Facebook is venturing into the world of online dating.
At the firm’s F8 developers conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new tool coming to the platform that lets users create a separate dating profile to connect with new people.
Your profile will only be visible to people who aren’t your Facebook friend and that have also opted into dating.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) revealed a new ‘clear history’ tool just hours ahead of the F8 conference. The new privacy controls will give users the option to delete certain data
However, unlike rival dating apps like Tinder or Bumble, Zuckerberg said the dating tool will be for finding long-term mates.
‘This is going to be for building real long-term relationships. Not just hookups,’ Zuckerberg said during a keynote speech at F8.
‘This is going to be in Facebook but it’s totally optional,’ he added.
Your Facebook friends won’t be able to see any activity from your dating profile, but Facebook will make recommendations for you based on your dating preferences, things in common and mutual friends, Facebook said.
You can also view profiles with similar interests through Facebook groups and events.
Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer, said in a presentation at F8 that the recommendations process ‘mirrors the actual process’ of finding a date.
The firm added that the dating feature will begin testing later this year.
At F8, Zuckerberg kicked off his keynote speech by admitting that Facebook has had an ‘intense year’ dealing with the fallout from its massive privacy scandal.
It was revealed in March that at least 87 million users’ data had been harvested without their knowledge and shared with research firm Cambridge Analytica.
Facebook is unveiling a new feature that lets users create a dating profile. However, unlike rival dating apps like Tinder or Bumble, the firm said the tool will be for finding long-term mates
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed a ‘clear history’ feature in a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon, just hours before he gave a keynote speech at F8 on Tuesday
Users had their data mined by the Trump affiliated consultancy firm through the ‘This Is Your Digital Life’ quiz.
‘This has been an intense year. I can’t believe we’re only four months in,’ Zuckerberg explained.
‘We’re optimoistic about the future. We have real challenges to address, but we have to keep that sense of optimism too,’
‘It’s not enough to just build powerful tools. We have to make sure they’re being used for good and we do and they will,’ he added.
Zuckerberg also unveiled a slew of other tools alongside the dating app.
Among the new features are a redesigned Explore page on Instagram and a video chatting tool.
A few months ago, Instagram gave users the ability to follow certain hashtags on Instagram.
Since then, Zuckerberg said more than 100 million people have stared following certain hash tags on Instagram.
Now, Facebook is launching a redesigned Explore tab that lets users curate what they see on the app, including suggested photos and videos, based on their interests.
The new Explore tab will organize content into topic channels, which Facebook says will allow users to ‘browse across your interests, while going deeper into any specific area’.
The Explore page will feature buttons at the top of the page that are labeled by interest, which users can swipe through to view more tabs.
Instagram is also adding video chat for users, to let people connect in ‘real-time’ video when ‘they can’t be together’.
‘It turns out that a lot of people are using live video basically just to hang out when they can’t physically be together,’ Zuckerberg explained.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbeg unveiled new video chat features for Instagram and WhatsApp at the firm’s annual F8 developers conference on Tuesday
Zuckerberg also announced that Facebook’s AR Camera Effects Platform is coming to Instagram and Messenger. It allows users to create their own interactive AR filters
To access it, users can tap on a new camera at the top of any direct message thread.
They can video chat one-on-one and minimize the video while using Instagram, Zuckerberg said.
Ahead of the firm’s F8 developers conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new tool coming to the platform that lets users wipe clean any data that tracks websites they’ve visited.
Called ‘clear history,’ the feature also scrubs any records of what ad’s you’ve clicked on while logged into Facebook.
Zuckerberg revealed the ‘clear history’ feature in a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon, just hours before he’s set to give a keynote speech at the F8 conference on Tuesday.
He likened the tool to how users can delete their cookies and history in a web browser.
‘We’re building a version of this for Facebook too,’ Zuckerberg explained.
‘It will be a simple control to clear your browsing history on Facebook — what you’ve clicked on, websites you’ve visited and so on’.
In a blog post on the company’s website, Facebook’s vice president and chief privacy officer, Erin Egan, noted that the firm will only collect aggregated data on users if they turn off the feature.
In a blog post on the company’s website, Facebook’s vice president and chief privacy officer, Erin Egan, noted the firm will only collect aggregated data on users if they turn off the feature
Facebook is expected to release further details about the tool at its F8 developers conference
‘Apps and websites that use features such as the Like button or Facebook Analytics to make their content and ads better,’ Egan explained.
It’s a noteworthy announcement by Facebook, given that the firm makes vast sums of money from advertisers who want to take advantage of its highly sophisticated user targeting services.
To start, the tool will allow users to remove any data collected on them by ‘websites and apps that use Facebook’s ads and analytics tools’.
This likely includes Facebook’s Audience Network, which promotes ads to users based on their browsing habits.
Facebook’s latest scandal has caused many users to question whether they should pull the plug and delete their account in order to protect their private data. (stock)
It means brands can direct marketing messages to you based on your interests, even when you’re not on the site, via other company’s apps and mobile websites.
They can collect information ranging from your IP address to the websites you have visited, the length of time you spent on a website and in what sequence pages were accessed.
Facebook can use this information to track your activities across different websites, gaining insights into things like your location, age group, gender, and interests.
Users can view and delete this information and are also given the option to opt out of having the data stored with their account.
Zuckerberg explained that there is a caveat to opting out of the feature, however.
If users decide not to share this data with Facebook and its third-party advertising partners, ‘your Facebook won’t be as good while it relearns your preferences’.
Presumably, this means that users may see more ads that are irrelevant to their interests, but as Zuckerberg pointed out, privacy advocates have asked for this feature for a while now.
If users decide not to share this data with Facebook and its third-party advertising partners, ‘your Facebook won’t be as good while it relearns your preferences’, Zuckerberg explained
WHO ARE THE DATA VAMPIRES MINING FOR INFO ON FACEBOOK?
Facebook’s latest scandal involving communications firm Cambridge Analytica has served as a startling wake-up call for many users on the countless companies mining our social data.
Through a feature that meant apps could ask for permission not only to your data, but that of your Facebook friends as well, the firm was able to mine the information of million of users.
And, only 270,000 had given them permission to do so.
In 2014, Facebook changed its rules so that apps could no longer obtain data about a person’s friends unless those users had also authorized the app.
Still, Cambridge Analytica is far from the only firm to have access to Facebook users’ data.
By connecting your Facebook profile to a third-party app, you’re typically also granting that app permission to access your data.
You can check which apps your Facebook account is sharing data with by clicking here.
To view the apps you’ve given permission to (as shown above), go to Settings > Apps
That includes your name, profile picture, cover photo, gender, networks, username and user ID. These apps can also access your friends list, and any other public data.
Once the outside parties have access to your data, they can then use it to track different types of activity.
Many popular apps such as Instagram, Spotify, Airbnb, and Tinder can be connected to your Facebook account.
Just weeks ago, for example, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe bragged that the company stores ‘an enormous amount of information’ about users, and even tracks where they go after the movies.
MoviePass is also among the many apps that can be connected to your Facebook.
And, it doesn’t stop there.
Facebook users are waking up to just how much of their private information they have accidentally handed over to third-party apps. Social media users are sharing their shock at discovering thousands of software plugins have been gathering their data
Taking Facebook quizzes from third-party services, or doing image generators (such as the ever-popular ‘What Would Your Baby Look Like, or What Would You Look Like As The Opposite Sex), also often gives outside firms access to your data.
While these are usually preceded by a pop-up asking permission to access certain parts of your profile, many users have taken to clicking through without thoroughly reading what they’ve just agreed to.
Some users are now expressing their horror upon realizing they’ve granted permission to hundreds of third-party apps.
Other apps that have experienced viral popularity over the last few years, such as Facetune and Meitu, can access your Facebook data as well.
‘It’s something privacy advocates have been asking for — and we will work with them to make sure we get it right,’ he added.
‘One thing I learned from my experience testifying in Congress is that I didn’t have clear enough answers to some of the questions about data’
‘We’re working to make sure these controls are clear, and we will have more to come soon,’ Zuckerberg said.
Last month, the Facebook boss appeared on Capitol Hill for a pair of high-stakes hearings, where he faced pointed questions about Facebook’s massive data scandal.