Facebook is revamping user profiles, removing political views, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and more
In the world of social media, most of the attention is -- understandably -- focused on what's happening at Twitter, but there are changes afoot at Facebook too.
Starting at the beginning of December, some information fields are being removed from user profiles. The fields in question are Religious Views, Political Views, Address, and Interested In, with the latter being the field used to indicate sexual orientation.
Mark Zuckerberg lays off 13% of Meta's workforce (11,000 employees), this is the email he sent
We’ve known for a while that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and champion of the metaverse, was planning to significantly reduce the size of its workforce and today Mark Zuckerberg sent out an email confirming this to all Meta employees.
In the message he details the layoffs, explaining how the company got to this point, how it will work, other changes Meta will be making, and how the company will move forward. You can read the full email below:
Get 'Social Media Marketing For Dummies, 4th Edition' ($16 value) FREE for a limited time
Social media technology is restlessly inventive, providing thousands of awesome ways for you to market your business inexpensively and on a large scale -- often directly into the pockets of consumers. But in the proliferating, ever-changing world of tweets, influencers, handles, and alerts, it can be hard to know where to begin and then to evaluate what’s actually working for you.
In the new edition of Social Media Marketing for Dummies, leading SMM voices Shiv Singh and Stephanie Diamond clear away the confusion and show you the smartest, most effective ways to plan, launch, manage, and assess your campaigns -- and then iterate and optimize for increased success.
WhatsApp introduces privacy-protecting option to hide online status
Like all messaging apps and services, WhatsApp has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. For many people, the end-to-end encryption the app offers is a major draw, although being owned by Meta requires some users to hold their noses while they use it.
But among the great things about WhatsApp are the speed at which its developers work, and their willingness to listen to -- and act upon -- user feedback. And it is user demand for greater privacy options that has driven the addition of online status control for beta users.
This is the redesign WhatsApp desperately needs
WhatsApp is a great messaging tool, and one that I use daily, both for individual and group chats. Meta has added new features to it over time, with yet more welcome additions on the way, but it’s long overdue a full redesign.
If you’ve ever wondered what kind of makeover the service could benefit from, we have the answer for you right here.
Was your Facebook feed flooded with celebrity spam today? Mine too
When I checked Facebook this morning, I was greeted by loads of posts to WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen. I don’t follow Elizabeth Olsen on Facebook and, for the most part, I have no interest in what other people are saying to her on the social network (I expect she is similarly disinterested in the messages she gets via the platform, if the sample I saw is anything to go by).
I knew I hadn’t been hacked, but it was still a very weird sight. I wasn’t alone here, as my colleague Sofia reported the same issue. It turns out, this was a problem affecting a huge number of users which saw celebrity fan pages and groups being boosted to the top of Home feeds around the world.
WhatsApp is gaining some great new privacy features including screenshot blocking
WhatsApp is not only one of the popular messaging apps out there, it is also one that is subject to some of the fastest development work. Existing features are constantly being tweaked, new options are being added all the time, and Mark Zuckerberg has just revealed three exciting new privacy-focused features.
In an announcement on his personal Facebook page, the CEO of Meta teased a trio of new features which will help to improve the privacy of group and one-on-one chats. The upcoming additions are part of a new global campaign from WhatsApp that focuses on and promotes privacy and security features.
Facebook is finally restoring the chronological feed
Facebook's love of algorithms has meant that there has been a highly polarizing focus on recommended content in users' feeds rather than posts from friends, family and pages of genuine interest. But this is changing.
In a move that will please millions of Facebook users who have become increasingly frustrated with the way recommended content is pushed into their feed, Mark Zuckerberg has announced that iOS and Android users are being treated to feed split over two tabs. While one of these will remain populated with content surfaced by Facebook's "discovery engine", the other is a chronological feed of content from friends, groups and Pages.
Tech companies say they will help employees with travel expenses for abortions following the overturning of Roe v Wade
The US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade, ruling that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the United States. With more than half of states either implementing an immediate ban on abortions or intending to do so as soon as possible, there are serious concerns about women's health care. Large-scale protests continue across the country, but particularly in Washington DC.
While unable to help the majority of those affected by the ruling, many of the major technology companies have detailed the support they offer employees seeking abortion services. Among those to offer helps such as the reimbursement of travel expenses are Microsoft, Meta and Apple.
Meta has a new way for you to waste money -- buying virtual designer clothes in Avatars Store for Facebook, Instagram and Messenger
For people with less sense than money, there are NFTs to waste hard-earned cash on. But Meta is introducing a new way to part fools from their money -- Avatars Store.
These will be available for Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, and will give users the opportunity to buy digital clothes with which to adorn their avatar. Attempting to justify the selling of more digital fluff, Mark Zuckerberg insists that "digital goods will be an important way to express yourself in the metaverse and a big driver of the creative economy".
Researchers uncover cybercriminal stronghold targeting Facebook users
The Facebook Messenger 'Is That You?' video phishing scam has been around since 2017, but a recent investigation into it by researchers at Cybernews has led to the discovery of what they're calling a 'cybercriminal stronghold'.
Threat actors are using this to infect the social network with thousands of malicious links each day. The research has also identified at least five suspects, thought to be residing in the Dominican Republic.
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Spy
How do you know if you're being targeted by an agent of a foreign power? It used to be easy, as soon as he ordered red wine with his fish* you knew he wasn't the right sort of chap.
Nowadays when nation states are more likely to befriend you on social media in order to try to steal sensitive data you can no longer rely on the wine list to help you spot a bad guy.
Why real-time experiences will make or break the metaverse
The metaverse is the latest battlefield for tech giants vying for business and consumer attention. Although the phrase has only fairly recently entered the public vernacular, when Facebook rebranded its parent company as Meta, it was actually coined in 1992 by author Neal Stephenson in 'Snowcrash'. In many ways its rise in popularity marks the 'coming of age' of virtual and augmented reality to date.
To make these new virtual worlds a success will require a truly real-time digital experience. Without this, our virtual experiences are unlikely to be lifelike and nor will they be "better" than real life. But in order to make this real-time digital experience in the metaverse a reality, organizations will need a raft of technical capabilities. This is a significant challenge for tech behemoths today, let alone in the metaverse future. So, what is needed to ensure the metaverse is a long-term success rather than a passing fad?
Meta is clamping down on irritating 'watchbait' videos on Facebook
The idea of clickbait is nothing new. Sensational headlines have been used since the early days of the press to draw in users, and it is something that has continued into the internet age. But there is also a related problem that blights social media platforms such as Facebook: watchbait.
The idea is much the same as a clickbait headline; videos are given misleading, overblown headlines and descriptions that often omit key details in a bid to get people to watch to the end. Now Meta has announced that it is taking action, including using an automatic detection system that will reduce the distribution reach of offending videos.
Facebook and Instagram will permit the promotion of violence against Russians and calls for the death of Putin
Meta has announced a temporary change in its hate speech policies, meaning that users in some countries will be allowed to post content that would otherwise have been banned. The change means that users of Facebook and Instagram will be able to promote violence against Russian soldiers, as well as call for the death of President Putin, without fear of censorship.
Posts that include violent speech such as "death to the Russian invaders" are to be permitted in numerous countries, but there is the matter of the context of the invasion of Ukraine to keep in mind. At the same time, the privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has surprised many by announcing that it will downrate sites that publish Russian propaganda and disinformation.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.