Facebook Video gets big changes, but they aren't all good
While YouTube is probably the biggest destination for online video, more and more people are sharing videos on Facebook nowadays too. In fact, with the introduction of Facebook Live, many users have also streamed themselves live on the social network. For example, "Chewbacca Mom" went viral with her Facebook video last year.
Today, Facebook announces that it is enhancing the video-watching experience on its platform, thanks to several new features. The social network is improving the way vertical videos look on mobile, but that is no excuse to shoot them this way, folks -- landscape is still the best way to record! Facebook is even enabling a special picture-in-picture mode so you can simultaneously watch a video while scrolling through your feed. Amazingly, that is not all.
WhatsApp adds two-step verification -- here's how to enable it
It has been a little while coming, but WhatsApp is finally rolling out support for two-step verification to its messaging app.
The extra layer of security means that it is now more difficult to gain unauthorized access to an account, and it is a feature that is being made available to iOS, Android and Windows users. With the feature enabled, if you -- or anyone else, for that matter -- tries to verify your phone number on WhatsApp, you -- or they -- will have to provide the 6-digit passcode you create.
Forget prayers, thoughts and sad faces; Facebook Community Help lets you actually help those in crisis
When there is an emergency somewhere in the world -- be it a natural disaster, terrorist attack or humanitarian crisis -- it has become normal to see Facebook's Safety Check feature kick in. As well as letting those affected by the crisis in question let their loved ones know that they are OK, Safety Check activations also result in a flood of thoughts, prayers and sad-faced emoji being sent by Facebookers.
But what about sending actual help? Sending thoughts and prayers is something of an empty gesture, whereas offering shelter, food and other supplies could actually help to save lives. Facebook has now expanded its Safety Check tool to include Community Help, enabling helpful souls to lend support in times of need.
Facebook rolls out creepy Discover People feature on mobile, suggesting you make friends with strangers
If you're using the Facebook app on your phone, you might notice the appearance of a new Discover People section. As you would probably guess this is a feature designed to connect you with people on the social network, but there's something of a creepy twist.
Unlike the current "People you may know" section which suggests that you might like to become friends with people because you have a common acquaintance, the experimental Discover People adopts a different approach. It suggests that you become friends with complete strangers.
Facebook ordered to pay $500 million to ZeniMax in Oculus Rift lawsuit
Facebook-owned Oculus must pay half a billion dollars to game company ZeniMax after a Texas jury deliberated in a case about the Oculus Rift headset. The jury found that Oculus co-founder, Palmer Luckey, failed to comply with a non-disclosure agreement.
Although now facing a $500 million bill, not everything in the case went against Facebook. Oculus was found not to have stolen trade secrets from ZeniMax, and the company plans to appeal against the charges for which it was found guilty.
Facebook launches new open source account recovery tool: Delegated Recovery
At the USENIX Enigma conference, Facebook unveiled a new way to overcome the problem of forgotten passwords. Known as Delegated Recovery, the mechanism essentially allows two online services a user has accounts with to be used as a form of two-factor authentication.
Delegated Recovery is something of a new take on 2FA, building on Facebook's previously announced support for U2F Security Keys. The problem with password recovery via email or SMS, is that it's easy for the recovery medium to be compromised, and security questions are easily guessed. Delegated Recovery takes a new approach, and it's being trialed on GitHub.
Facebook fights fake news with a trio of tweaks to trending topics
The problem of fake news has been around for a little while -- particularly on Facebook -- but it's something that has been thrown into the spotlight thanks to President Trump and his continuing complaints about the media, in particular about the size of his inauguration crowds.
Facebook is one of many technology companies to announce plans to tackle fake news, and now the social network has unveiled its latest round of fakery fighting. Three major changes are coming to Trending topics: firstly, Facebook will no longer personalize news for individual users; secondly headlines and sources will be listed alongside topic headings to help give context; finally the trending algorithm is being updated.
Here, FIDO! Facebook adds security key protection
Hackers are always keen to get their hands on people's social media accounts, so adding two-factor security is a good way of keeping your login details secure if someone tries to access your account on another device.
Facebook has offered verification by SMS message or mobile app for a while but it's now going a step further by making the FIDO U2F (universal 2nd factor authentication) security key available as part of its login process.
Facebook makes its privacy settings much clearer
Facebook has made lots of changes to its privacy settings over the years, usually in a bid to make them simpler to understand and use, yet many people just stick with the defaults.
Facebook’s new Privacy Basics aims to make it much easier for people to find the tools they need to control their information on the social network.
Facebook rolls out Messenger interface for web inbox
Facebook has started to roll out the Messenger.com interface as a replacement for the longstanding message inbox on the web. The latest design should feel much more familiar to folks who use the chat service on their smartphones, as it closely resembles the Android and iOS apps.
There is no official announcement yet, but you should start seeing the new interface soon on your account. It debuted nearly two years ago as a standalone website and alternative to the message inbox for folks who do not want to visit Facebook (or wish to create an account with the social network, for that matter).
YouTube gets in-app messaging and direct video sharing
Google is adding a new social component to YouTube, rolling out in-app messaging and direct video sharing on Android and iOS. The new features are available only in Canada at the time of writing this article, but Google says that they will be (eventually) released worldwide.
Why is Google introducing those features? Simple. In today's landscape, it is no longer enough to let users watch videos and reply back and forth in the comments section. If you look at Facebook, it is also super easy for users to connect after having a conversation, which then lets them privately share content, among other things. The result? They spend more time using the service.
BBC wants to tackle fake news with Reality Check team
Fake news has become a serious problem recently, with Facebook blamed for helping the spread of stories that are factually incorrect. The social network has already announced that it wants to take steps to tackle the problem, and now the BBC is joining the fight.
The BBC already has a series known as Reality Check, and the plan is to expand this into a permanent feature that will be used to fact-check stories that appear on Facebook and other social media.
How to protect yourself from the WhatsApp 'backdoor'
Earlier today we reported about a security problem in WhatsApp that means it is possible for messages to be intercepted and read by others. The so-called 'backdoor' takes advantage of the fact that WhatsApp's implementation of end-to-end encryption makes it possible to resend encrypted messages using different security keys, allowing for third parties to read them.
What is concerning many people is the fact that (by default, at least) WhatsApp does not alert users when a message is resent using a different key -- which would be a warning of something going on. Here's what you need to do to ensure you are told when the key changes.
'Backdoor' in WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption leaves messages open to interception [Updated]
Facebook has long-claimed that its WhatsApp messaging service is completely secure and messages cannot be intercepted thanks to its use of end-to-end encryption. But researchers have unearthed what they call a serious security flaw that makes it possible to read encrypted messages.
Based on Open Whisper Systems' Signal Protocol, the unique security keys used to implement end-to-end encryption should keep messages secure. But WhatsApp can force offline users to generate new keys and this could allow Facebook -- and third parties -- to read messages.
Now it's easy to secretly edit Facebook posts without anyone noticing
There is a lot of talk about the possibility of editing tweets on Twitter at the moment, but an editing function has been available on Facebook for ages. With the ability to edit posts that people can comment on come concerns, and with this in mind Facebook has always let you know when a post you're reading has been amended. Until now...
Without warning, the label which advised of edits has vanished. This means that it is now possible to make surreptitious changes to posts and many people will be completely unaware of what you have done.
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