You can share 15-second Spotify song clips on Facebook Stories

Spotify wants to help you share your music taste on Facebook with this new feature. You can now share 15-second clips of music from Spotify on your Facebook Stories. The streaming music service is gearing this towards musicians, claiming it's a "more powerful way to connect with fans." But anyone who has a Spotify and Facebook account can use it. If your followers tap on the preview, they will be transferred to Spotify where you can listen to the rest of the track. There's a similar feature available for Instagram.

To share the song on Facebook you just need to hit "Share" when listening to the track on Spotify. When the menu shows up, select Facebook and customize it the way you want before you post. It only works for single tracks right now. The preview for albums and playlists will not have the 15-second clip.

Source: Engadget

Facebook Messenger tests screen sharing

Here's one useful feature for Facebook Messenger that we hope gets released. The company's messaging app is trying out a way to share screens on its mobile app. App researcher Jane Manchun Wong discovered in the app's code that Facebook is developing a new functionality called Share Your Screen Together. 

It's accessible via a new icon at the bottom of your Audio/Video call screen. When you activate it, the user will be warned that it'll capture everything displayed on the screen. For Android users, you'll need to permit that app to do this. Unlike other apps, sharing your screen will turn off the camera. You won't see the picture-in-picture image of the person you're talking to when this feature is activated. We don't know yet if Facebook plans to release this feature to the public. 

Source: Android Police

Instagram's new Threads messaging app can send automatic updates to your close friends

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If you keep a Close Friends list on Instagram and are keen on trying a new messaging app, you might want to check out what Instagram is cooking up. The company is testing a new Threads app, which is designed to be a standalone companion messaging app for Instagram. It's a way to contact your Close Friends list and share things like location, speed, and battery life. If those features seem to be familiar to you, it's Facebook's latest attempt to copy many of Snapchat's most popular features. The app will let you send automatic updates to your entire list of friends. It also gives you access to Instagram's full suite of creative tools, which include text, photo, and video messaging.

Facebook abandoned in May its previous attempt to make a standalone messaging app for Instagram. But it looks like the company wants to give it another shot, especially since its CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes that the future of its company will revolve around private messaging.

Source: The Verge

Facebook takes out chat function in Facebook Groups

Facebook introduced direct messaging or chats within Facebook Groups last year. But now the company is taking out this feature. The chat function created within Facebook Groups will become unavailable starting August 22nd. The existing messages created there will become read-only. You can search for these threads within the Messenger app, but you will not be able to add anything else or anyone within these particular chat windows. Facebook says it's exploring new ways for group members to communicate in real-time. The shut-down, however, does not affect group messaging or group chats within the Messenger app.

Source: Facebook