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Facebook Messenger now lets you toggle end-to-end encryption
With the flick of a switch back in April, the popular international messaging service WhatsApp turned on end-to-end encryption for every conversation in its system, dramatically boosting security for its 1 billion-person userbase. At long last, parent company Facebook has finally rolled out the same protections for users of its standard Messenger service. Today, users can toggle the "Secret Conversations" feature on in settings to enable end-to-end encryption, ensuring that nobody can pry into chat content but the participants.
WhatsApp lets you doodle on photos and videos
Even a straightforward messaging service like WhatsApp isn't immune to the allure of adding Snapchat-style features. The Facebook-owned app is introducing the option to draw on photos and videos, including emoji. If you don't think that puppy photo is charming enough by itself, you can easily doodle on it to make your point. More interested in improving the quality of the shots themselves? Don't worry, you're getting a couple of upgrades as well.
Facebook opens Marketplace to take on eBay and Craigslist
If you visit Facebook today, the chances are that you'll come across someone trying to sell something. It could be a friend looking to make some money from an old smartphone or a thousand-strong parenting group looking to trade items for their little ones. Facebook has slowly introduced features to make it easier for people to list their items, but today the company has launched Marketplace, a new way for users to "discover, buy and sell items" with other people in their area.
Facebook introduces Messenger 'Lite' for Android
Facebook has announced a "Lite" version of its Android Messenger app. The new bare-bones Messenger app is designed for older phones with less memory and less powerful processors. Messenger Lite will initially launch in Kenya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Venezuela, but will hit other regions at a later, unspecified date.
Facebook gives select Pages the power to tag their products
Someday, you might see products tagged in Facebook images and videos the same way people are today. Facebook has begun testing an experimental feature that allows businesses running Pages to tag their products, according to Business Insider. The publication has spotted the option in their account and confirmed the ongoing test with the social network. What does it mean for buyers like us? Well, when you click on a tagged product, you'll be taken straight to a dedicated page where you can read more information about it.
Facebook tests feature similar to Snapchat Stories for Messenger
Facebook has been keen on borrowing features from Snapchat as of late and it's testing yet another one in Poland. The so-called "Messenger Day" tool allows Facebook Messenger users to share a collection of photos and videos with friends that will disappear in 24 hours. And yes, they can be decorated with text, scribbles, stickers and more just like you can do with Snapchat Stories. If you'll recall, Facebook reportedly tried to buy Snapchat for $3 billion before getting turned down in 2013.
Google opens up its machine learning tricks to all
There may now be an easier way to implement advanced machine learning models in your projects. Google has opened up its Cloud Machine Learning to all businesses in a public beta, after a few months of testing it in private alpha. The tool makes it easier to train models at a much faster rate, and is integrated with the Google Cloud Platform. This has applications for businesses in areas such as customer support (learning how to automate responses to a variety of queries and complaints) or any kind of repetition-heavy task.
Google, Facebook and other tech titans form 'Partnership on AI'
Five of the biggest tech companies have launched a collaboration to help the public understand the benefits of artificial intelligence. The New York Times reported in early September that Google, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM and Amazon had been meeting to discuss an AI-related project. Now, the cat's finally out of the bag. Their collaboration is officially called "Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society," and it has a few goals other than to make sure people know that AI research isn't all about creating killer robots.
WhatsApp won't comply with India's order to delete user data (updated)
WhatsApp's decision to share user data with Facebook has provoked the ire of yet another foreign government. Last week, India's Delhi High Court ordered WhatsApp to delete any data collected from users who opted out of the company's new privacy policy before September 25th. According to Mashable, however, WhatsApp has no plan to comply with the court order and it will have "no impact on the planned policy and terms of service updates." (Note: see update below.)
Facebook's Slack competitor may be coming next month
With nearly two years of development and 450 companies already on board, Facebook at Work is gearing up for a commercial launch of its in-house social network and communications platform for companies. According to a report from The Information, the service will launch next month and the social network will charge a set monthly fee per active user.
Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp data
Germany has ordered Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp data from users and delete all the information it has already collected. The Hamburg regulator said the social network hadn't properly notified the nation's 35 million WhatsApp users that it recently started gathering their data. "Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance. This has not happened," said Commissioner Johannes Caspar.
Facebook briefly suspended accounts of Palestinian journalists
Last week, seven Palestinian editors from two different publications reported that they had been locked out of their personal Facebook accounts without notice or reason. The social giant told The Electronic Intifada that it was accidental and restored access to six of them by Saturday, though one remains suspended as of press time. But employees from both Shehab News Agency and Quds News Network doubt that their colleagues were banned in error. Rather, they have pointed to Facebook's recent agreement with Israel earlier this month to jointly crack down on "incitement" by Palestinians on social media.
Why is the Oculus founder trying to bring hateful memes offline?
Online abuse and bullying have existed as long as the internet has, but it's gone mainstream in a big way over the past few years. Perhaps not coincidentally, we've also spent the past year-plus subjected to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, an outing built on lies, harassment, intimidation and a whole host of other behavior not befitting a candidate for the country's highest office. These two trends collided late last week when it was revealed that Oculus VR founder and Facebook employee Palmer Luckey donated $10,000 to a pro-Trump group called Nimble America. The group's stated purpose is to prove that "shitposting is powerful and meme magic is real." Thus far, there's no evidence that Nimble America has been able to do anything aside from put up one insulting but fairly mild anti-Hillary Clinton billboard outside of Pittsburgh. Despite the group's lack of impact thus far, the fact that Luckey found Nimble America worth supporting shows just how widespread trolling has become.
How to watch tonight's US presidential debate
So you're determined to watch the first of 2016's US presidential debates, but you don't subscribe to TV... or you live in a country that won't have a live broadcast. What to do? Relax. This year, there are more choices than ever for watching online, and not just in the US. We've rounded up the main internet viewing sources for Clinton versus Trump, including the kind of commentary you'll get. Whichever option you choose, you'll probably want to keep our guide to the candidates on hand when things kick off at 9PM Eastern -- the odds are that the grand speeches and spirited arguments won't answer all your technology policy questions.
Tanzania charges man with 'insulting' its leader on WhatsApp
Attempts to clamp down on free speech online aren't just limited to public social network posts. Tanzania has charged five men with insulting President John Magufuli on social networks, one of whom (lecturer Dennis Mtegwa) is accused of offending the country's leader in a WhatsApp discussion group. The other four have also been charged with using Facebook and WhatsApp posts to turn people against the police. All five have denied the charges and are currently free on bail.
CBS News will feature Instagram Stories in debate coverage
Monday's US Presidential debates are shaping up to be the most easily streamable live TV in history, with options ranging from Twitter and YouTube to Facebook Live and Snapchat. Not wanting to be left out of the party, Instagram and CBS News have announced a new partnership that will make CBSN the first network to feature Instagram Stories in live coverage.
Oculus founder responds to 'Nimble America' political controversy
Last night The Daily Beast reported that Oculus founder Palmer Luckey is the "NimbleRichMan" behind a group of Donald Trump supporters pushing anti-Hillary Clinton memes, and now Luckey has responded. In a Facebook post claiming recent news stories don't accurately reflect his views (and light on references to either shitposting or meme magic), the 24-year-old claimed his support of the Nimble America group consisted of a $10,000 donation because he "thought the organization had fresh ideas," and that he did not write the posts credited to the pseudonym or delete the account.
Facebook's Safety Check was activated by protesters in Charlotte
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the company was working on a way for users to activate its Safety Check feature back in August. During this week's protests in Charlotte, North Carolina, users of the social network employed the feature for the first time without the social network flipping the switch itself. Facebook confirmed to BuzzFeed News that it didn't activate the feature and this was the first time Safety Check was used during a protest.
Facebook has been exaggerating ad video views for two years
So here's a funny thing about Facebook videos: it turns out people actually weren't watching the ads on them nearly as much as the social network said. The Wall Street Journal reports that since it introduced video ads in 2014, the company miscalculated average viewing time because it didn't include views that lasted less than three seconds. An ad buying agency says it was told by Facebook that average time spent viewing was likely overestimated by 60 to 80 percent.
Oculus founder Palmer Luckey secretly funds pro-Trump 'meme magic'
Just in case you were wondering what Palmer Luckey does with all that Facebook money, a The Daily Beast article reveals what he's been up to lately. The outlet says Luckey confirmed he is behind the Reddit pseudonym "NimbleRichMan," providing financial backing to an organization claiming it's proven that "shitposting is powerful and meme magic is real." The Reddit profile has been deleted, but the group's original announcement is archived here.
