F8
Latest
Facebook is finally decluttering Messenger
Facebook has just announced a brand new Messenger app, and it promises to be a lot simpler than previous iterations. In Messenger 4, you'll get three tabs instead of nine. There's the Chats tab which houses all of your conversations, the People tab where you can see who's online and the Discover tab, which is focused more on connecting you with businesses. The latter will give you access to the platform's Instant Games feature as well.
Instagram's redesigned Explore tab sorts everything into topics
As if you weren't already spending hours falling down the rabbit hole that is Instagram's Explore tab, the site is making a few tweaks that'll make it even easier to spend time getting lost in other people's pics. Announced at Facebook's F8 event earlier this year, a redesigned Explore tab is now rolling out to users. It has the same tile-style interface as before, with curated posts based on the things you're already looking at, but now you can explore additional topic channels, too.
F8 proved there’s no escape from Facebook
During a keynote about privacy at F8, Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos shared an image of the world that used light to show the sheer size of the company's network. It was intended to highlight all the places where people are using a Facebook product and, as you might expect, there weren't many dark spots.
Facebook is winning the augmented reality war
If it weren't for data privacy, fake news and hate speech taking up so much air time, this year's Facebook conference would've probably centered around a far less controversial topic: augmented reality. It's one of a few unifying themes that's spread across most of Facebook's product announcements this week. Now that AR is in Facebook's News Feed, Instagram and Messenger, the company is poised to have the biggest AR platform on the planet.
Developers would rather ignore Cambridge Analytica at F8
Facebook is ready to turn the page on the Cambridge Analytica user-privacy scandal, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made that perfectly clear yesterday during his F8 opening keynote. "I'm going to go through all of that head on in just a minute, because I think it's important that everyone here knows exactly what we're doing to address [these issues]," he said -- "these issues" being the safety of your data, more-robust privacy controls and the spread of fake news (which was a major part of a campaign to interfere with the 2016 presidential election). "But we also have a responsibility to move forward." That he did, as he barely addressed the CA incident onstage and quickly moved on to making product announcements. And apparently all the developers in the room were eager to follow his lead.
Facebook: AI will protect you
Artificial intelligence is a key part of everything Facebook does, from chatbots in Messenger to powering the personalized recommendations you get on apps like Instagram. But, as great as the technology is to create new and deeper experiences for users, Facebook says the most important role of AI lies in keeping its community safe. Today at F8, the company's chief technology officer, Mike Schroepfer, highlighted how valuable the tech has become to combating abuse on its platform, including hate speech, bullying and terrorist content. Schroepfer pointed to stats Facebook revealed last month that showed that its AI tools removed almost two million pieces of terrorist propaganda, with 99 percent of those being spotted before a human even reported them.
Oculus prototype uses moving lenses for sharper focus
While the first day of Facebook's F8 conference focused on consumer issues like data privacy and, uh, dating, the second day is all about the future. Specifically, the company spent F8's day two keynote talking about topics that would be of interest to developers, like AI, connectivity and VR. Right at the tail end of the conference, Oculus' head of Core Tech product management, Maria Fernandez Guajardo, gave some insights into the kind of VR investments the company is working on. Of special note, she also gave a sneak peek at a brand-new Oculus prototype, which is currently referred to as "Half Dome."
Watch Facebook's F8 opening keynote in under 15 minutes
Facebook's F8 developer conference can be a bit of a snooze on the news front given the focus of the event. However, this year that was definitely not the case. Opening yesterday's nearly 2-hour keynote, CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed user data privacy, elections, fake news and a whole lot more. The spectacle that followed covered AR, VR, Instagram, Messenger and a lot more (dating!). You probably don't have time to sit through that whole thing to catch up, so we've got you covered. We've condensed the festivities down to under 15 minutes, so you can catch up on your coffee (or tea, we don't judge) break. Click here to catch up on the latest news from F8 2018!
Watch Facebook's F8 day-two keynote at 1PM ET
The first day of Facebook's F8 developers conference was quite eventful, what with a slew of news ranging from app updates to a new dating feature the company has in the works. As expected, we also heard about security and data privacy, two issues that Facebook is taking seriously but isn't letting them to stop it from moving forward to focus on new technologies. Speaking of which, today's keynote could be more focused on the future of mediums such as augmented and virtual reality, as well as tech like artificial intelligence and machine learning. You can tune into the action right here, where you'll be able to watch a stream of the event starting at 10AM PT/1PM PT.
Facebook and Nike just gave hypebeasts a reason to use Messenger
Nike hasn't been coy about how much it loves using augmented reality to sell hyped sneakers, since the technology can be used to fight the bots (automated systems) that are so beloved by resellers. And today, at the F8 developers conference, Facebook revealed a partnership with the sportswear giant that will let sneakerheads buy limited-edition pairs through the Messenger app... in AR. To show this feature off, Nike dropped a pair of Kyrie Irving signature shoes during the F8 opening keynote, which were dubbed the "Red Carpet" and sold out within minutes after the Facebook announcement.
Facebook’s AI-created virtual memories are magically haunting
Ever since Facebook bought Oculus, it's been investing in virtual reality in a big way. Beyond just hardware like the Rift and the Go, it's also putting a lot of money and research into software. It delved into the realm of social last year with Oculus Rooms and Facebook Spaces, but that's not where Facebook's VR ambitions stop. At F8, the company unveiled a new way for users to experience VR: by recreating their memories.
Facebook hopes to write the security 'playbook' for others to follow
It was only back in March that Facebook's Chief Security Officer, Alex Stamos, was rumored to be leaving the company after reportedly clashing with other execs over its disclosure of Russia's meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. But, that clearly never happened (though he did say his role "changed"), and Facebook has been dealing with a lot more problems than just election interference since then -- like ensuring that it keeps people's personal data safe. Today, Stamos took the stage at the F8 developers conference to talk about Facebook's efforts in security and how it plans to address the many issues it faces now and others that may arise in the future.
Facebook users will be able to make normal photos look 3D
Facebook has been working to implement 3D objects into user interactions, but at the company's F8 conference today, announcers introduced a few new features to add dimensionality and VR to photos. This summer, users will be able to upload pictures as a 'new media type' allowing them to capture 3D moments in time, according to the social network. But it's also adding a new feature that takes photos of old locations -- your childhood home, perhaps -- and uses machine learning to recreate them in VR, albeit in a funky pointillism-like style.
CNBC: Facebook's smart speaker could debut outside the US
According to rumors, Facebook decided that since it's mired in privacy controversies this year's F8 event might not be the best time to introduce an always-listening connected home device. Amazon has Alexa and Echo, Apple has Siri and HomePod, Microsoft pushes Cortana and Google has Assistant/Home. Now, with the opening keynote of F8 over and no smart speaker or video chat-ready "Portal" device mentioned, CNBC reports that the device is still in the works. It's apparently connected to remnants of the dearly-departed "M" chatbot technology but when it does appear there's a possibility it will launch first in international markets. An "M" powered AI assistant could even get a new name, like...Marvin, and use the translation features announced for Messenger today. Still, with the fallout from Cambridge Analytica and the prospect of increased regulation hanging over its head, Facebook will keep watching the home assistant battle from a spot on the sidelines.
Instagram will filter out bullying comments
At the F8 conference today, it was announced that Instagram will filter out bullying comments from posts, starting today. This includes anything "intended to harass or upset people in our community," the platform's CEO said in a post. Doing this will ensure Instagram remains "an inclusive, supportive place for all voices," he wrote.
Facebook is moving Groups into the spotlight
At Facebook's F8 developers conference today in San Jose, California, Chris Cox noted that the use of Groups is on pace to outgrow the main Facebook experience itself, with 1.4 billion users currently. Cox revealed that Facebook has been working with leaders of large, one-million-plus groups to help admin better serve these intentional communities. Facebook is rolling out a new Groups tab that will help you navigate to your existing groups, interact with content there and eventually join new groups.
Facebook is adding AR to Messenger for #brands
Facebook is bringing augmented reality to Messenger. Rather than being a feature you can use when talking to friends though, the first application of the tech is for #brands. Facebook puts it like this: "When a person interacts with your business in Messenger, you can prompt them to open the camera, which will be pre-populated with filters and AR effects that are specific to your brand. This feature leverages the nature of messaging to help people get valuable, instant feedback about purchases, customizations, and more, without ever needing to set foot in a store."
Facebook will let users see which sites are tracking them
Facebook is kicking off its F8 conference by heading off everyone's most pertinent question: What is the platform doing to address user data concerns? The answer, it seems, is Clear History, a new feature the social network is building to give users more control over the information it collects from your browsing history.
Watch Facebook’s F8 opening keynote at 1PM ET
After a few turbulent weeks for Facebook, it's now time for the company to host its annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California. And kicking off the event is none other than embattled CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who's expected to talk about a wide range of topics. That, of course, includes user data and privacy -- the thing everyone wants to know about right now, after what happened with Cambridge Analytica. But, that won't be it: Zuckerberg will likely also touch on the overall state of the business, like the present and future of Messenger, Oculus, Instagram, Whatsapp and much more. You can tune in at 10AMPT/1PM ET right here.
$199 Oculus Go VR headset is ready for pre-order on Amazon
We're just hours away from the first keynote speech of Facebook's F8 event where we're expecting to hear about all kinds of things, including its mass-market standalone VR headset. Facebook showed off early standalone VR work with "Project Santa Cruz" two years ago, then last year revealed the Oculus Go and its $199 price. We got some hands-on time with its comfy wireless experience at GDC recently, but now Amazon watchers Wario64 and the Tracker App note that Monday night it became ready for pre-ordering. If you're already sure you want one of the headsets that will bring a VR experience without requiring any help from a PC or phone then you can go ahead and get in line now. The only issue remaining (other than any idea about details or software support) is the release date, which Amazon has filled in with a likely placeholder of December 31st. Update: After debuting at F8 earlier today, the headset is now officially on sale, and you can read our review right here.
