Facebook

Facebook disabling messaging in main mobile app, forcing users into Messenger

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

It appears that folks using Facebook's Messenger service will soon have to download the standalone app, or look at other messaging options. Over the next few days, the social network is going to disable messaging from its main iPhone and Android apps.

The move is an attempt to push users over to Facebook Messenger, which the company says will have several benefits. For one it will enable it to streamline the mobile chat experience, and two, Facebook says users respond faster when using Messenger...

Instagram prematurely leaks its Snapchat rival

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

Facebook-owned Instagram may have unintentionally (or intentionally, perhaps?) leaked an image advertising its rumored Snapchat competitor, indicating the official launch could as well be around the corner. A banner for an app called Bolt was spotted by several online users in Instagram's Android app.

Tapping the banner would yield a dead end in the Google Play Store. Although the banner went away a few minutes later, people have already screenshoted it and the image is now making rounds on Twitter and other social media channels online...

Facebook rolling out new ‘Save’ read-it-later feature

Cody Lee ∙ July 21, 2014

Facebook today announced a new feature that will allow users to save interesting items on the social network for later viewing. Users will have the ability to save things like links, places, recipes and media, and go back and view them at a later time.

Similar to apps like Pocket or Instapaper, Facebook's new Save feature allows users to consume content on their own time, making them less likely to skip over it. It also helps filter out annoying posts like quizzes, mobile game invites, and other fluff...

Facebook releases Mentions, new iPhone app you probably can’t use

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 28, 2017

The social networking behemoth, Facebook, today launched a brand new iPhone application: Mentions.

Although you can download it - the app is currently rolling out to the U.S. App Store as we speak - chances are you probably won't be able to use it.

That is, unless you're a verified public figure such as an actor, athlete, musician or other influencer, in which case Mentions is right for you.

In a nutshell, Mentions allows celebrities to see what fans are saying, engage in conversations with people and influencers who are talking about them, tell their own story by sharing updates, photos and videos - and even host live Q&As directly from their iPhone...

Facebook Messenger now available for iPad

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

In addition to a Pages Manager update with new commenting and posting features, Facebook Messenger has quietly gained long-awaited universal support for the iPad in an update this morning. Facebook users can now take advantage of the larger screen to chat with family and friends, with access to all of the same features that are available through the iPhone and iPod touch version…

Facebook updates Pages Manager with new commenting and posting features

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 3, 2014

Nearly two weeks after giving its Pages Manager app for the iPhone and iPad a much-needed iOS 7 overhaul, the social networking giant Facebook last night issued another update adding a couple new capabilities for page admins.

The latest Facebook Pages Manager 4.1 update expands on the app's feature set with photos and tagged Pages in comments, direct sharing from your Page, location in your posts and more...

Your Instagram photos aren’t where they used to be

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 27, 2014

Facebook-owned Instagram, which in March surpassed 200 million active users and 20 billion photos, used to store user-shared snaps and videos on Amazon's EC2 cloud computing service since 2010, but not anymore.

It's now come to light that the social networking behemoth back in Spring stealthily moved all your photos from Amazon into its own data center, and no one even noticed.

They even coined a term for it: Instagration...

Facebook’s Snapchat lookalike Slingshot now available worldwide

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

After launching in the United States last week, Facebook's new Snapchat competitor Slingshot is now available for international users. I can confirm that the app is available in the Canadian version of the App Store, and it appears to be available in most other countries as well. If you haven't downloaded Slingshot yet, the app is free on the App Store for iPhone…

Facebook revamps Pages Manager with iOS 7 styling, adds post editing and other refinements

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2014

Following up on last week's release of its would-be Snapchat killer, Slingshot, and building on notable updates to Paper, Messenger and its main iOS client, the social networking behemoth Facebook today gave its neglected Pages Manager some love.

Now live in the App Store, the new Facebook Pages Manager 4.0 has a streamlined new look and a brand new app icon which feels at home in iOS 7.0 while offering several improvements such as the addition of post editing, better Page's activity and insights, replies with threaded comments and more...

Facebook launches Slingshot, its would-be Snapchat killer

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 12, 2018

The social networking giant Facebook could be poised to take a significant chunk of the ephemeral messaging market with the formal release of Slingshot, its new and long-rumored iPhone application that just surfaced on the App Store after briefly appearing yesterday.

The free download offers features you'd normally associate with Snapchat, which has popularized the trend of so-called disappear apps where message and media exchanges between participants get automatically deleted after a predetermined period of time...

Facebook updates Paper with mentions, hashtags, profile editing, better photo viewer and much more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Facebook has just pushed a massive update to its Paper for iPhone app, bringing out a host of much-needed features, starting with the ability to edit your profile picture and cover photo.

The free application now allows you to view photo tags, too, and use mentions to tag friends and let them know about the story. You can explore hashtags to see all the related posts, tilt the phone to explore every detail of the photo, tap-and-hold text to copy it from a post you're reading, change your audience after you post and more...

Facebook’s iPad app gains new sidebar solely dedicated to entertainment and games

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 16, 2014

Facebook on Monday pushed an update to its iPad client to put more entertainment (and ads) into your hands.

Realizing that seven out of each ten people who use Facebook for iPad played a Facebook-connected game in the past 90 days, Mark Zuckerberg & Co. are now testing a new sidebar within the iPad app, specifically created for entertainment content and game discovery.

The iPad-exclusive section provides game trailers and in-game footage, as well as Trending videos/news articles, social notifications for native Facebook games, as well as those offered on the web, and much more.

Note that this experiment is currently limited to Facebook's iPad users in the United States and there's no word when it could launch globally. Additional tidbits can be found right after the break...