With the Facebook Hacked Your security is compromised

The Facebook Hacked was discovered on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 25th. The security of about 50 million account holders have been compromised. This discovery was made by the engineering team of Product Management. The VP of Product Management wants all the account holders to know that after the Facebook Hacked came to light, they are taking the issue very seriously. They want the users to be aware of the Facebook Hacked and that they will be taking prompt action to safeguard the user’s accounts and details.

Though the investigation regarding the Facebook Hacked is in its initial stage, it is quite clear that the hackers have found a way to access the user’s accounts. It is thought to be a vulnerability in the Facebook’s code which impacted the ‘View As’ feature. This feature of Facebook allows the users to see what their personal profile looks to others. The hackers could steal Facebook access tokens which enabled them to take over and operate the Facebook user’s accounts. The access tokens are actually the digital keys wherein a Facebook user can remain logged in without any need to re-enter their password every time they need to use the app.

Action taken towards Facebook Hacked

The primary action towards the Facebook Hacked was that the law enforcement agencies have been informed and the vulnerability has been fixed.

The access tokens of the affected 50 million accounts have been reset in order to protect the user’s security. As a precautionary measure, the access tokens of about 40 million accounts which have been subject to ‘View As’ in the past 1 year have been reset.

Due to the Facebook Hacked, at least 90 million users will now have to log in to Facebook or any other apps that use Facebook Login again. After this is done, the users will receive a notification at the top of their News feed explaining about the Facebook Hacked.

The ‘View As’ feature is temporarily turned off so that they can conduct a thorough investigation to figure out where the breach occurred. They have yet to see if any of the user’s accounts were misused or any personal information accessed. It is also not clear who is behind these attacks and where the hackers are based. If they find that there are more accounts that have been affected, then the access tokens willbe reset immediately.

Further Details regarding the Facebook Hacked

Only last week some additional details came to light. The vulnerability of the system was exploited and the Facebook access tokens for the user’s accounts in HTML were exposed. This happened as a result of three bugs.

The ‘View As’ feature which is a privacy feature allows people to see what their profile looks like to others. ‘View As’ is a view only interface. The box that allows you to wish your friends on their birthdays, with the ‘View As’ feature incorrectly enabled it to post a video.

In the second instant, the new version of the video uploader, (which appears due to the first bug) that was introduced in July 2017, gave an access token that had the accessibility of the Facebook mobile app.

Thirdly, when the video uploader appeared, it provided the access token not to you as the viewer, but for the user you were looking up.

All these three bugs combined became a vulnerability when the ‘View As’ feature was used to see your profile as a friend, the code did not remove the person that allows people to wish you; the access token was generated with the video uploader and the access token was not for you but for the person being looked up.

The access token was present in the HTML which the hackers extracted and could log in as another user. They could then access other accounts and get more access tokens.

What Facebook Knows About You

Model Devised to Analyse Facebook `Likes’

Whenever the advertisements on one’s Facebook newsfeed tends to appear unusually significant, it could be due to the social network giants being aware of you very well. The social network takes pride of having almost two billion users and provides a amazing amount of free content which has a tendency of keeping most of the users engrossed for hours daily. It intends to improve its efforts further in the near future by keeping the users on-site for even a longer time or in other owned properties of Facebook such as the Messenger, Whatsapp and Instagram.

Facebook is said to have accumulated an estimated $26.9 billion by way of ad revenue in 2016 by drawing out its massive troves of data on its 1.86 billion users in order to sell directed information to advertisers used to provide products as well as services depending on their particular preferences. There seems to be more disturbing methods wherein companies tend to utilise personal information. A model had been devised by researcher Michal Kosinski which tends to analyse Facebook `likes’ of a user in predicting information like ethnicity, sexual orientation together with political belief in creating as well as locating personal psychological profiles.

Facebook Most Appalling Spying Machine

As it was recently revealed by tech publication Motherboard, wherein an identical scheme was reported to have assisted Donald Trump in reaching the White House, on sending directed campaign ads which had appealed to individual needs together with requirements. Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, in an interview with Russian news site RT, had called Facebook as the most appalling spying machine which has ever been invention.

 Assange had claimed that they have the most comprehensive database regarding people in the world, their relationships, their names together with their addresses, their locations as well as the communications with each other, their relatives, all being within the United States and accessible to U.S. intelligence. He added at a book launch in 2014, that each time one goes to a party, takes an image and posts the same on Facebook, you are being a traitor.

However even his organisation finds it difficult to refrain from joining the damage. Wikileaks tends to have its own Facebook page that seems to disclose the secrets of the rulers of the world. What Facebook intends to do with the data seem to be a subject of debate though the data it has is alarmingly all-inclusive. The following details will bring about an awareness of how much details Facebook can have regarding its users:

1. How much Facebook tends to know about the user, its family and friends

The source of one’s profile seems to be the on-site behaviour that covers the profile information one tends to provide, the advertisements clicked on, the events created and attended, items one prefers and the information that one has posted. All these behaviour tends to expose the age, gender, language together with the educational level, the electronic device one may utilise and how one would connect to the internet.

The post and the profile provide the details of your Facebook data footprint though the company gathers a huge selection of information from the other sources for adding personal information beyond those which have been significantly uploaded.

The user’s online behaviour together with the information from third-party sources are inclined to get mixed in conveying to Facebook about their job, whether the user is married, engaged or intending celebrating an event, whether you are a parent or expecting to be one. Moreover, it is also aware of who is in the family, how far they seem to be living and their anniversaries and much more.

2. Facebook aware of your finances and spending habits

It has a tendency of paying data brokers like Experian and Epsilon for added information they have compiled over a period of time in collection of additional information from government, surveys together with commercial sources like magazine subscription list.

 This conveys to them where one may shop, what is purchased and whether one owns a car. It also tends to be aware of the value, size, and composition together with the type of property one may be living in and when the said property had been constructed. Besides this, it not only knows what may be in possession with the user, but also what one purchases, on comprehending their tastes and when they would be likely in upgrading to some degree.

The financial information of the user is all taken hold wherein Facebook can forecast what one had invested in, or if is in possession of a credit card and if it is in debt, your net worth and income, together with details if one is a member of a credit union, national bank or regional bank

3. Facebook is aware of the websites visited and the apps utilised

The online activity of the user tracked by Facebook is not restricted to the social media site only. Should the user visit a web page which utilises Facebook technologies like Facebook pixel, then the publishers as well as Facebook can trail visits from the users. The information is utilised by the advertisers to craft ads for the individuals who tend to visit the website or use the mobile app.

 It covers any page with `like’ or `share’ button which informs Facebook where one could be browsing, any downloads of their mobile apps as well as any purchases done from the site or products which may have been added in the shopping cart. The family of apps and services of Facebook comprises of Instagram and WhatsApp which tend to add to the data record of the company.

4. Facebook knows the whereabouts of the user

The location data is utilised by Facebook to support advertisers in targeting individuals in or within a specific area. This detail is conveyed by the IP address where one tends to connect to the internet, the GPS as well as the location services on your phone, your check-ins together with the listed areas in your Facebook and Instagram profiles. In June 2016, debate came up when Facebook had first acknowledged and later denied that it was using smartphone location details to recommend friends, though eventually revealed that it had briefly done the previous year.

5. Facebook knows about your beliefs

Directed advertising utilised by the Donald Trump team before the US presidential election of 2016, had revealed the value of Facebook data in the political campaigning. If one mentions their political preferences, expresses a political leaning or like a page connected with one, Facebook has the tendency of utilising the information in presuming your political opinions.

 However, the company is not only in need of direct evidence. If the user like pages viewed as characteristic of a certain position, it could recommend you to share those beliefs. Liking Exxon for instance could specify that you are more expected to be traditional. Facebook tends to combine the details with demographic information to classify the users as substantial, traditional or reasonable.

6. Facebook knows your secret thoughts

The old saying of `think before you speak’ has given a new lease to life on social media where the fake security shield of screen together with the keyboard has given rise to several regrettable tap of the enter key. Recently it had been revealed by data scientist Vicki Boykis that Facebook tends to know what the user could be thinking even when they choose not to comment on it.

 The company can trail your typing in order to read your mind. Facebook tends to gather the text as it is typed by sending code to the browser which has the tendency of analysing the keystrokes and report the metadata. It comprises of deleted post, comments together with check-ins. The company has named these unpublished thoughts as `self-censorship’ and had earlier utilised the data in researching the human behaviour.

The overall incoming data amounts to about 600 daily terabytes if the estimates of 2014 of Facebook engineers tend to be precise. As per the calculations of Boykis, this could be the equivalent of uploading 193 million copies each day of the novel War and Peace.

7. How to find out what Facebook know about you

A board outline of information is provided by Facebook that tends to accumulate in its Data Policy though does not expose the complete details of how it functions. This can be found out by going to your ad preferences on the social network which comprises of profile information, categories of interest together with advertisers the user may have interacted with as a customer, a website user or by just clicking on their ads.

One could also hide advertisements regarding sensitive issues which you would like to opt out. Users of Facebook could also block certain kinds of ads by going to Facebook ads settings. The only means of averting the controls of the Facebook data collectors together with their partners is by quitting the social network completely though it may not provide you with a clean break.

 The data of the user has left an ineradicable mark and once the user tends to agree to hand it over they are no longer entitled to get the same back. However, one could download the complete Facebook data history as a ZIP file by utilising a self-service tool that has been designed by the company.

Leaked FaceBook Rule Book States What is not allowed on Social Media

Image Credit:  Guardian

The current generation is mostly found spending their maximum time on social networking sites and facebook is the most onymous in this regard. The very notion of posting an update on facebook frequently is what makes it even more gripping. The whole crux behind this idea is to get more likes and comment. More unique posts are directly proportional to more likes and comment. Social networking sites are applicable only for those updates that are society friendly and if one does not understand this then he or she is subjected to a vicious circle leading to cyber crime. Mark Zuckerberg has invented Facebook to connect people from all over the world via this platform, but its high time when he should launch a ‘facebook rule book’, to make a clear stratification of the do’s and don’ts as some are bent on misusing this platform for their anti-social nuisance which needs to be kept in check.

Keeping a strict watch on billions of users is next to impossible hence, putting forth of guidelines in this regard is an important move which is applicable both for the users and for the moderators, both before putting up a post and censoring a post respectively.

Some cases as per the ‘facebook rule book’ are:

• One can share a video of an abortion taking place only if it is free from nudity as then only the issue of censorship arises. 
• Sharing of animal or child abuse is allowed as it is done with an intention to educate the mass with the injustices incurred on them, but again too much use of graphic elements is a big NO as that makes the entire post very disturbing for the viewers. 
• Videos or pics related to violent death can be posted with the underlying notion of educating the mass of certain ailments like mental illness, depression and many more. So, this would act as an awareness program. 
• Threatening someone on this platform is strictly prohibited. You cannot abuse anyone here, neither raise question on someone’s character, as that is offensive. Life threatening someone is again a big No. 
• You cannot use this platform to motivate people to do acts which are against the general norms of being a human. Provoking someone to take up terrorism is severely offensive and if found guilty you can face severe consequences.

These are certain guidelines that facebook moderators have put up as Facebook Rule Book that every user using this platform needs to abide by. The whole crux behind these guideline is, that as long you are posting something which can result in creating awareness for the general mass till then your post is justified on moral grounds and if even once you go cross your limits facebook officials are liable to take severe action against you which may also lead to face judicial consequences if your post is degraded to that level. Power of Speech and thought is granted by our constitution and by Facebook until it does not go against the general code of conduct.

Facebook Files Patent Application for Payment Services Via Messages

The Facebook Inc, a social media giant, which allows its users to connect worldwide by sharing and discovering photos, ideas, videos, files a patent application for digital payment through a messaging application with Indian Patent Office.

This comes at an appropriate time when the Government of India is encouraging digital transaction to accommodate more and more people. There is a huge upsurge noticed in the usage of e wallet after demonetization as around eighty percent of Indian citizens use internet and mobile phones with a rapid increase in the numbers.

Facebook currently allows online payment services through its Messenger application in countries like US. It also owns Whatsapp, which has a huge market in India. According to the company, it will outline a messenger application system which would allow the users to make payment by their credit or debit cards, bank accounts etc. and send it as well as receive payments through this system.

It further clarifies that a client having the application will be able to receive information about the payment through messages like the amount or the method of transaction. If this patent is passed, then it will come to the rescue of the users as people will not have to visit other applications to sending or receiving any kind of electronic payment which will help to form a large base for electronic transactions as it will not confuse people about the complexity of switching apps and will provide a single platform for business.

Another positive side to this proposal is the user will be free to choose whether to accept any kind of payment or not. In other words, a user will be able to deny any kind of transaction if the other person is devoid of the application. It also has the option of paying several people together or in several groups where each amount received by each member can be defined, hence proving to be helpful in business transactions between business groups and business entities.

Facebook presently purveys this method of digital payment in some countries through Messenger, a separate application made out from its parent application Facebook. People just need to add their respective cards which in turn to provide more security creates a pin. If the respective recipient has no debit card, that person has the freedom to decline.

However, there are both advantages and disadvantages of this method of cashless payment in a country where still cash is the king. India serving to be the second largest growing market with millions of users can prove to be pivotal part in the cashless business where these social media apps operating worldwide would take full advantage of the current situation of the country regarding the digitalization.

How to Secure Your Facebook Account

Facebook has become an important and integral part of our lives and it is necessary to safeguard online especially on the social media platform. A hack into the Facebook account will result in revealing wide range of sensitive and extremely personal information about a user to the hackers which can ultimately lead to financial, identity or emotional loss of varied kinds. Here are few smart ways to secure the Facebook account without any hassle.

Turn your account secure

Account protection begins with optimizing the passwords. Make use of numbers, letters & special characters while creating a password and for security question ensure it is known only to you. You can also set the two factor authentication system for logging into your Facebook account by going to the Settings.

Check for suspicious activity

Going to the Facebook Settings page will allow you to keep a tab on ‘from where’ your account has been accessed at any given point of time. If you has gained access to your account without your knowledge then you will be able to gain knowledge about it from here and even take steps to thwart such attempts in future.

Get a grip on your privacy

Privacy is an integral part of the cyber security of the internet users in the modern world. Facebook offers wide range of features and security measures built right into its platform which helps in safeguarding the members from the hackers, marketers as well as stalkers to a great extent.

It is extremely important for the Facebook users to think twice before sharing anything on the Facebook without choosing the setting which states who can see the posts. The setting is pretty simple opting for ‘Public Posts’ will allow your posts to be seen by everyone on the web. Clicking on the Limit Past Posts will help in hiding the older posts from the public view.

Be sensible with using the Facebook

Simply restricting who views your posts, personal information and profile on the Facebook is not enough. In order to turn your Facebook account highly secure it is vital that you apply some common sense while interacting with strangers, suspicious links, offers and other things on this social media platform. Secondly stay away from sharing critical personal information in the public domain like on Facebook pages and profiles needlessly. If you don’t want to proclaim your whereabouts then turn of location search on Facebook.

Thirdly giving every little details of your daily routine or lifestyle like where your work, when is your birthday, favourite movie, pets name, family address unknowingly through posts, location tags will only help in losing your identity.

Anyone closely following your social media activity will be able to pretend to be you with all the information you have shared online. Don’t forget to pay attention to the computers or different browsers you use in order to access the Facebook. Make sure the system or browser is up-to-date and has a robust antivirus at work.

FaceBook Building a Safer Community With New Suicide Prevention Tools

Facebook Utilising Artificial Intelligence to Avert Suicides

Facebook intends utilising artificial intelligence and updating its tools and services in order to avert suicides among individuals. This social media network which is the largest in the world had informed that it intends to integrate its prevailing suicide prevention tool for Facebook post in its live streaming feature namely Facebook Live together with its Messenger service.

The company had mentioned in a blogpost recently that artificial intelligence would be utilised in supporting spot users having the tendency of suicides. As per the New York Post, a 14 year old foster child in Florida had broadcasted her suicide on Facebook Live, in January. In live video stream, Facebook has been utilising artificial intelligence in monitoring offensive material.

Recently, the company had expressed that the latest tools would be providing a choice to users viewing a live video in reaching to the user directly and report the video on Facebook. Resources would also be provided by Facebook Inc. which comprises of reaching to a friend and get a help line to the individual broadcasting the live video. Among individuals in the age group of 15 -29, suicide is said to be the second leading reason of death.

Suicide Rates Escalated by 24%

As per a National Centre for Health Statistics study, in the United States from 1999 to 2014, the suicide rates had escalated by 24 percent after a period of almost steady decline. Suicide among youngster seems to be the final ultimatum in stepping in and ending their life when help and proper counselling is not available to the victim.

 Facebook has provided advice to individuals who would be at risk of committing suicide for years though till now it seemed to depend on other individuals in bringing about awareness by clicking a report button on a post. It has now progressed pattern-recognition algorithms in recognising if an individual seems to be stressed by training them with examples of the posts which could have been earlier identified.For instance, dialogue of sadness and pain could be an indication and responses from friends with comments such as `Are you ok’, or `I am concerned about you’, could be of some help.

System Being Rolled All Over the World

When a post has been recognized, it could be sent for quick review to the community operations team network. When someone who would be viewing the live stream tends to click a menu option declaring that they are concerned about the individual, Facebook then provides advice to the viewer with regards to how they could render help to the broadcaster.

The stream is also identified for instant review by the team of Facebook who in turn overlaps a message with a suitable recommendation whenever possible. This latest system is being rolled out all over the world. Presently, a different choice in contacting various crisis counsellor helplines through the Messenger tool of Facebook seems to be limited to the US. Facebook has mentioned that it needs to check if the other organisation would be capable of managing with the demand before it intends to develops the facility

Facebook Creates 'Community Help' Feature for Disaster Assistance

REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

Providing amenities to the people at the time of need is the noblest job that one can think of. We know that Social networking sites is the ideal platform that ensures easiest and quickest connectivity to people sitting at the farthest corner of the world. and to add to the perks of these sites one of the onymous and biggest social networking site, Facebook has unveiled a very beneficial feature that will be available to its users in just a few days where all the users will be granted quickest mode of help at the time of crisis.

Facebook has decided to provide a feature that will ensure immediate help to the needy and this will be most effective at the time of natural disasters. They have coined the term as “Community Help” where anyone can find help anywhere and anytime.
Whether you are effected by a sudden accident or need immediate medical aid, you will get them with the help of friends and relatives staying near to you. This is a very effective measure taken by Facebook that is sure to benefit a mass number of people who unfortunately lose their life due to lack of spontaneous response or help.

This feature will help people feel secured no matter wherever they are as they know that someone will always be available to render them immediate help and support.

Facebook have also designed an advertising program to promote this feature which in a way adds to the promotion of the company, as people who did not had accounts on facebook will try and create one just to make them feel safe and secured. There are a lot of adversities which our fellow beings face almost frequently but some disasters are such that they cannot be handled just with the help of hand full of people and to overcome them you need an entire community beside you.

Calamities like forest fire, earthquake are really serious problems which require immediate attention. Hence, people needs to be informed at a huge level to sort out this issues. We know that loss that happens during an earthquake is unaccountable and the major requirements of the victims is food and shelter and to make them available to the sufferers the problem needs to be accessed in a organized way to get optimum results. Hence, Facebook will be that mediator who will plan this organized way of helping the victims.

To make this feature durable and worthwhile, Facebook have consulted the Emergency Relief Organizations like the Red Cross. The company has declared that this feature will be available only at the time of natural disasters and not for issues leading to socio-political agendas.

This privilege will be available to only those residing in US, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia. The company has assured that they will release this feature worldwide after testing it in these above mentioned countries. This feature also comes up with safety guideline that the users should not respond to any strangers in the name of granting help and if so it should be done in a public place.

Why FaceBook Keeps Pushing You to Go Live With Video

In the contemporary world, the mode of communication and correspondences between individuals and communities have witnessed some of the most magical changes, which have changed the entire scenario and people are more and more get accustomed with these social media options. The facebook is undoubtedly the best and popular option, among the social media segment and every day the number is growing with an enviable upward growth rate.

The most interesting part of the services, provided by facebook, is the relentless development and customization of their service profile, which attracts lots of newer user and the same time, keep their old friends intact. The Live video feature is the most modern service that is now available with facebook and millions of enthusiastic users have already tried this feature and just loved it. To make this an instant hit among the enthusiasts; facebook is trying every possible means and route to get it in more user-friendly modes, such as; billboards, Television advertisements and other avenues, which provide essential supports in getting the intended results.

Some Important Issues to Be Noted

•  It is now a million dollar question, whether this Live video craze is a good business opportunity or not - it can be noted that the prospects of these ads are quite uncertain, as the "live" issue of these videos are often seen in the recorded mode. When somebody is trying to capture and send Live moments of their memorable issues like the first step of the toddler, high school prom, the university convocation, seminars, conferences etc. but in most of the cases; friends are not been able to see those Live, on the contrary, they seen it like the recorded videos only. 
•  After having such uncertainty, why facebook is trying to pushing up this feature with all relevant promotional support? - This is one of the most pertinent questions in the digital world now. Some of the social media analysts are now describing this effort of the facebook as a gesture of keeping the users to its well-structured service as far as possible, like any other business entity. 
•  As per their mission, facebook offer this feature to existing almost 2 billion users and once any of the individual users try this, immediately his friends got the notification about the event and as per the ads, prompted to try the same, which is getting an upward swing in the uses in the last couple of weeks. 
•  While facebook is trying to promote this feature to a great extent, which has the potential of revenue generation, but it's not an easy thing to do, as some of the companies are now using this Live video, prepared by themselves, to advertise and promotion purposes. 
•  The tech-savvy people are now trying to make this a big deal, by taking the advantage of the Live video option, which is changing the experience to feel the world in much better form. This is helping the user to express him in a more subtle manner, which is the crux of the positivity of this feature.

Facebook Tunes Into Television’s Market

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Facebook started as an advertisement free social media platform and it stayed true to this thought for a relatively longer but very soon the reality caught up with them. Currently Facebook earns millions of dollars each day through a very carefully installed ad network on its social media platform. Facebook ambitions are growing by leaps and bounds as it looks forward to enlarge its ad revenue in upcoming future. As per the report published in The Wall Street Journal Facebook is set on building a TV app which will work with the set-top boxes just like Apple TV.

Advantages of developing TV app

This particular TV app will help Facebook in encouraging the users in watching longer videos which has been eventual goal of the company. Facebook has plans to start testing of themed-roll ads which will play right in the middle of the videos present on its network. In similar fashion these kinds of ads will appear in the TV app as well over the time. Facebook has not made any official confirmation of going into the TV network with an app or bringing its own advertisement in such a manner for now.

Facebook plans to bring longer videos in the News Feed

So far Facebook has ensured that the users on its platform are not bothered with the longer videos on their News Feed but very soon this will be thing of past. Facebook will start prioritizing the longer videos right in the News Feed to generate more ad revenue. In order to bring longer videos it will first weigh on the percent completion or how much video is watch was user before they go away. In this manner the longer videos which are able to keep users engaged for large amount of time will find its way in the News Feed.

Facebook is actively making a series of tweaks in the News Feed algorithm which will help advertisers, content developers and publishers to push their content in the News Feed. Facebook is effectively trying to understand the user’s behavior or community as whole to bring more engaging content on the platform rather than indulging in penalizing the longer videos.

Why Facebook is developing a TV app? 

Facebook is expected to establish itself as YouTube video streaming platform wherein it has plans to first populate the platform with large videos then encourage content developers in delivering quality content on regular basis. It has been reported that Facebook has been in talks with a number of media companies to develop as well license a number of long form or TV style content which will range from scripted shows to entertainment as well as sports videos.

In simple words this app will establish Facebook as a serious leader in the streaming market wherein it will be able to distribute its new content along with the TV style advertisements in future. Facebook will certainly go ahead with its plans of asking higher price from the content developers, advertisers and other in future for displaying ads on the users news feeds.

Facebook Messenger Launches Instant Games

Instant Games Launched by Facebook

Recently Instant Games a series of titles which can be played in the Messenger iOS and Android app, or through the website of the company, had been launched by Facebook. As per TechCrunch, the game is quick to load as they tend to be delivered through HTML5 instead of full downloads. Real time multiplayer presently is not available though players can participate through high score rankings.The preliminary slate of game comprises of titles such as Galago, Pac-Man, Space Invaders together with Words With Friends Frenzy with free of ads as well as in-game purchases at present.

Screenshots of their high scores can be sketched by the players and share games to their Facebook News Feed that would enable t other players to join in promptly. In the case of developers, Instant Games access is in closed beta wherein they need to apply for the same.

As for the public, though the games seem to be accessible in 30 regions, including Canada, Russia, the U.S., Germany, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Mainland China has been excluded where Facebook has been banned. Facebook has been anticipating that some friendly competition would get the user to spend some more time in Messenger and compete asynchronously through high scores rather than directly simultaneously. Hence it is appropriate to try your luck at times.

Available on iOS/Android

Instant Games, in the long run could earn Facebook ad dollars from the developers who tend to promote their games or a cut in payments but there are no in-games purchases permitted yet. Instant Games has been launched in 30 countries with 17 games from classic developers such as Bandai Namco, Konami and Taito together with latest studios comprising of Zynga and King.

It is made available on latest iOS and Android devices and can be located by hitting the game controller icon in Facebook Messenger thread towards the photos and stickers buttons. Moreover, one could also play through platforms from Facebook on desktop due to an overlaid phone screen.

Social gaming had been dominated by Facebook around 2008 when its desktop app platform had been well-known for playing around for utilities. It had earned a peak of quarter-billion dollars for each quarter on its 30% tax on in-games purchases. Their addictive as well as viral nature enabled Facebook to develop its user count as well as commitments.

Attempts to Build HTML5 Game Platform – Project Spartan

Presently 15% of time on Facebook.con tend to be spent on playing games but the payment profitsseems to have reduced to $196 million in the most recent quarter. Since users seemed to shift to mobile, Facebook noticed that it had been shut out of gaming and only iOS and Android could run native app stores.

 It was they who had benefitted from taxes on in-game payments. In 2011, Facebook had been frantically making attempts in building an HTML5 game platform known as Project Spartan but had failed since the mobile web standard had not been adequately strong to build games which could rival with flashy download with native apps. Over a period of time the developers have identified how to have improved graphics together with responsive gameplay out of HTML5.

How to Manage Your Security Settings on Facebook

Facebook developed in the previous years to wind up the biggest online interpersonal organization in the world. It spread so much that even our neighbors, folks, and inaccessible relatives, even from remote regions of the nation, now continually utilize it. It's the place where everyone is dynamic, from family, companions, work partners, and outsiders who just chose to include us as their friends. That's why Facebook has rolled out a few improvements to its security settings over its lifetime, so it merits looking up to check whether you're still just giving the general population you need your private data and photographs.

Here are some basic approaches to ensure your security.

1. Restrain access to you and your Facebook stuff To limit access to your past and future Facebook posts, click Privacy in the left sheet of the Account Settings. At that point pick Limit Past Posts under the option of who can see it and in similar segment another option of who can see future posts. A message will pop up when you endeavor to restrain access to all your past posts without a moment's delay as opposed to changing the setting post-by-post. The alternatives under "Who can reach me?" let you confine companion demands and channel the messages you get. You can also limit your audience by restricting email address and telephone number 
2. Secure browsing A few times ago, Facebook made secure perusing the default for all clients. To guarantee you're utilizing a safe association at whatever point one is accessible, click Security in the left sheet of Facebook's Account Settings and ensure Secure Browsing is enabled. The security settings likewise give you a chance to empower sign in warnings and endorsements and see and alter your perceived gadgets and dynamic sessions. To evacuate a gadget, click Edit to one side and after that Remove beside the gadget's entrance. In like manner, to end one or all dynamic Facebook sessions, click Edit to one side of Active Sessions and pick End Activity or End All Activity, separately. 
3. Approve tags To trigger the survey of posts you labeled in before they show up on your course of events, you can choose Edit to one side of the section and select Enable in the drop-down menu. There In the timeline and tagging options you can enable or disable your posts' appearance by selection of options like "How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?" , "Who can post to my timeline?" etc. 
4. Facebook Application A large portion of the most prevalent applications now associates with your Facebook profile, implying that your action on those applications may be posted on your Facebook profile. Be that as it may, to do this, the applications need to get consent, which is the place you can step in. In Settings, go to the Apps area and select "Select All" to see what authorizations applications have. You may need some of these to have the capacity to post for your sake - Instagram for instance - however, you may not need your dating applications to do as such, for instance. Click an application to alter protection settings.
5. Read and always try to be updated Set aside the time to peruse and comprehend the norms and terms of Facebook. Remain in order to the progressions that are updating regularly try to learn and read more often. The best aspect regarding Facebook is the capacity to custom yours and your companions experience. 

Facebook Messenger Just Rolled Out 'Secret Conversations'

In this digital age consumers are more concerned about their privacy than they have ever before. Facebook is trying to build its credibility in terms of enhancing the security towards safeguarding the privacy of the billion users on its social media platform. For last two months Facebook has been trialing the Secret Conversation named feature which aims to offers end-to-end encryption feature on the Messenger app. A update to the app finally brings this much need encryption to the Facebook messaging app which has more than a billion users on global scale.

Secret Conversation a much needed feature for Messenger

A number of chat apps like SnapChat, WhatsApp and others are already providing the encryption on its platform to safeguard the communication of the users from prying eyes. Over the years chat apps has cemented themselves as a central mode of communication giving way to the age old text messaging.

Having this feature on Messenger will help in placing it among the secure and reliable apps category which will certainly aid in the adoption rate among the targeted audience. End-to-end encryption offers dual benefits as not just app owners but even the hackers and law enforcement agencies wouldn’t be able to access the user information in any way.

How to Use Secret conversations? 

Facebook Messenger will require users to ‘opt-in’ to the Secret Conversations feature. Users can make use of the Secret Conversation by manually selecting ‘Secret’ each time they need to initiate an encrypted conversation with friends. Messenger users can even add expiration time for their sent messages which range from 5 to 24 hour which is quite similar to SnapChat offering. However using the Secret Conversation will limit the amount of action user can perform while sending a message such as access to chatbots, animated GIFs and businesses will be turned off.

Report on messaging apps brings incredible insight

A detailed report generated by Business Insider on messaging apps brings a more refined and valuable look on the messaging market, value and potential. Right in the beginning it states that mobile messaging apps have transformed itself as a massive market with hundreds of millions of monthly active users.

The rise in messaging service apps and their adoption is directly influenced by the steep rise in the penetration of internet and falling of data prices couple with cheaper devices on global scale. Even to reign among the top 5-10 messaging apps isn’t an easy task as user’s preference keeps shifting with time therefore apps has to come up with new innovative ideas to keep their users engaged on their platform.

Currently the leaders in the messaging app platform happen to be the Asian messaging apps such as WeChat, LINE and Kakao Talk. All of these apps commands huge user base while Messenger is still in the nascent stage when compared to the amount of features and services these established apps present to the consumers. However with Secret Conversation Facebook is bringing the challenge back to the leaders in a most credible manner.

You Can All Finally Encrypt Facebook Messenger

Facebook – Secret Conversation

Whatsapp had put up a code with the addition of new layers of security to the apps of billion users with the creation of the largest end-to-end encrypted messaging network in history. WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook has now eventually provided it users using its other hugely famous chat app with the opportunity to catch up. As informed to WIRED, a spokesperson of Facebook had informed that the company had completed rolling out `Secret Conversations’ to 900 million Facebook Messenger users in the last few weeks.

The chosen feature enabled users to encrypt their messages in order that no one could read them with the exception of the two individuals at each end of a chat and not even Facebook or law enforcement of the intelligence organizations. A description stated in the app that when users had initiated their first encrypted conversation `your messages are already secure, though Secret Conversation are encrypted from one device to another’.

While the updates of the software of the company for iOS as well as Android have not been clearly mentioned the feature of encryption, those who tend to update their Messenger app would now find the choice of `secret option towards the top right area of the `new message’ screen.

Opt for Snapchat-Style Termination

Moreover the feature also permits the transmitters to opt for Snapchat-style termination time for messages which may vary from five seconds to a day. Users who have updated the app have the facility of sending or receiving encrypted time-sensitive messages and hence users are recommended to update as early as possible.

Secret Conversation tends to use the Signal encryption system which seems to have a healthy status in the security community. It had been established by the non-profit Open Whisper System that had implemented the encryption layer first in its own Signal app before teaming with the other companies to include the procedure.

The new security mechanism had been first announced by Facebook and had been tested with beta users in July. Google had also recently launched the Allo messenger which included the encryption choice.

New Feature – Strong/Simple Encryption

The new layer of encryption of Facebook Messenger needs to be enabled manually for each conversation instead of being changed on by default since it is in the Signal app or WhatsApp. The conclusion could be a measure of a negotiation with the purpose of assisting Facebook to prevent legal as well as political difficulties.

The default encryption of WhatsApp for instance seems to have already placed its parent company in an uncomfortable spot at least once when the authorities of Brazil had arrested an executive of Facebook in the country for his negligence in helping police decrypt WhatsApp messages that had been send in a drug trafficking case, by criminal suspects.

However, the opt-in move has brought about the scorn of privacy advocates when Facebook had announced Secret Conversation, such as the tweet from ACLU technologist Chris Soghoian. Considering it or not, the new feature of Facebook tends to bring in strong, simple encryption to hundreds of millions of users.

The spread to the other ultra-popular messaging services, with the combination of end-to-end encryptions, stopping investigations has never been easy.

Facebook Launches Lifestage App for School Teens

With a purpose in mind of targeting high-school goers, Facebook, the social media giant has launched a new iOS app known as Lifestage which requests the user to fill in their biographical details which is then turned into a virtual profile video and is shared immediately with their school networks.

Lifestage which is a standalone iOS app for individual under 21, requests users for their happy face, sad face, likes, dislike, best friends, best book and much more. The users however, instead of filling the biography test with script tend to shoot videos, which later on Lifestage tends to turn into video profile where others in their school network can view.

The app enables users to find video profiles that have been generated by other users in their school enabling them to know more about their classmates, their shared interests and much more, as conveyed by Facebook in a recent blog post. The post also mentioned that each time someone tends to update their page; it would show up in a feed prompting the others to check on it. Since all the posts are public, there is no choice of restricting viewing the same. The purpose, according to its inventor, was to connect members of the same school.

Privacy – A Matter of Concern

An expert had informed BBC that the lack of privacy was a matter of concern. School members could view each other’s profiles once the individual school had reached a registration of 20 members and above. Users above the age of 21 were only capable of viewing their own profiles according to the Tech Crunch website. But the app has cautioned that it cannot guarantee if all its users seem to be sincere. It states that they cannot confirm that people who tend to claim to go to a certain school really go to that school and all videos uploaded to your profile tend to be fully public content.

There is no messaging functionality forLifestage, though users could display their contact details from the other sites like Snapchat and Instagram. Presently on the iTunes store, the app has a 2.5 star rating with comments which describe it as `kinda sorta creepy’ and `confusing’. Around 8% of Facebooks’ US users seem to be between the ages of 13 to 19, according to the statistics website Statista which had been designed by a 19 year old, Facebook product manager, Michael Sayman.

Being Open Could Get in the Way of Getting Connected 

He had mentioned in a Facebook post that the app had been based on the original social network of early days. Way back in 2004, Facebook had been about `who I am’ where his relationship status could be posted and share about his favourite music. It was a way of expressing himself. Presently since Facebook has progressed so much more, there are chances of exploring that concept of `who I am’ once again, though for Generation Z in 2016. Dr Bernie Hogan from Oxford Internet Institute had informed BBC that the absence of privacy settings could tend to be unpopular.

He commented that the `lack of privacy settings on the app in its present condition is symbolic of Facebook ideology which is to stay open and connected as much as possible’.He further added that from their point of view it is a great idea though at times being open could get in the way of getting connected. This is already a known fact, since people tend to be reluctant in sharing things online if they have to share it with all. It also seems that they are attempting in pushing the boundaries of what is thought to be appropriate to share online and then walk back when faced with public criticism.

Get Your Photos Looking Better on Facebook

Facebook Compress Images – Appear Smaller in Size

If one tends to use Facebook, they would possibly upload an image at some point of time and though Facebook is good for sharing, it is also inclined to use some pretty callous compression which seems to make your images appear like crap. Having a large source of photos on the Web, it is not amazing that Facebook tends to hire heavy compression to its 250 billion images they have a tendency to store. Facebook is enormous and millions of images tend to get uploaded to Facebook daily which could be a great amount of data for them store.

Hence, in order to lighten the burden, Facebook is inclined to compress these images which make them appear smaller in size but it could also ruin the quality of the image. Usually when an image tends to pass around the internet, downloaded or re-uploaded and shared to a group of different services, it could turn out to be offensive. Facebook is said to mechanically resize image that are uploaded to the site though one can change it in the settings of their account. The user should be aware that uploading bigger image file would take up extra data and if one is on a metered plan, from your carrier, they need to keep a tab on their monthly outgoings.

Lossy Compression – Condense Size of File

The dominant photo file format, JPG, tends to utilise a form of `lossy’ compression, which means that it tosses out image data in order to condense the size of the file. If one has even toyed around with `Quality’ slider in Photoshop one would possible comprehend the compromise in the size of the file as well as image fidelity.

The revealing signs of JPG compression are `Blocky’ looking segments of an image, especially around edge detail or rise in colour. The compression is mainly obvious when a graphic is said to have hard edges like white type against a classified background. When one saves a JPG you should resave a JPG (when Facebook tends to convert your image on their server, and these compression artifacts seem to be more prominent. Uploading images over Wi-Fi connection tends to be faster and cheaper unless the user is on a slow network together with a data allowance. If the user has been using the Facebook app on Android phone, he could go to your news feed page and tap on the `More’ button which seems like three horizontal lines, towards the top of the screen.

You could scroll down on the list of icons to Help & Settings area and opt for App Settings, tap the button next to Upload HD Photos. Utilising the iPhone version of Facebook app, you could tap the three-lined `More’ button at the bottom of the screen, tap Settings and opt for Account Settings in the menu which tends to pop up. In the category list in Settings, tap Videos and Photos.

On the next screen which appears, go under `Photo Settings’ and turn on the button near `Upload HD’. In order to have your photos looking their best, the Help Centre at the site recommend to size them to widths of 720 pixels, 960 pixels or 2,048 pixels along with HD Photos setting support. With the HD Photo setting activated, some bigger images will not appear in full resolution since Facebook tends to have a maximum width of 2,048 pixels for normal pictures.

Seven Amazing Facebook 'Secrets' You Probably Didn't Know About

We all tend to use Facebook in order to get connected and be in contact with our friends, acquaintances and relatives who could be at any location of the world. Some of the features may tend to impose on us. Most of us may not be aware of some of the awesome features which have not drawn much of our attention. There are a few hints, tricks and tips which several users are unaware of Facebook though it has been around for over a decade. Facebook which is a social media behemoth, tends to have more than 1.44 billion active users per month where American seem to spend about 40 minutes daily on it which accounts for almost 20% of overall time online. However in spite of all the usage, there seems to be several features which the user may not realize Facebook tends to have. Here one can get some insight from the Facebook inbox right to getting a preview into the lives of strangers across the world:

1. See all who have rejected your request

If the user wants to know who have rejected their friend requests on Facebook there is a method in doing so. Devoted users of the social network for several years would have come across one or two rejections in creating a friend list which could comprise of ex-primary school mates, work colleagues as well as distant relatives. The process tends to take less than 60 seconds which can be done by opening Facebook, in the browser and not the app. Then you could click on the friend request tab and select `view all’ in the drop down menu and finally click on `view sent requests’.

2. Connect with strangers around the world 

You may have come across excess of Facebook Live videos coming into your New Feed during the past months though there is another lesser-known live streaming feature on the site. On clicking the icon on Live Video below the App section on the left-hand navigation bar the user has the capability of accessing people’s feed that tend to record clips all over the world.
3. Access your `other’ box

When Facebook considers that something could be possibly a spam, it tends to diverts it to your Message Request inbox where it could remain endlessly. You could view these messages by opening up Facebook Messenger on your phone and click the `Me’ section towards the bottom right of the screen and go to the `People’ section. Select `Message Requests’ and hit the link `See filtered messages’.

4. Play the secret football game 

Facebook had launched an addictive football game, at the beginning of June in order to celebrate the summer of Soccer as Euro 2016 had started. To play the football game, you could update your Messenger version and send a football emoji to any of your friends. On tapping the emoji once it is sent, you could start playing
football.

5. View all photos your friends have liked on Facebook 

A Simple way of viewing every photo you have liked on Facebook and the photos your friends, family and many other have liked is by heading to the tool bar towards the top the Facebook profile and explore `Photos liked by me’. If you wish to view all the photos your friends have liked then you could type in `Photos liked by, followed by the name of the person. You could also filter the images according to the year, place and who they had been posted by. Besides these you could also look out for posts which could have been hashtagged in Facebook by just adding the tagged word towards the end of the web address for instance https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/. You would get various results on typing post with hashtag `clarkson’ in the search box of Facebook. It could be worth attempting it.

6. Play Chess 

You could also play chess by utilising Facebook Messenger. On opening a conversation with an individual you intend to play with, just type `@fbchess play’. Then a board tends to appear and your opponent is invited to make the first move. You could select a piece by using K for king, Q for queen, B for bishop, N for knight, R for rook and P for pawn.

7. Remotely log out of Facebook

If the user tends to remain logged on to Facebook on a public computer, through oversight, you could log out from another location by going to Setting-Security to where you’re Logged In and hit `end activity ‘in order to log out.

Conclusion 

Facebook had been created in order to help viewers to get connected with their colleagues, friends, family and relatives and many others. The fact is that it is even better when one tends to get connected with them on their own terms.

Facebook is bringing 360-degree photos to the News Feed

Facebook’s 360 Degree Photos to News Feed

Facebook has informed that in the coming weeks, it will let you upload and view 360 degree photos on mobile and the web. Facebook has progressively made VR an essential part of its platform and hence this announcement is not much of a surprise of 360 degree photos coming to your News feed. The feature would function identical to a 360 degree video wherein one will be able to click and drag to discover the environment on desktop or move your smartphone around as if its screen were a viewfinder.

The feature is said to be a part of a great mission to frame Facebook as a means of exploring faraway places. Moreover it is also tied directly to Facebook-owned Oculus VR’s push for more live-action photography and video you can experience with the Gear VR and Rift headsets.

With both the device you will also be capable of viewing 360 degree photos that are shared on the social network. Since September of last year, 360 degree video had been available on Facebook and it will still be quite a while before users as well as creators hold the new format in large numbers. Facebook is presently making its platform friendlier to photos that can be shot with smartphone rather than an expensive video rig.

VR – An Integral Part of Platform

We may see a firm uptick in professional grade as well as consumer shot 360 degree content.Update would enable you to upload scenes that have been captured with native smartphone cameras, 360 degree photospheres made with third party apps or photos shot utilising a dedicated 360 degree rig. Facebook has increasingly made VR an integral part of its platform, so today’s announcement isn’t a huge surprise: 360 degree photos are coming to your news feed.

Facebook needs to urge users to create many photos and videos as possible so that it made a camera of its own. At the time of its annual F8 developers’ conference, it had announced a reference design for a new 17 camera array known as Facebook Surround 360. The company expects that the third party manufacturer would develop their own 360 degree cameras utilising the blueprints since at the end of the day, the more photos and videos which make their way to Facebook, the more time users would spend engrossed in social network.

Landscapes Captured on Phone – Better Viewing Experience

Three years ago, Google had first attempted to promote360 degree images with the introduction of Photospheres, but they never caught on much since they were difficult to share. Anticipate that to begin changing now that Facebook tends to support the format. There is no information regarding the release date, though Facebook states that 360 degree photos would be available on mobile and the Web in the coming weeks.

 The landscapes captured on the phone would ultimately provide a better viewing experience both on News Feed and the Oculus powered Samsung Gear VR. For the first time, Facebook would also be releasing Gear VR usage stats, stating that Gear VR tends to have 1 million monthly users and those who seem to use it spend around 25 minutes each day on the device which would encourage developers in building the platform.

Facebook Pays $10,000 to 10-year-old Instagram Hacker

Youngest Recipient of Facebook’s `Bug Bounty’

A 10-year old Finnish boy has been rewarded a sum of $10,000 by social media giant Facebook for locating a malfunction in its picture sharing app Instagram. The last name of Jani has not been revealed for privacy reason who is the youngest ever recipient of Facebook’s `bug bounty’ paid to users who tend to find bugs or flaws in its platforms. Jani had informed Finland’s Iltalehti newspaper that he wanted to see if Instagram’s comment field could stand malicious code and it turned out that it could not.

Facebook stated that the malfunction had been fixed in February and the reward had been paid in March. Jani who is yet too young to have a Facebook or Instagram account of his own, informed that he learned coding from Youtube videos and identified a way to delete user comments from Instagram accounts. He informed Iltalehti that he could have deleted anybody’s comment from there. He stated that he was thinking about a career in data security though for the moment his plans comprise of buying a new bike and a football with the reward money.

Not Unusual for Teenagers to Submit Reports to Program

Since 2011, Facebook has been running its `bug bounty program, which had been rewarding hackers when they report problems of tech and security. Since its launch, Facebook’s bug bounty had awarded over $4.3 million to more than 800 researchers across the world where the program tends to determine the pay-out based on the risk of the bug instead of how complex it could be. In 2015 alone, 210 researchers had received $936,000 with an average pay-out of $1,780.

A Facebook spokesperson informed CNNMoney that it is not unusual for teenagers to submit reports to the program. Several tech companies tend to offer similar programs to hackers who seem to report cyber-security susceptibilities. Uber had recently started offering $10,000 rewards for every critical problem which were identified by the hackers. AT&T payments range from $100 to $5,000, while Google tends to pay between $100 to $20,000.The Finnish boy has become the youngest recipient of cash from Facebook for hacking its products.

Created Test Instagram Account

The earlier record had been set by a 13 year old way back in 2013 which means that his latest young hacker is the first person to crash a Facebook product which are not technically even able to utilise considering that it is supposed to be limited to below 13s. The company had informed Forbes that while poking around where he should not have been, Jani found that he could change code on Instagram’s server and force deletes the posts of users.

This had been confirmed by Facebook utilising a test account and had patched it in February. It is not clear how Jani had identified the vulnerability. Iltalehti had reported that Jani together with his brother had a habit of watching videos regarding computer security on YouTube. The bug was a problem with Instagram’s application program interface of API, on how the app tends to communicate with the server.


If one has to erase a remark from Instagram, the API seems to check that you have the authority to delete the comment. After Jani had informed Facebook regarding the problem, the company had created a test Instagram account and had posted a comment. Facebook had then asked him to go ahead and delete the comment.

Facebook Developing Camera App Similar to Snapchat

Facebook to come up with Stand-Alone Camera App

According to online source report, quoting people familiar with the matter, Facebook is coming up with a stand-alone camera app which will be like the disappearing photo app Snapchat, to upsurge user engagement and will encourage its 1.6 billion users to create and share photos and videos.The app which is being developed by the friend-sharing team of Facebook in London is said to be in its initial stage and may not come to completion, as per the report.

 Moreover, the newspaper has reported that the company is also said to be scheduling a feature which would enable user to record video through the app to start live streaming. The same had caused apprehension within Facebook, over increasingly passive behaviour on the social network of the user. Several of the users tend to check Facebook often or multiple times a day though few tend to share photos, video and update of status regarding their own lives.

Withdrawing the trend seems to be a growing priority within the company. Facebook spokeswoman had refrained from commenting on the product plans. She had mentioned that the overall level of sharing on Facebook had been strong and alike to levels in prior years. People familiar with the matter had stated that the camera-first format is focused in motivating users to create photos and videos.

Open to Personalized Feed/Articles

The flagship mobile app, in comparison, tends to open to a personalized feed or articles, status, updates and ads, which encourages users to use content, though not necessarily create it. The approach also tends to differ from Instagram image-sharing network of Facebook that had gained reputation as a place to post the best, most well-photographed pictures.

 Instagram tends to compel users to go through numerous steps before posting an image, inclusive of filters and it is not the first time that Facebook has built an app encouraging sharing. It had launched Slingshot, in June 2014, a Snapchat like app which enabled users to trade photos and videos, which disappeared after 24 hours.

It had earlier launched a photo-editing as well as sharing app known as Camera and none gained much traction among users which was later on dropped. The latest app would have a bit different features like the live-streaming mode. In the past year, the decline in sharing on Facebook has developed as a problem.

New Feature - `On This Day’

Technology news website – The Information had reported earlier this month that the original broadcast sharing on Facebook had dropped by 21% as of mid-2015 when compared with the earlier year.During the first quarter of 2016, 33% of Facebook users surveyed by market researcher GlobalWebIndex had informed that they had updated their profile status in the past month and 37% stated that they had uploaded or shared their own photos.

A year back, 44% had informed that they had updated their profile status in the past month and 46% stated that they had uploaded or shared their photos. The camera app just seems to be one way that Facebook intends tackling the issue.

 Facebook has also tried to re-engage users with a new feature known as `On This Day’ that permits users relive and share past posts. According to GlobalWebIndes, this together with similar features could have prompted more users to `like’ Facebook post. It also said that that in the first quarter of 2016, 82% of Facebook users had clicked `like’ at least once in the previous month up from 73% at the same period, a year earlier.

FaceBook new Chatbots

Facebook to Create `Chatbots’

Recently Facebook Inc. had informed that it has opened up its Messenger app to developers in order to create `chatbots’ anticipating that by feigning one-on-one conversations between users and companies, it would tend to expand towards customer service and enterprise transactions.

Chatbots are considered to be automated programs which tend to help users in communicating with businesses, carrying out jobs like online purchases. Though chatbots had prevailed in some form for years, they have now become an interesting subject in the tech business since progress in artificial intelligence as well as machine learning have made them much more capable and possibly able to adopt an important role in the manner in which customers tend to communicate with businesses.

 Facebook had launched chatbots with a handful of partners comprising of Shopify which is an ecommerce site and cable TV news network CNN. The chatbots are said to be part of Facebook’s attempt in building its Messenger instant messaging app as go-to-place for customers in contacting businesses. It is a strategy which tends to threaten the out-dated call centres and could cut personnel cost for some of the businesses.

Controls a Huge Trove of Data

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook had commented during the annual developer conference of the company in San Francisco that `you will never have to call 1.800 Flowers again’. Facebook is seen having many distinct benefits even though messaging platforms comprising of Kik, slack and Telegram already tend to have chatbots.

Facebook for one tends to control a huge trove of data on the estimated 1.6 billion people who utilise the main service and the 900 million who tend to use Messenger. This enables developers to create chatbots which can personalize jobs like making an airline booking or a reservation in a restaurant. Lauren Kunze, principal at Pandorabots, which has been constructing and organizing chatbots for companies since 2002, had stated that `from the enterprise or developer point of view, access to those 1.6 billion people seems very exciting. People like a personalized experience and when the chatbot can remember personal details as well as follow up’.For instance, CNN’s bot can learn user’s news preferences, and accordingly recommend articles and summaries.

Progressively Adding Features to Messenger

Last month, after an experimental Microsoft Corp bot, named Tay had released a barrage of racist and sexist tweets on being manipulated by Twitter users, tech companies will have to approach chatbots more carefully. The company had instantly pulled Tay from the Internet. Facebook has been progressively adding features to Messenger since it turned off as a separate app in 2014 and last year it had partnered with Uber and Lyft so that individuals could order a car without the need of going through the ride sharing app. Besides this it had also partnered recently with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in order that customers could receive flight updates as well as booking confirmation through Messenger.

Chatbots could thus automate such interactions eliminating customer service calls. Chris Fohlin, director of client strategy at consulting agency Engine Digital had commented that its `offloading the pain of navigating those phone systems’.Making Messenger the go-to-place for business-to-person interaction, Facebook expects that people would spend more time in using the app and depend on it for day-to-day tasks.