolsonaro to into the Brazilian presidency. Bolsonaro did not win 55 percent of votes thanks to misinformation alone. A powerful desire for political change in Brazil after a yearslong corruption scandal and a court decision compelling the jailed front-runner Luis Inacio Lula da Silva to withdraw from th...[Read More]
What are tech companies doing about ethical use of data? Not much
Our relationship with tech companies has changed significantly over the past 18 months. Ongoing data breaches, and the revelations surrounding the Cambridge Analytica scandal, have raised concerns about who owns our data, and how it is being used and shared. Tech companies have vowed to do better. Following his grilling by both the US Congress and the EU Parliament, Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, ...[Read More]
You really wanna know? Facebook launches tool that shows time spent on the social network
Perhaps you’re responsible with your social media usage, logging on and checking what everyone is up to only at set times of the day. You’re probably also one of those people capable of reaching the mythical Inbox Zero point on the reg. Whether you’re that ferociously organised or you spend so much time in cascading feeds that your fingers reflexively twitch looking for a Like bu...[Read More]
You could soon invite people on WhatsApp with a QR Code
WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow users to add contacts using QR codes. Users will be able to scan the code in the app and the other person’s contact information will be imported immediately. Each QR code will be completely unique and shareable. This feature is ideal for businesses that connect with their customers on WhatsApp. This would allow them to distribute printed QR codes o...[Read More]
How to make your own WhatsApp stickers on Android
Creating personalised stickers is by no means a native WhatsApp feature, and like with many things, Facebook has decided to sneakily nab the idea from other messenger apps (like Telegram and WeChat), and add it to its own messaging app. It’s still an awesome feature though. And will likely replace standard stickers altogether one day. WhatsApp stickers have just started to roll out for Android and...[Read More]
Facebook to allow Messenger users to unsend messages – if you do it within ten minutes
Ever since the world found out that Mark Zuckerberg can unsend messages on the social network, Facebook has promised that users would eventually get the same ability. They were testing the feature last month, and now an unsend feature finally is on the way for Facebook’s Messenger app. The feature was seen listed in a ‘coming soon’ portion of Facebook Messenger’s version 19...[Read More]
A year without the biggest social network on my phone has made me a freer person
“So you just view it in Safari,” a friend asked me with great bewilderment when I explained I didn’t have the Facebook app on my phone and the interactions he saw were through my iPhone’s browser. Just over a year ago I deleted Facebook off my phone. Not long afterwards I deleted its companion Messenger app. I can safely report that I haven’t missed anything. When I first wrote a...[Read More]
Confirmed: WhatsApp will start showing ads
Hopefully you’ve started transitioning to an alternative messaging service, because WhatsApp Vice-president Chris Daniels recently confirmed that the service will start showing ads. After the departure of both founders (who were against the idea of monetisation through ads), the company has decided that it’s time to flood the only safe space you had left with adverts. The ads will only be displaye...[Read More]
Signal messaging app beefing up security for its users
While WhatsApp is reportedly planning ads for users, other messaging apps are beefing up security and encryption to keep user information safe. Signal, the messaging app with arguably the best end-to-end encryption around (no offence Telegram), is rolling out a new feature that will further protect the identities of message senders. Since it began, Signal has not collected or kept any user data (s...[Read More]
WhatsApp adding stickers to iOS and Android
We’re noticing a trend from the Facebook team this year — adding as many features as possible to already perfectly good services. Next up, WhatsApp will gain the ability to send stickers to friends. You’ll likely be familiar with stickers in other messaging apps like Telegram or Signal and (a version of) the feature is finally making the jump over to the Facebook-owned service. Support for s...[Read More]
New Facebook Messenger introduces more ‘simplicity’
Although the Facebook Messenger app is a convenient spot to fire up deep convos with just about anyone on your friends list, it’s a bit… chaotic. With a total of nine tabs and fancy ‘features’ no one really wants, we see ourselves coming back to conventional messengers, like WhatsApp and Telegram more often. Finally Facebook has come to their senses, and have announced an update to their confusing...[Read More]