Bokeh images look sort of three dimensional, with their subjects in focus and their backgrounds blurry. Facebook took this idea and ran with it. The social networking service created tech to turn bokeh pictures into 3D images.
Facebook’s new Portal smart speaker, an Echo Show rival that’s designed for video chat, sounds like a privacy nightmare straight out of Black Mirror.
But you know who could benefit from concerns about Mark Zuckerberg’s smart camera? Apple — and specifically the HomePod. Here’s why.
Do you trust Facebook to put a camera and microphone in your living room? If not, you’ll want to avoid Portal, its new smart displays focused on video chat.
Portal and Portal Plus make it easy to keep in touch with friends and family when you can’t see them face-to-face in real life. They can also play music, stream video, and do anything Amazon Alexa can do.
Instagram is starting to integrate more closely with Facebook when it comes to your personal location data.
The app is reportedly testing a new feature that would allow Instagram to share all of your GPS coordinates with Facebook without ever opening up the Facebook app. This would allow Facebook to gather more information on you so it can serve up more targeted ads and content, but that might piss off some Instagram fans.
Apple has topped Interbrand’s annual list of the Best Global Brands for the sixth consecutive year.
The iPhone-maker, which has seen its brand value increase 16 percent this year, ranked highly in consistency, engagement, and differentiation. It is followed by Google, while Amazon has quickly climbed into third place after its brand value increased an impressive 56 percent.
Facebook is taking another crack at providing a way to help us meet up with friends offline. Having seen its “Facebook Nearby Friends” feature fail to gain much traction, the social media giant is now supposedly planning on a Snapchat-inspired redo to try and change its fortunes.
According to TechCrunch, Facebook is testing a redesign of its “Nearby Friends” that looks a whole lot like Snap Map. This feature will replace the list view of “Nearby Friends” with a map that shows friends grouped according to their city.
Apple’s decision to boot five of far-right conspiracy theory website InfoWars’ podcasts off its platform was the trigger for Facebook doing the same with several of host Alex Jones’ pages on the social network.
The factoid was revealed in a new profile of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, published in the New Yorker. Apple has since banned Jones from the App Store permanently.
Apple is one of five tech companies — along with Google, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter — targeted in a new lawsuit accusing them of displaying bias against right-wing news outlets.
The lawsuit comes from Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch and a former Department of Justice prosecutor. It alleges that the companies are working together to “quash and/or limit advocacy by conservative and pro-Trump public interest groups, advocates and others to further the leftist anti-conservative agendas.”
Getting verified on Instagram just got a little bit easier. The social photo sharing app revealed today that it will now let users apply to get a little blue check by their profile so followers know if you are really a public figure, celebrity or global brand.
Facebook has removed its Onavo Protect app from the App Store after reportedly violating Apple’s data-collection policies.
The VPN service was being used to gather information about how people use their devices outside of Facebook. Apple officials informed Facebook that Onavo violated new rules introduced in June, which are designed to limit data collection by app developers.
Fans of Infowars radio host Alex Jones have flocked to the Apple App Store to grab what’s left of his voice on social media.
The iOS app Infowars Official was ranked the fourth most popular news app earlier today, less than 48 hours after Apple and other tech companies booted Jones off its social media platforms.
If you think your Facebook news feed couldn’t possibly get any messier, think again. As of today, users will see start seeing playable game demos as they scroll their Facebook timelines.
The demos will let you enjoy sections of a game before downloading it to your device, Facebook says. Angry Birds developer Rovio is already reaping the benefits of playable ads.
Facebook has introduced new iOS 12-style Screen Time tools intended to help users manage their time on Facebook and Instagram. The new features give users an activity dashboard, daily reminders about usage, and a new way to limit notifications.
WhatsApp’s new group video calling feature is now available to users on Android and iOS.
Users can chat with up to three others simultaneously, regardless of their location. WhatsApp says the feature has been designed to work even over unreliable network connections, so you have no excuse not to stay in touch.
The Commerce Dept. is reportedly talking to social networking companies and consumer advocates about rules to protect online privacy. Also included are possible protections for companies that have data breeches.
This is supposedly laying the groundwork for legislation that might be proposed this fall.
Facebook lost more value today than any other company in history: $120 billion. The massive selloff came after CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that the growing privacy concerns of the public, and the likely response of lawmakers and regulators, will hit the company where it hurts: in the pocketbook.
On the same day Facebook lost 19 percent of its value, Apple’s share price was unaffected. This is because the two companies have diametrically opposing views on the privacy rights of the public. What hurt Facebook so much is actually one of Apple’s strengths.
Instagram wants to start helping users spend less time on its app.
Starting today, the photo-sharing app is adding a new tool that tells users when they’ve already seen all the new photos that have been posted over the last two days.
Some believe Facebook is already using our smartphones to hear our private conversations. That’s not true, but the social network is certainly considering it.
Facebook has applied for a new patent that describes a method of tapping into our microphones to listen to our reactions to TV ads. It’s just as invasive as it sounds.
Apple is among the tech companies which recently met with members of the U.S. intelligence community to discuss the upcoming midterm elections.
Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Oath, Snap and Twitter were approached because of continued concerns about the way that tech platforms were allegedly used for spreading fake news during the 2016 Presidential elections.
The Information Technology Industry Council will meet on Wednesday. This trade group, made up of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and others, will discuss consumer privacy.
The proceedings are likely to be contentious, as these companies have very different views on the subject.
You don’t need to wait for iOS 12 to find out how much time you’re wasting in Facebook.
The social network is testing a new tool that will show you exactly how many minutes you’ve spent inside its app each day. It will also give users the ability to set their own usage caps.
Snap updates its set of Spectacles today and instead of only shooting video optimized for Snapchat, you can finally use them to export video that’s friendly for other platforms.
Do you own or run a business? If you do, you’re going to want to learn how to make the most of Facebook Ads. After all, Facebook is the most powerful platform for getting your content, brand, or products seen.
A pilot project allows people who run Facebook groups to charge subscription fees for the content they create. During the testing process, this is an option for a limited number of group admins.
The fees can range from $4.99 to $29.99 a month. Facebook isn’t taking a share of the revenue.
There are plenty of reasons why you should avoid using Facebook Messenger. Here’s one more: Facebook is putting autoplaying video ads in your private conversations.
Why aren’t you switching already?
