The Facebook Portal device MAY* collect information on your device use to inform ads on Facebook platforms. That's just one part of the equation when it comes to Facebook's latest idea for hardware. The device is a camera you set up in your home with a display to allow you to speak with Facebook friends - but, of course, it's also able to use YOU as you use make use of IT.
Facebook may have met more skepticism than excitement with its Portal video call devices, but the social network isn't letting that dampen its video streaming plans. A new gadget is reportedly in the pipeline, eschewing the smart display form-factor of the Portal and Portal+ in favor of turning your TV into a video chat device.
Today Google announced they'd close Google+ for consumers - that means you, reader. This closure is due to several factors, the most important of these being the huge privacy bug uncovered this week by the Wall Street Journal. Other reasons aren't nearly as important - but they're there nonetheless. Besides the bug, Google+ never really got off the ground.
Google is shutting down Google+ for consumers, axing the little-loved social network in the aftermath of a huge privacy flaw it failed to reveal until months later. Launched in 2011 to great fanfare, Google+ was to be not only a social networking site to compete with Facebook, but a mechanism to authenticate identity online.
Facebook wants to put an internet-connected smart camera into your home, that knows where you are in the room, and has access to your friends list, and no this isn't a Black Mirror episode. The new Facebook Portal and Portal+ video calling devices picked an awkward time to launch today, given recent disclosures by the social network about lapses in account security. That said, you could well argue that there really isn't a good time for Facebook to try to put cameras in your kitchen or living room.
The last few years have seen Facebook Lite grow significantly in popularity. The scaled-down social media app launched a few years ago as an option for users in countries with slow or poor data connections, along with benefiting those with aging Android devices that couldn't quite keep up with the regular app's flashier, data and resource-heavy features. Facebook Lite for Android is already in testing for the US market, and the good news is that an iOS version is now in the works as well.
Instagram’s co-founders have resigned over their disagreement with how Facebook mishandled of users’ privacy. Now it seems their fears were well founded, if there were still any doubts in people’s minds. Not long after their resignation, there are already leaks pointing to how Facebook might use its now greater controller over Instagram to its benefit. Including handing over Instagram location history for Facebook’s own use.
Facebook has logged 50 million users out of their compromised accounts today, along with 40 million more as a precaution, and frankly you might want to just not bother logging back in again. This latest forced detox from the increasingly controversial social network comes as Facebook admits a security glitch in one of its profile privacy features could've allowed hackers to gain access to the accounts of millions.
A Facebook hack affecting almost 50 million accounts has been revealed, with the social network saying attackers compromised its security but admitting they don't yet know what data might have been stolen. The news is the latest in a series of bombshell security confessions from Facebook around digital privacy, which has led regulators and politicians to question whether greater scrutiny is required.
Facebook today confirmed that it was using private phone numbers to target Facebook users with advertisements. Not just any phone number, but the 2FA (2-factor authorization) phone number you give the company in confidence to further strengthen your Facebook login process. In attempting to keep yourself more securely private, you've just opened yourself up to less privacy.
It would appear that the Android developers at Snapchat did something correct in their latest app update. Users of many sorts revealed their love of the new version of the app - the app in Alpha Mode. That version of the app is not available for all users right this minute, but there is a way to attempt to get in on the build as soon as possible.
As if Facebook didn’t have enough headaches, here comes one from what many see as its one untarnished property. Although it isn’t official yet, insiders report that Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the duo that created and, until now, ran the social networking marvel that is Instagram, have resigned and will be leaving the company in the coming weeks. In addition to putting into question the future of Instagram itself, it also casts doubts on the stability and sustainability of that other social network giant, Facebook.