Facebook adds support for 360-degree photos and HD videos for Messenger

Facebook is in hot water right now but it’s trying to make sure the wheels keep turning. A new update for its messaging app Facebook Messenger brings a couple of nifty features. One is the ability to send 360-degree/panorama photos through the app. You send it the same way you would regular photos but this time your recipient will see a compass icon next to it to let them know it’s a 360-degree or panoramic photo. The photos can be viewed both on mobile and on Messenger.com

Another is being able to send 720p HD videos on the service. You would think this should’ve been available before but it hasn’t been made available until now. And while 360-degree photo sharing is rolling out across the globe, we’re one of the few countries that get access to HD video sharing.

Source: Android Central

Elon Musk removes Facebook pages for Tesla and SpaceX after being challenged on Twitter

If Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has a social media manager (which we’re pretty confident he has one) for both companies, he/she/they have one less account to handle. Musk took down the Facebook pages for the aforementioned companies after being goaded on Twitter to delete the SpaceX page if he was “the man.” This started off after he responded to a tweet by Signal’s Brian Acton, the co-founder of now Facebook-owned WhatsApp, that contained the hashtag #deletefacebook. Musk replies, “What’s Facebook?” And thus, the challenge from some followers began. Musk claims he didn’t know the SpaceX page existed and that he will delete it. When asked about deleting the Tesla page, he responded “Definitely. Looks lame anyway.” On top of this, even Tesla-owned Solar City has lost its Facebook account. However, the Instagram pages for SpaceX and Tesla are still around. We don’t know yet if Musk plans to delete the accounts from this Facebook-owned company, too.

These provocations come after it was revealed over the weekend that consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which worked on President Donald Trump’s election campaign, had improperly acquired the data of 50 million Facebook users. The backlash over the news has its users calling out the social network’s disregard for its user’s privacy and US government officials asking for an explanation. 

Source: The Verge

Facebook Messenger adds admin privileges and joinable links

Facebook Messenger is helping users gain more control over group chats with new features the social network is introducing. One is the introduction of admin privileges into group chats. An administrator of a group chat will be able to do things like approve or remove members from group chats as well as promote or demote any person in a group chat into an admin. This is particularly useful for big groups where you’d want to moderate who joins the chat. Another new feature that is coming to Facebook Messenger will make it easier to add users to group chats. There will now be custom invite links that you can send out to someone if you want them to join your chat group. Those who click on the link will be added automatically, unless admin approval is needed.

WhatsApp co-founder urges users to delete Facebook

Facebook might own WhatsApp now but it seems one of its co-founders isn’t happy with how the social network is doing business now. Brian Acton, one of the messaging service’s co-founders, took to Twitter with the words, “It is time. #deletefacebook.” And while we don’t know the motivations for his tweet. It seems to be a big concern as it is only one of five tweets Acton has posted in the last eight years. The tweet does come at a time when Facebook is under fire for alleged misuse of 50 million users’ private data by data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, which has reportedly mass harvested data from the social network. Reports suggest this might have influenced the 2016 US Presidential election and UK Brexit vote.

Acton has invested US$50 million last month to the Signal Foundation to help keep encrypted messaging service Signal running. And while this can be seen as a direct competitor to WhatsApp, Acton hasn’t said anything about dropping the messaging service. 

Source: Android Authority