F8
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Meta won't host its F8 developer conference this year
Meta won't hold an F8 conference in 2022 as it shifts its attention to the metaverse.
Jon Fingas04.06.2022
Facebook's F8 event will return, but online-only
Facebook is reviving F8 as a virtual-only Refresh event on June 2nd with a narrower focus and no Mark Zuckerberg keynote.
Jon Fingas03.23.2021
Facebook cancels all large events through June 2021
Mark Zuckerberg announced today that Facebook will cancel any large physical events with more than 50 people through June 2021.
Christine Fisher04.16.2020
Facebook cancels F8 developer conference over coronavirus concerns
Facebook is the latest tech company to cancel an event due to the coronavirus outbreak. The company's annual developer conference, F8, was scheduled for May 5th and 6th, but it's not going to happen this year. Facebook said that the "growing concerns around COVID-19" made it necessary to cancel the "in-person" component of F8, though the company is planning locally-hosted events and livestreamed content to try and make up for skipping the main part of the conference. Facebook is also donating $500,000 to an organization that promotes diversity in the tech industry -- most years, the company donates a portion of ticket sales, but with no in-person event it's just making a flat donation instead.
Nathan Ingraham02.27.2020
Facebook’s ‘privacy-focused’ plan is another diversion
When Mark Zuckerberg took the stage at F8 2019, he once again outlined the company's new "privacy-focused" vision. It's a message he's been spreading over the past few months, and it will focus on six key principles: encryption, interoperability, ephemerality, safety, secure data storage and private interactions. While Zuckerberg went all in on how Facebook-owned apps will soon work seamlessly together, and how private conversations will play a key role, he seemed unaware the new plan could create problems of its own.
Edgar Alvarez05.02.2019
Get ready for even more third-party AR filters on Instagram
Amidst announcements of a new Messenger, a new Facebook app and new VR headsets, the company snuck in a quieter, less flashier update: it's now allowing creators to make and publish their own AR effects and filters on Instagram. Right now, the only Instagram camera effects you see are made entirely in-house. Thanks to Facebook opening up its Spark AR Studio tool to Instagram, however, you might eventually see all kinds of AR effects made by, well, pretty much anyone.
Nicole Lee05.01.2019
Facebook has a three-part plan for making AI more 'inclusive'
Facebook kicked off the second day of F8 2019, its annual developers conference, with a keynote about the technologies it uses to combat abuse on its platform. As the company detailed last year, artificial intelligence is key to keeping its apps and services safe. Facebook says AI is now proactively taking down more than 99 percent of spam, fake accounts and terrorist propaganda, though it's still struggling with hate speech (51.6 percent) and harassment (14.9 percent). Another area where Facebook is looking to improve the technology is inclusivity. What that means, essentially, is that it wants to teach its machines to work the same for everyone, regardless of skin color or other physical attributes.
Edgar Alvarez05.01.2019
Facebook's 'the future is private' mantra doesn't exonerate it
On Tuesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage at F8 -- the company's annual developer conference -- and made the case for a pivot to a more privacy-focused social network. Core to this idea is a phrase that was displayed on the screen in large, bold letters: "The future is private." According to Zuckerberg, "personal" conversations make up the fastest areas of growth in online communication. "Privacy gives us the freedom to be ourselves," he said. "We need the intimacy more than ever. That's why I believe the future is private."
Nicole Lee05.01.2019
Watch Facebook's F8 2019 keynote in 13 minutes
Facebook's F8 developer conferences tend to be chock-full of news, and that's truer than ever for 2019. The company's opening keynote brought major changes to just about every corner of Facebook's universe, including a site redesign, a super-lightweight Messenger app, Instagram shopping and new features to find friends or hook up with your secret crush. And then there's the hardware -- Oculus finally committed to release dates for the Quest and Rift S, while Portal will be available beyond the US. It's a lot to handle, but you don't have to worry about wading through it all. We've rounded up the highlights of F8 in a video that will get you up to speed in short order.
Jon Fingas04.30.2019
All the important stuff from Facebook’s F8 keynote
Facebook hosted the opening keynote for its annual developer's conference today and announced several updates to its main social network as well as Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger. Privacy seems to be the name of the game this year, as Facebook tries to rehab its damaged reputation and regain the trust of its users. Only time will tell if Facebook made any progress today.
Amrita Khalid04.30.2019
Facebook Live and Amazon Prime Video are coming to Portal
Facebook has revealed a bunch of upcoming updates for its Portal devices. It's adding multiplayer augmented reality games and Instant Games this summer. You can play the likes of Words with Friends, Battleship and Yahtzee on the smart display. New AR effects will be available on Portal every month as well.
Kris Holt04.30.2019
Instagram is testing more tools to combat bullying
At the F8 conference today, Facebook announced it's working on more tools to stop and prevent bullying. The changes will include things like nudges -- if you make an aggressive comment, Instagram will warn you to tone it down a bit. The platform will also offer a new away mode, which users can opt into when they're going through a sensitive time -- possibly a breakup or a transition to a new school.
Christine Fisher04.30.2019
Facebook will let users chat across Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp
There were rumors that Facebook was going to make its messaging products interoperable, but now it appears they're about to be a reality. At F8, Messenger's head of consumer product Asha Sharma said that in the future, users will soon be able to send messages across Facebook's three different messaging platforms: Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. This interoperability is just one of many features of the new Messenger. All messages will also be end-to-end encrypted, which is part of Facebook's recent privacy-focused mantra. Sharma said that the inter-app messaging will work similar to how people make calls on phones today. You don't need to know if your friend is on Verizon or T-Mobile, you can just call them. It'll be the same on any of Facebook's messaging services -- just say you'll want to talk to your friend, and that message will get to him or her on whatever service they use. "We believe people should be able to talk to anyone anywhere," she said. It's unclear just yet when this will roll out to users. Zuckerberg said it could take quite some time, which might mean next year or later. Update 7:02pm ET: Changed expectation of roll out date.
Nicole Lee04.30.2019
Instagram lets you buy what Kim Kardashian wears right from the app
With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram sees a major opportunity to disrupt online shopping. And, over the past year or so, the company has been working hard to make shopping a cornerstone feature of its app. Just last month, it started allowing users buy products from a select group of brands without leaving the application, and now it's taking that one step further by opening up these features to celebrities, athletes and influencers. Starting next week, Instagram will make it easy for you to shop looks from your favorite creators: They'll now be able to tag products in their posts, giving you the ability to buy whatever they may be wearing (from apparel to cosmetics) directly from the app.
Edgar Alvarez04.30.2019
Instagram will start hiding 'Like' counts for users in Canada
As rumored, Instagram is indeed getting ready to roll out a test that hides "Like" counts from people looking at your pictures and videos. The company made the announcement at Facebook's F8 developers conference, where it revealed that it will start doing this with users in Canada next week. With the test, Instagram plans to remove the total number of likes from photos and videos on that show up on the main feed, profiles and permalinked pages.
Edgar Alvarez04.30.2019
Facebook Marketplace lets sellers ship items across the continental US
Facebook will soon let Marketplace sellers ship items anywhere in the continental US, while you'll be able to pay for purchases directly through the platform. As such, sellers who are happy to ship their goods will be able to cater to customers on the other side of the country. Buyers, meanwhile, should have access to a broader selection of items and perhaps some peace of mind through purchase protection for eligible items.
Kris Holt04.30.2019
Facebook’s Dating app wants to connect you with your secret crush
If you've ever wanted to let Facebook know who your romantic crush is -- and no, "poking" doesn't count -- soon you'll have the chance to do just that. Today, at its F8 2019 developers conference, the company announced Secret Crush, a new feature that will let you use Facebook Dating to express interest in someone from your friends on the site. Facebook says that users have told it they believe there's an opportunity to explore romances within their own extended circle of friends on Facebook, and that's how the idea for Secret Crush came to be.
Edgar Alvarez04.30.2019
Facebook helps you grow your social circle with ‘Meet New Friends’
Facebook is introducing a feature called "Meet New Friends" at F8 2019, its annual developers conference. The company says that Meet New Friends is designed to help users start friendships with others from their shared communities on Facebook, such as the city you live in, the school you go/went to or the place you work at. Since this may raise privacy concerns, which is the last thing the company needs right now, Facebook is quick to point out that Meet New Friends is an opt-in tool. That means you'll only come across other people who have turned the feature on, and the same goes for you populating on someone else's feed.
Edgar Alvarez04.30.2019
Facebook Messenger is getting faster, lighter and more secure in 2019
Facebook Messenger has undergone a lot of changes in the past few months. With Messenger 4, for example, it did away with clutter by going from nine tabs to four, and simplified the interface so it was easier to send a photo and start a video call. It also introduced dark mode, threaded replies, and a ten-minute unsend window. At F8 2019, Facebook's annual developer conference, the company announced there would be even more changes coming to Messenger in 2019. New features include a more lightweight app, a dedicated area for close friends and family, a "watch party" feature, a desktop app, and end-to-end encryption.
Nicole Lee04.30.2019
Watch Facebook's F8 keynote at 1PM ET
Facebook's annual F8 developer conference keynote is upon us at 1PM Eastern, and that means a lot of news whether or not you're a coder. This year, the company is not only outlining the future of social networking and technologies like VR -- it's likely addressing privacy questions in response to a string of scandals. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to watch such a definitive event. The company is livestreaming F8 through multiple channels, including its main F8 page and its Facebook page for developers. And if you're an Oculus device owner, you can even watch in VR through Venues. These events are seldom short, but they're worthwhile if you want to know where Facebook is headed for years to come.
Jon Fingas04.30.2019