Tag: Facebook

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Down For Users Around The World

Popular social networking website Facebook and its sub-services including WhatsApp and Instagram have been facing a service outage for a few hours in several regions. Hashtags labelled #WhatsAppDown, #InstagramDown and #FacebookDown have been trending on the microblogging website Twitter.

The Social Media Outage

While the cause of the outage hasn’t been revealed, it was speculated to be a DDoS style attack. The aforementioned attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt normal traffic to a web property where multiple compromised systems, which are often infected with a Trojan computer virus, are used to target a single computer system. However, a post shared on Facebook’s official Twitter account dismissed the claims. The outage mainly affected parts of New England; the US; parts of Latin America; the UK; India; and the Philippines. Some cases of it were also reported in from Canada and Turkey.

We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps. We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
— Meta (@Meta) March 13, 2019

Facebook’s advertisement section was also reported to be not functioning, and it prompted an error message when users tried to buy an advertisement set on the platform. It was also suggested that the website is weighing in on the option to return the advertiser’s money because of the issue, but no official statement on the matter has been released yet. With the desktop website of Facebook down, people also reported posts on the Instagram application not loading. The Stories function of the service also was reported to be down, as was the button to post new media.

We’re aware of an issue impacting people's access to Instagram right now. We know this is frustrating, and our team is hard at work to resolve this ASAP.
— Instagram (@instagram) March 13, 2019

Also read: Best Wireless Earphones In India Under Rs 2,000

Similarly, Whatsapp was also not working for users when they tried sending a message. Notably, if users try to log in on apps like Spotify, Saavn through Facebook, the functionality would be down. All the services that went down were owned and managed by Facebook Inc. As of now, the services seem to be restored for the majority of users. Also, one can check the affected areas by visiting the following website.

March 14, 2019
Facebook Launches ‘Lasso’, The TikTok competitor
Facebook was one of the first globally accepted social media platforms. It is a platform that combines a wide variety of social medias ranging from simple messaging to photo and video sharing. But with passing time, social media is evolving and changing. Niche specific apps are on the rise, like chat focused WhatApp and photo sharing app Instagram. Both of which Facebook acquired for $ 19 billion and $ 1 billion respectively. A new social media segment that has seen phenomenal growth in recent times is video/lip syncing applications. China based TikTok is the current leader in this segment. To get a slice of this rapidly booming sector, Facebook has launched their Lasso app.

Facebook has taken this step to bring back teens who are slowly moving away from the platform, when compared to last year. The Lasso app lets users create short fun clips with a lip syncing option. You can sign in to the app with your Instagram credentials or create an account by linking it to your Facebook. Additionally, the Lasso videos can be shared on Facebook and Instagram. The sharing feature will be added later.

Features
- Cool Camera Tools & Effects- High quality video editing tools, text on video/music and a lot more effects from in app camera.
- Massive Music Library- It has one of the biggest music library which range from trending pop hits to vintage classics. Facebook claims users can find each and every song on the app.
- Latest Hashtags & Challenges- The app suggests trending hashtags and also the ones which might become a trend soon.
- Share Directly To Facebook- The app being a part of the Facebook ecosystem, allows users to easily share videos on Facebook with a single tap.
Also Read: Vine Co-Founder To Launch New Video Looping App ‘byte’

Lasso is available for both Android and iOS devices. The app is currently available in selected regions as Facebook is gathering feedback and reviews from users.
November 10, 2018
Facebook Messenger To Soon Introduce ‘Unsend’ Message Feature

Ever had moments when you sent a message to your friend or your ex and regretted it? Well, we all have. Facebook messenger is going to fix that for you with it’s new unsend feature. You will now get a window of 10 minutes to delete your message. This feature has been written about in the “coming soon” section in the release notes of Messenger on iOS. The note states that if someone has accidentally sent the wrong photo, incorrect information or message in the wrong thread, they can delete the message in the next ten minutes. WhatsApp also has a similar feature but the message can be deleted in a time frame of an hour and also has to be an unread message. Even though the 10 minute window does not seem much but it is still a great feature to have.

Also Read: Hackers Post Private Messages Of More Than 81,000 Facebook Accounts Online

Facebook’s New Move

It is also well known that the top brass in Facebook have had the unsend feature for a long time. What prompted Facebook to add this feature for regular users is unclear. However, there have been speculations that it is being added after the controversy of Facebook deleting messages sent by CEO Mark Zuckerberg from other people’s inboxes. Many had considered this act to be a breach of trust at the time. It will be interesting to see if the receiver of the message gets a “message deleted” notification or not. WhatsApp shows a similar notification at the moment.

For the uninitiated, Facebook Messenger is a messaging application that is free to use and allows users to send and receive messages, calls, video calls and so on via the internet. It also allows one to send photographs and videos to their friends and family once they are connected through Facebook. WhatsApp, which is also a messaging application, is also owned by Facebook.

November 8, 2018
WhatsApp Beta Update To Enable WhatsApp Stickers

Facebook, the social network which bought the messaging service, WhatsApp back in February 2014, has been updating the platform. The new beta update for the app brings stickers to its users. Though the WhatsApp beta version has been around for a while, Facebook has never tested this feature for the app before. There are many other messaging platforms which have already embraced this concept. It will be the first time that WhatsApp will introduce stickers to its users.

The new WhatsApp beta update will bring a lot of interesting sticker packs. A Twitter post shows two sticker packs, Unchi & Rollie and Bibimbap Friends.

WhatsApp beta for Android 2.18.218:
1) Sticker preview!
2) When the WhatsApp Sticker Store has a new updated sticker pack, there will be a green dot on the “+” button.
3) Added the update button.

[STICKERS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN FUTURE – NO RELEASE DATE AVAILABLE!!!] pic.twitter.com/m86vLp28zB

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) July 16, 2018

Must Read: OnePlus 3 Gets Beta Android Oreo Update

Previously, WhatsApp gave its users the option to send GIFs and emojis. The addition of stickers will probably help the app gain more traction. There are several other rumours which claim that the beta update will also provide a sticker store. Whether the store will have region-specific stickers like those found on Hike messenger is unclear.

The WhatsApp beta update was announced at the F8 conference in May 2018. The beta version with the sticker will be available in the version 2.18.218. The current beta update provides group voice chat and video call features.

Stickers will have separate categories depending on the type of emotion they depict. Some of the categories are Lol, Wow, Love, and Sad. The developers haven’t confirmed the official release date for this update yet. We are certain, however, that the WhatsApp Beta Stickers update is just around the corner. So if you haven’t already, now will a good time to signup for the Beta release of the app.

WhatsApp is one of the most downloaded messenger apps of all time. It is natural for Facebook to keep the users engaged with new features.

July 17, 2018
New Facebook Patent Reveals Tech That Will Turn On Your Smartphone Microphone

Facebook, over the past few months, has been in muddy waters when it comes to user data privacy. Ever since the Cambridge Analytica controversy broke out, Facebook has been in the middle of a heated debate surrounding the internet and how brands use data of users. Since then, Facebook has come out and defended its stance while claiming that it doesn’t spy on its users. While that might be true for now, the future might be different.

A new patent owned by Facebook has been discovered by Metro. The patent essentially details technology that triggers the microphone of a smartphone to start recording ambient audio. Some form of data based on that recording is then sent back to the company. This sure sounds creepy and straight out of a Black Mirror episode.

The notion of Facebook spying on its users is not new. There have been theories doing rounds on the internet that claim Facebook already records ambient audio. Many people claim that they have deleted the Facebook and Messenger apps from their smartphones after coming across targeted ads for products they had recently discussed on calls. With this patent, Facebook is just proving these theories right.

Must Read: Baba Ramdev’s Kimbho Messaging App Disappears From Google Play Store Within 24 Hours Of Its Launch

The patent application was published on 14th June and details how Facebook plans on remotely triggering the microphone of smartphones. According to the patent, Facebook would embed high-pitched audio signals in “broadcast content” that would be inaudible to humans. While the human ears won’t be able to discern it, a client device as a smartphone would be able to hear it. This signal would essentially instruct the phone to start recording ambient audio and send “ambient audio fingerprint” back to Facebook for analysis.

While this patent sounds a lot like something Facebook, especially after recent events, the company doesn’t intend on ever implying it. In fact, Facebook applied for this patent to protect users from other companies. At least that is what Facebook VP and Deputy General Counsel Allen Lo told Mashable:

It is common practice to file patents to prevent aggression from other companies. Because of this, patents tend to focus on future-looking technology that is often speculative in nature and could be commercialized by other companies.

Surely, Facebook would never use methods to gain insights into its users’ habits to earn money from advertisers.

June 28, 2018
WhatsApp and Facebook End of Support, Leaves Blackberry Upset

Blackberry is not doing so well, proof of that is the fact that WhatsApp and Facebook are officially killing App support for the platform. Previously known as RIM, Blackberry has not seen a good record in the past few years. With almost all their devices not doing well, either due to price or specifications.

The news which is about a month old has left Blackberry in disappointment. The apps are supposed to end their support end of 2016 leaving any Blackberry users fending for themselves, as no more updates will be available post that. However, devices like the company’s Priv, that work on Android will not be a part of this end of service, and will continue to enjoy updates at the same time as any Android device.

In a blog post, Lou Gazzola, senior manager in charge of BlackBerry’s App Ecosystem and Developer Outreach team, said they are disappointed as they know so many users love these apps (Facebook and WhatsApp).

We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands (but let them know how you feel on social media, using the hashtag #IloveBB10Apps) Our commitment to BlackBerry 10 and to developers has not changed – we know our developer community continues to be one of the strongest proponents of BlackBerry 10 and they are creating thousands of apps every month

Source

March 26, 2016
Trai Bars Differential Pricing of Data Services, Win for Net Neutrality

The Telecom Regulatory Athority of India (TRAI), today has announced final guidelines on differential pricing. Ruling heavily in favour of Net Neutrality, TRAI has said, ” No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content”

The telecom sector regulator with this ruling has barred differential pricing of data products, which effectively will mean that controversial zero-rating ideas such as Facebook’s Free Basics won’t be allowed to kick-off in the country.

TRAI also looks increasingly likely to disallow subsidised data packages already on offer which allow services, such as Whatsapp or Twitter etc to be availed at discounted prices through special packages.

The Regulator has warned operators that they cannot enter into any arrangement based on discriminatory pricing failing which they could be fined upwards of Rs 50,000 a day.

“Prohibition of discriminatory tariff is necessary to ensure that service providers continue to fulfill obligations in keeping internet open and non-discriminatory,” TRAI said.

This particular decision by TRAI will come as bad news for telecom operators who have been increasingly looking at differential pricing of data services as a source of increasing revenues. It will also come as a huge blow to social networking giant, Facebook which has invested heavily in Free Basics.

February 8, 2016
‘Quit Facebook, Stay Happy,’ Says Happiness Research Institute

Facebook, like smoking or drinking, can be regarded as an addiction for the digital age. Well, maybe not as harmful to the body as the latter, but according to a study conducted by the Happiness Research Institute (yes, it’s a real place), Facebook can be quite harmful, mentally.

A study was conducted by the Happiness Research Institute on 1,095 Facebook users in Denmark to see how the social media might be affecting their mood. The researchers first discovered that over 94% of the participants visited Facebook on a daily basis.

The subjects were them split into two groups – one group continued their daily use of Facebook while the other were made to stay off the site completely. One week later, the Happiness Research Institute found that 88% of the quitters said that they felt “happy,” while 81% of Facebook users felt the same. According to the results, Facebook users reported greater rates of anger, worry, sadness, depression and loneliness; while the quitters reported higher rates of happiness and enthusiasm, better social lives, fewer problems with unproved concentration.

Let it be known that this study is far from being scientifically accurate as the subjects basically wrote down what they felt, which cannot be all taken at face value. But the study itself revels a growing concern over our dependance on scrolling through timelines and news feed every chance we get, worrying about our status updates and the number of likes, among other things.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all felt like giving up Facebook at some point in our lives. We’ve also deactivated our accounts only to return to it the next day. The potential effects of Facebook and other social media addiction cannot be properly quantifiable, which is what makes this form of addiction silently scarier than others. Let us know what you think about the effects of social media on you in the comments below.

November 14, 2015
Facebook Wants Some Employees to Switch from iPhone to Android

According to reports, Facebook employees simply have too much love for the iPhone. So much so that the company’s chief product officer Chris Cox is forcing some employees to shift to Android. The reason behind this is that Facebook needs to know how its social networking site is doing across all platforms and not just on high-end iOS devices.

According to Cox, Facebook workers need to be “reporting bugs and living in the same experience that most Facebook users experience today,”

Facebook’s primary goal is to enter as many markets as it can. This means that the company has to tailor its software for every platform emerging across devices both advanced and old. Facebook is also keen on entering markets in developing nations where internet speeds are slow and older devices are still commonplace.

“I am mandating a switch of a whole bunch of my team over to Android, just because people, when left up to their own devices, will often prefer an iPhone.”

iPhone might be popular in some countries like the U.S., U.K .,and China but Android still dominates globally with around 82% of smartphones on Android’s operating system. Furthermore, the Android devices range from low-end to high-end. Thus, in order to study how Facebook functions in Android, employees will need to have a hand-on experience with it.

The seriousness of Facebook’s aspirations is also understood when this news is clubbed with last week’s decision to have ‘2G Tuesdays’. The new initiative will see employees work for one hour ever Tuesday on 2G connections. This will give employees an “opportunity to experience for themselves the slow mobile Internet speeds found in developing countries.”

November 3, 2015
Facebook Tops Networking, WhatsApp in IM Apps in India

It comes as no surprise really that WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in India, according to reports by global research consultancy firm TNS. Facebook remains the most popular social networking site in India with 51% of users logging in daily, while 56% users are on WhatsApp daily.

“The social networking market of India is Facebook centric, which is fueling the adoption of Facebook Messenger also as the IM platform for private messaging. However, WhatsApp is by far the most popular IM platform in India.” TNS India executive director Parijat Chakraborty commented.

When compared to countries such as Thailand (78%), Taiwan (75%), and Hong Kong (72%), India’s Facebook usage is much lower. Interestingly, India is the second largest base with over 125 million users for Facebook. The Unites States comes first.

In Asia-Pacific, three out of five internet users or 61% are now instant messaging on a daily basis, while four or 82% are using it on a weekly basis, the report said. “the popularity of IM has soared over the past year, with a 12% uplift in daily usage globally as more people opt for closed messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat”, it added.

The numbers are out now and it goes to show just how much WhatsApp and Facebook has taken over our lives. TNS has said that social media will continue to hold a strong position allowing content to go more viral and the challenge for brands is to create content that consumers actually want to see.

October 7, 2015
Here’s How Facebook is Supporting ‘Digital India’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Silicon Valley has already created quite a buzz on social media platforms. While the likes of Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook have expressed their support for Digital India on Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg wanted to express his support by displaying it to the world on his home turf, and by that we mean Facebook. On Sunday, Zuckerberg changed his profile picture ahead of his Townhall interaction with the PM. The new profile picture has his own display picture with the Indian tricolour overlaying it.

I changed my profile picture to support Digital India, the Indian government's effort to connect rural communities to... Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Sunday, September 27, 2015

Clearly, Zuckerberg's "effort to connect rural communities" integrates Digital India with his own Internet.org initiative (now changed to Free Basics by Facebook). Following Zuckerberg, Modi changed his profile picture as well, and expressed his thanks for Zuckerberg's support.

Thanks Mark Zuckerberg for the support. I changed my DP in support of the efforts towards a Digital India. You too can change your DP at fb.com/supportdigitalindia Posted by Narendra Modi on Sunday, September 27, 2015
Pretty soon the rest of Facebook caught on as well with thousands of users changing their profile pictures in support of Digital India. Users can visit fb.com/supportdigitalindia to have their own version of the profile picture. It seems likely that Facebook is attempting to merge Internet.org with Digital India since the former has received strong criticism in India. In the last few months, we have been seeing advertisements by Facebook claiming how rural India will benefit from free internet. Post your comments below if you think Digital India should merge with Internet.org or not.

September 28, 2015
Facebook Has Now Launched a Donate Button For Non Profits

Facebook is realising the kind of social impact it can have in today’s society and has made a statement, following the launch of a “Donate” button:

“Every day, people use Facebook to raise awareness and show support for causes they care about and to motivate others to do the same, we’re inspired by how much good comes from these connections, so we’ve added a ‘Donate Now’ call-to-action on Pages and link ads to make those connections easier than ever.”

Facebook is therefore, launching a “Donate” button for all non-profit organizations to use on their Facebook Pages.However, this isn’t the first time Facebook is taking such an initiative. It had previously in December 2013 introduced a “Donate” button, but only to a select few nonprofits. This time around, it is open to all.

The “Donate” button will take users to the associated sites outside the social network. This helps the user to have a complete understanding of the project that the NGO undertakes and exactly where his/her money is going.The previous button on the other hand, would bring users to the donation screen within Facebook and the requested payment information would be stored for future purchases.

What do you think of Facebook’s new move?

August 25, 2015
Facebook Jumps into Live Streaming

Seems like the live streaming hype is taking over all social media networks. We already have Meerkat, Periscope and now the biggest social media network, Facebook, has dived right into the mania.

Although it isn’t available to use for public just yet, celebrities through the app ‘Mentions‘ can live stream bits and pieces of their life. The feature will show up on your NewsFeed if a celebrity you follow is shooting a live stream, you can also get notifications about broadcasts if you have recently commented, liked or shared any celebrity’s post. Apart from watching the stream, this feature also allows you to comment, like or share the video while viewing it.

On the other hand, for the celebrities who would like to start live streaming, can just tap the Post button inside the Mentions app and then select Live Video, after which they can add a description for the video and click on Go Live.

The app, will also feature an option to toggle between their smartphone’s front and rear cameras, so that they can see how many viewers have tuned in and can monitor comments. The video will be saved to their Facebook pages after the stream.

Facebook director of platform Deborah Liu, at a keynote this year, pointed out that users on Facebook, watch over 3 billion videos daily, while celebrities with verified accounts use Facebook Mentions, and therefore justified the launch of this new Live Stream feature on Facebook.

Some of the celebrities who are helping promote the app are, Dwayne Johnson, Serena Williams, Michael Bubble and Martha Stewart.

Do you think the app will go viral, despite the existence of similar apps such as Meerkat and Periscope? Let us know.

August 6, 2015
Facebook Reveals Aquila, the Drone That Will Provide Internet

A few months after Facebook declared its plans to provide internet access to the remote areas around the world via drones, the social media giant has revealed its first solar powered drone, Aquila. Developed under Facebook’s Connectivity Lab, the drone is part of Mark Zuckerberg’s ambition to connect the world to the internet through “drones, satellites and lasers”.

The drone, which has a wingspan of a Boeing 737, can fly at an altitude of between 60,000ft (18 km) and 90,000ft (27 km), higher than any commercial airliner. The solar powered drone can fly without landing for a three months at a time. The drone will fly at the highest altitude during the day and at lowest at night to conserve power.

https://www.facebook.com/zuck/videos/10102274951725301/

Mark Zuckerberg also announced that a new breakthrough in laser technology that would allow the company to transmit internet upto a 10 gigabit per second. The drone, combined with the laser technology, will deliver wireless internet over rural areas. The laser technology was mentioned by Zuckerberg a few weeks ago.

Aquila, the mother drone will receive the signal from ground and will then transmit the signal to the other drones in the sky through lasers. It is to be noted that even though Facebook will provide internet access through the drones, it won’t become an ISP. The company is looking for telecom carriers to partner with in providing affordable internet to remote areas.

Facebook is not the only company venturing into wireless internet. Google’s Project Loon aims to provide internet through balloons and Elon Musk is teaming up with Google to put internet beaming satellites in space.

July 31, 2015
Facebook Testing Its Own Virtual Assistant: Moneypenny

Facebook has grown from being a website where people post last night’s party pictures to a site where anything can happen. You can advertise your business, you can check out various events happening nearby, read the latest news and now, Facebook is venturing into streaming too. To enhance your experience, Facebook is reportedly testing a new virtual assistant along the lines of Siri and Cortana, named ‘Moneypenny’.

Named after the famous assistant in James Bond series, the feature will be present in the Messenger App. According to Engadget, Moneypenny will assist you in shopping and research, which sounds rather useful. Facebook is known for its penchant for data collection, and if people are excited about a feature like Moneypenny, then it’s a goldmine for the company as well as advertisers.

No other details about Moneypenny have been revealed yet. It will be interesting to see how Facebook integrates this with its website and app, considering that the virtual assistants by Apple, Microsoft and Google are integrated into the OS as a whole.

We can’t wait to meet ~~Bond’s~~ Facebook’s new assistant, Moneypenny.

So

July 14, 2015