Facebook has been under fire from left, right and centre for the last two months. The Cambridge Analytica scandal was an important turning point where society and regulators are just coming to terms with the amount of data Facebook has on us and how dangerous that can be from being unwittingly sold to advertisers to influencing political elections. Following this period of innumerable apologies and a privacy policy reinstatement, Facebook has come into the limelight, this time on their own terms, at their Facebook F8 Keynote.
Facebook is joining the online dating world
Hasn’t Facebook been a dating site this whole time? Jokes aside, Facebook plans to join the matchmaking app game to take on the likes of Match.com and Tinder. Facebook plans to release a feature within the dating app that lets you search and connect with people from events you may be planning to attend.
Zuckerberg says it’s designed for “building real, long-term relationships, not just hookups”.
Messenger with B2B functions
Facebook is redesigning the messenger app in a way that improves customer-company interactions. You can now get a customer chat plugin that allows you to integrate Facebook Messenger directly into your website. Messenger’s virtual assistant, “M” can now offer real-time translations, in English and Spanish for now.
New features on Instagram
- Like Facebook, Instagram will soon have a video chat feature. This will be available within Instagram Direct (Inbox) along with group chat.
- After releasing an obscenity filter back in 2017, they are now using machine learning to introduce a bully filter. This will find and automatically remove inappropriate or threatening comments.
- Third-party apps are now being directly integrated with Instagram stories, like the GoPro app to sharing a playlist from Spotify direct to your Instagram story.
Augmented Reality and VR
Augmented Reality is still currently in testing stages. In the future, customers will be able to use company created AR based apps that let you try on and customise products. Facebook also discounted their stand-alone VR headset by €41.
Clear History
After being under great scrutiny with regards to data and user privacy policies, Facebook is releasing a new feature called Clear History. It is sort of like clearing out your browser’s web history although in this case, Facebook activities. This feature will allow you to easily see the websites and apps that send Facebook information when they are used. You can even delete the information or turn off the ability for Facebook to store the data associated with your account.
What do you think of Facebook’s new moves? Tell us in the comments below!
