Facebook's F8 developer conference kicked off yesterday, May 1st, and as expected, the social media behemoth made sure it left developers wanting more.
The company has endured what is arguably its toughest backlash this past few weeks after investigations revealed that it allowed Cambridge Analytical -- a partisan political consulting firm-- access to data of more than 80 million users on its platform, which was reportedly used for presidential election manipulation, amongst other things.
But Facebook is keen to be portrayed in good light once again as it concluded the first day of its 2018 F8 developer conference keynote on a high. Facebook announced several new features coming to all of its product line, which includes the original Facebook app, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus Go. Let's take a look at the top 5 features announced.
FACEBOOK DATING
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| Image: the verge |
Yes, you heard that right!. Facebook just don't want to bring the world together, it now wants to, well, find life partners for them. Like Zuckerberg joked onstage “This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships — not just for hookups.” This upcoming feature is a Tinder-like app that allows people to browse potential matches at inside groups or events you’re interested in attending.
“We have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning. Your friends aren’t going to see your profile, and you’re only going to be suggested to people who are not your friends.” He added.
The feature will allow people to message each other using only their first names, and start conversations that are separate from the core Facebook or Messenger app. How do you like that?!😎
The dating feature will be made completely optional. The company, however, did not mention a release date for the upcoming feature so keep your fingers crossed on that.
MESSENGER REFRESH
Facebook has finally decided to address the bloatness of its Messenger app by giving it a more refreshed and simplified visuals. Messenger VP of product David Marcus says the overall refresh is focused on making things cleaner and faster. The upcoming update will also feature a dark theme mode. 👍
INSTAGRAM VIDEO CALL
Instagram is also getting a number of key new features, one of which is video calling which will transform the photo-sharing platform into a full-fledged messaging service. Up until now, video calls on Instagram never existed but the company is adding that feature in the coming weeks.
The video call feature will also be capable of video conferencing or group video which can be minimized if you want to keep browsing photos while video chatting. No mention of how many users can be in the group chat at a particular session though.
Other features coming to Instagram include filtering of bullying comments, a redesigned Explore tab with more topics, AR face filters for brands and influencers and more....
WHATSAPPS STICKRES + GROUP VIDEO CHAT
Not much is coming to WhatsApp in terms of updates but two of which are worthy of note are the new stickers and group video call. Features targeted at businesses are to come as well but no mention of what kind of features was made at the Keynote.
Facebook, however, revealed that it now has over 450 million users who share their story on WhatsApp Stories every day while 65 billion messages are sent on the app daily.
OCULUS GO VR HEADSET
Facebook's standalone VR headset; The Oculus Go is now available for purchase. The new $199 virtual reality headset will support social experiences like Watch Party, multiplayer games, and even live shows such as concerts and experiential theater.
In addition to the headset, there will now be an Oculus TV hub for users to stream content from ESPN, Netflix, Showtime, and more. Some of these services have been available via Hulu for some time, but the new hub should add more options for those investing in the new headset.
Prior to this event and following the recent backlash of how users privacy agrreFacebook released a 27-page community standard detailing things that are accepted and, as well prohibited on the platform ranging from topics like bullying, violent threats, self-harm, and nudity, among many other topics.
The company also recently reviewed its age limit for users in Europe from 13 to 16, which is in line with the European data privacy rules that will take off from May 25th this year.
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