Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta has been slapped with a preliminary warning from the European Commission over its controversial “pay or consent” model which offers users the choice between personalized ads or a monthly subscription. 

In a release this week, the European Commission revealed it has informed Meta of its preliminary findings on the practice, which in its view “forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta's social networks.” 

In November, Meta introduced the new subscription fee in response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), the same law being used to hold Apple’s feet to the fire over its App Store in the territory. Meta’s solution offers EU users on Facebook and Instagram a choice between paying a monthly fee of nearly $14 a month for ad-free browsing, or continued personalized ads if they want to keep using either for free.

The EU takes aim at Meta 

According to the Commission, this business model is not compliant for two reasons. Firstly, it “Does not allow users to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the “personalized ads” based service,” and secondly, it “Does not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data.” 

To comply, the EU says Meta must offer users an “equivalent service which uses less of their personal data” even if they don’t consent to being tracked for the purposes of advertising. Meta now has 12 months to offer a defense, with proceedings closing in March 2025. If Meta can’t get the EU back on its side, it faces a fine of up to 10% of its total worldwide turnover, rising to 20% in the case of repeated offenses. 

It’s another huge hammer blow to Meta’s advertising business, which has already suffered massively in recent years thanks to the App Tracking Transparency feature added to iOS 14 by Apple. That change allowed users to opt out of being tracked across multiple apps and services using a unique identifier, a previously core part of Facebook’s advertising business. Now, the EU seems intent on crushing Facebook’s remaining advertising power. If users are allowed to opt out of the personalized advertising for free, it would mean the advertising that Meta offers businesses on Facebook and Instagram will be much less effective because fewer users will be served ads they’re likely to click on. That will in turn reduce the value of these ads overall, and the amount Meta can charge customers to serve them. All of that’s bad news for the bottom line of a company that has already bet big on the Metaverse and lost in recent years.

More from iMore

• BREAKING: EU opens investigation into Apple over DMA
• EU still not happy with Apple's DMA compliance
• iPhone owners are ditching Safari for third-party alternatives

Meta says it has resolved a technical issue that was causing some people "to have difficulty accessing our services" on Tuesday. 

Meta's Andy Stone confirmed "We're aware people are having trouble accessing our services. We are working on this now," late Tuesday morning in a post on X, before later stating "Earlier today, a technical issue caused people to have difficulty accessing some of our services. We resolved the issue as quickly as possible for everyone who was impacted, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

'Facebook and Instagram' were trending on X late Tuesday morning after users found themselves unable to use Meta's social platforms. "Love that I can always count on Twitter to confirm that Meta is down and we’ve all been logged out of Facebook and Instagram isn’t working," one user commented. 

While the scale of the outage is unclear, users in both the UK and the US have reported outages on Downdetector. Some 134,000 reports reported problems with Facebook's app and log-in, as well as the official website, with a similar number spike and a massive 315,000 reports in the US.

A similar number of Instagram users in the same locations reported issues, which began just after 10 am ET. 

Users on Facebook's app for iPhone were met with a "Session expired" popup and prompted to log in again, however tapping "Log In" delivered another error popup which states "Unable to log in. An unexpected error occurred."

Meta's Threads app, its text version of Instagram to rival X, was also affected by the outage, but no one seems to be bothered about that. The outage also affected Facebook Messenger, the company's popular messaging app for iPhone and Android.  

Users on X reported similar issues with their accounts, "has Facebook logged anyone out" one user asked, and still another said, "Has Facebook just booted anyone else out of their account and keeps giving random error messages anytime you try to log back in or is it just me?"

While the outage is sure to be an inconvenience for users, service problems will be reassuring for users who might have otherwise thought they'd been logged out, hacked, or perhaps even shadow-banned from the platforms. While less relevant than they perhaps once were amongst young people due to the prominence of TikTok, Facebook and Instagram remain some of the best iPhone apps you can download for staying connected with friends and family, as well as the wider world. The latter has pivoted in recent years to compete with TikTok, emphasizing short-form videos through its Reels feature. Search Logistics data indicates Facebook has 2.9 billion monthly users, with another 1.4 billion flocking to Instagram each month, making Meta the world's largest social media platform by some distance. 

Facebook has long been the go-to source of news and other content for hundreds of millions of people around the globe. Whether or not that is wise is a matter for another conversation, but there is no denying that Facebook is a huge player in terms of how people find the content that they consume. But because any link you click in the Facebook app on your iPhone opens the page inside the app itself, it's easy to lose track of what you've read and which memes you've seen. Now, it appears that Meta has identified that and sought to find a solution.

That solution is a new Link History feature that promises to make it easier for people to find anything and everything that they saw previously, making it easier to resurface that content at a later date. Meta will no doubt hope that people will be able to more easily share that content on its platforms, but from the point of view of individuals this new feature is a real boon — especially for those of us with poor memories.

The feature is rolling out to Meta's Facebook mobile app right now and is turned on by default. Thankfully, Meta does allow people to disable the feature if they want to which could be useful depending on the links you click. It's also important to note exactly why Meta wants to keep tabs on this information — so it can use it to better target ads.

A history of links

The new Link History feature was detailed in a new Facebook help page that also points out that the feature may not be available in all locations. There's no publicly available list of exactly which locations have access to Link History, but the same help page does note that the "feature is being introduced globally over time," so don't worry too much if you don't see it just yet.

Facebook says that its Link History feature will collect the websites that a user has visited via the Facebook Mobile Browser over the last 30 days — after those 30 days have elapsed, the history will no longer be available. Interestingly, Facebook also notes that it may take it up to three times as long — or 90 days — to delete its data if you decide to disable Link History. That might suggest that even once the 30 days have been and gone, Meta will still have your links somewhere.

As hinted earlier, all of this is designed to give Meta more insight into what people are doing within its app. "Bear in mind that when link history is on, we may use link history information from Facebook's Mobile Browser to improve your ads across Meta technologies," Facebook's help page reads.

Disabling Link History

Thankfully, disabling Link History is a relatively simple process if you want to go down that route. You'll first need to open a link within the Facebook app and then tap the '...' button before choosing Browser Settings. From here, the Allow link history feature can be enabled or disabled at will.

Given Meta and Facebook's checkered history with user privacy and the way it collects information on its users, you might want to consider flicking that switch. But for those of us with failing memories, it might still be worth keeping around. It might also be worth a quick read through Facebook's Privacy Policy as well.

More from iMore

• How to stop Facebook from tracking your location
• How to adjust your privacy settings on Facebook for iPhone
• How to stop third-party apps from using your Facebook data

Chinese iPhone owners might not be able to download some of the world's most popular apps next year. That's if Apple is forced to remove them from the Chinese App Store following the implementation of new laws.

While the use of apps like Facebook, Instagram, and X is already blocked in China, the apps are available for download via the iPhone and iPad App Stores. That means that people can use them if they employ a VPN, something that is increasingly common among the younger population — but a new law could soon put a stop to that.

If Apple's discussions with the Chinese government don't come to a positive conclusion, all of those apps and more will be removed from the App Store in China, preventing people from downloading them.

The Chinese Firewall

China has long blocked access to Western websites and services in an attempt to better control the information its populace can access. But VPN use allows people to get around the so-called Great Firewall. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that a new law could prevent the apps from even being made available with Apple already in discussions with the government about the impact that will have on its users.

The report notes that "officials told Apple that it must strictly implement rules banning unregistered foreign apps, people familiar with the discussions said." It goes on to say that "Apple employees expressed concern over how the rules would be implemented and affect its users."

If Apple does have to remove unregistered apps from the App Store, the companies behind them will have the option of becoming registered in order to be reinstated. However, some apps simply won't be allowed through the registration process which amounts to an outright ban.

China outlined its plans to prevent unregistered apps from being used two months ago, with the law kicking in by July 2024.

With iPhones currently not allowing apps to be sideloaded — installed outside of the App Store — Chinese users might have to switch to Android devices if they want to continue to use their favorite Western services including Facebook, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

Meta is making changes to three of its biggest brands in an attempt to make them safer for young people. New parental controls are coming to Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram.

Some of these changes are designed to try and make sure that teenagers don't spend longer on the platforms than they should, while others are all about giving parents a better understanding of what their teens are up to on those platforms.

All of the new features are rolling out starting today, although there are some location limitations to take into consideration.

New Messenger tools

The changes were confirmed in a press release with Meta saying that "parents and guardians can access Messenger supervision tools and resources from leading experts to support their teens through the Meta Family Center."

The feature, called Parental Supervision on Messenger, is available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada starting today and the company plans to expand it to other countries in the coming months.

"These tools allow parents to see how their teen uses Messenger, from how much time they’re spending on messaging to providing information about their teen’s message settings," the statement reads. "These tools do not allow parents to read their teen’s messages."

Better Instagram privacy

Meta also says that it is working to protect people from unwanted Instagram DMs so it's testing new features that will limit how people can interact with and message other people who don't already follow them on the platform.

"Before being able to message someone who doesn’t follow them, people must now send an invite to get their permission to connect," the statement says. "People can only send one invite at a time and can’t send more until the recipient accepts the invitation to connect." Those message requests are limited to just text, too.

Soft Facebook time limits

Finally, Meta says that Facebook will soon start seeing notifications that warn them when they've spent 20 minutes on the social network. They'll be prompted to take a step back, although they won't be blocked from plowing on.

"We’re also exploring a new nudge on Instagram that suggests teens close the app if they are scrolling Reels at night," Meta says.

There are other changes including some additional parental supervision features on Instagram and you can of course read all about them in that Meta blog post.

The owner of FaceBook, Meta, has been ordered to pay $1.3 billion in a massive fine after it was discovered that the company was sending its user's data from Europe to the United States.

The fine, according to the BBC,  comes from Irelands Data Protection Commission (DPC), and is the "largest imposed under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation privacy law."

It's all down to the EU's GDPR rules that companies have to comply with if they want to do business within the European Union, and want to transfer user data out of Europe.

Big problem, big fine

The breaches in question see Meta send EU residents' data to the US, where EU regulatory boards are worried that it will be seen and used by US intelligence and leave users open to the US's less stringent privacy laws.

Facebook and Meta use SSC, or 'standard contractual clauses' that store data and allow it to be sent from Europe to the US. Meta says that "We are therefore disappointed to have been singled out when using the same legal mechanism as thousands of other companies looking to provide services in Europe." The data was being transferred for ad use.

Those SSCs have been allowed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), as long as there were sufficient protections in place for EU residents' data – it is here that Meta has been found lacking.

The battle has been 10 years in the making, and this is a landmark victory for privacy bodies in the EU. While Meta wants to fight the ruling, the case has been lauded by experts as something that will set a precedent for similar cases in the future. Some, however, think that Meta will not change its ways, and instead continue with the same practices that netted it this record braking fine.

Meta has been facing turbulent times since it went from the Facebook branding to the metaverse-friendly Meta brand. The company had begun integrating and supporting NFTs on its platforms, and now it is backtracking on that support, after what looks like a failed pilot.

Meta will be winding down digital collectibles, a.k.a. NFTs, across Facebook and Instagram, said the company's commerce and fintech head, Stephane Kasriel, in a Twitter thread. It appears Meta is shifting its focus. The news comes soon after the news of Meta working on a potential Twitter rival.

Meta will find other ways to support creators

Meta's rebrand was slathered with a lot of Web3 and crypto stuff, including NFT support on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram. The NFT support was first announced in May 2022, and it looks like it's coming to an end in less than a year. Kasriel did say that Meta will be supporting NFT creators to amplify their work, although it remains to be seen how that will happen without integrated support for digital collectibles on their platforms.

It appears that payments will be a big part of Meta's new strategy. Kasriel tweeted, "And we’ll continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future. We’re streamlining payments w/ Meta Pay, making checkout & payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta."

He also said that monetization remains a priority, and that Meta will "focus on areas where we can make impact at scale, such as messaging and monetization opps for Reels." The company has been heavily criticized in the past for poor monetization for creators, especially with Reels payouts. 

The crypto space has been rather unstable for a while now, so one of the primary companies with a recent and huge web3 pivot backtracking on some of is unlikely to inspire confidence. With this move, you will soon be unable to have an NFT profile picture on Instagram, and plans for augmented reality NFTs on Instagram stories on devices like Apple's best iPhone, the iPhone 14 Pro, are unlikely to materialize.

Meta-owned Facebook says that it's bringing its Messenger Inbox back to the actual Facebook app for the first time since it removed it way back in 2014.

Facebook Messenger users haven't been able to access their Inbox in the actual Facebook app since it was pulled almost a decade ago, but the company says that it's now working on the possibility of fixing that, meaning you won't need a separate "Messenger" app to use Facebook Messenger. 

Some Facebook users have already started to be invited into a testing program that allows them to read Messenger messages in the Facebook app on their iPhones, likely for the first time for many of them.

Facebook gets the message

The inability to read Messenger messages in Facebook has long felt like a glaring omission, but the company said in a blog post that it's ready to fix that.

"We are testing the ability for people to access their Messenger inbox within the Facebook app and you’ll see us expand this testing soon," Facebook said. And that was basically all it said about the feature.

However, some people have already reported being invited to test the relocated Inbox out, perhaps a sign that Facebook is indeed expanding its existing testing pool to bring new users online.

Facebook also took the opportunity to remind everyone that it is indeed in rude health, despite reports that suggested it is in decline.

"Contrary to reports otherwise, Facebook is not dead nor dying, but in fact alive and thriving with 2 billion daily active users," the blog post kicked off by saying. From there, Facebook spent a lot of words to try and convince everyone that it's doing great.

In reality, Facebook and parent company Meta continue to struggle in a world where people's trust in the platform continues to erode. Strong competition from TikTok isn't helping of course, but Twitter's recent attempts to implode might be helping Facebook at this point.

Facebook has long been one of the most-downloaded apps on the iPhone, but it's no longer at the top of the list. Once upon a time, Facebook was the first app people installed when buying a new iPhone. That doesn't seem to be the case right now, whether they're buying a mid-range iPhone SE or the very best iPhone that Apple has to offer.

Putting the Messenger Inbox back into the Facebook app is unlikely to change that alone. But it does at least fix one of the biggest irritations that existing users have had to deal with for years.

Following the launch of Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) rules, Meta encountered more problems than most. Its ad model tracked users from one app to the next and across services. But now it's starting to get out from beneath ATT, according to a new report.

Meta-owned Facebook will reportedly lose out on around $10 billion in ad revenue this year, all thanks to ATT. So it's easy to see why it would want to find a solution. It's thought that not only has it found a way to deal with Apple's rules, but it's also starting to see the fruits of its labor.

The money's coming back

Bloomberg reports that Meta is working on the technology that's designed to help it target ads at the right people. That involves using AI to work out which users should see which ads.

"Meta is operating two' centers of excellence for AI,' one in service of the ad business and the other focused on the user experience for Facebook and Instagram, said Tom Alison, the head of the Facebook app at Meta, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek." But knowing who to send ads to is only half the battle.

The company has also been working to improve how it tracks the performance of ads, particularly in video. With Facebook and Instagram leaning very much into video content, selling ads against them is more important than ever.

And it's beginning to work.

"A year after Apple's changes, it appears as if some of Meta's adjustments are working," Bloomberg notes. "The share of advertising budgets going to Meta stabilized in the first and second quarters. It's now about 28%, according to Appsumer, after having fallen to 24%, from 32%, in the first six months after Apple's measures took effect."

Meta has also been running ads that push people from Facebook and Instagram to Messenger and WhatsApp, both companies under its umbrella.

None of this is helping on the front lines, though. Meta recently announced substantial job losses, with around 11,000 people leaving their roles.

Meta says it is laying off 11,000 of its employees, or 13% of its total workforce, because of a downturn in online commerce, macroeconomics, increased competition, and ads signal loss leading to lower revenue. 

"Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history," Mark Zuckerberg said in a message to employees. "I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go. We are also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1."

According to the CEO, while "many people predicted" that COVID-driven movement online and e-commerce acceleration would be permanent, levels have returned to prior trends, amplified by difficult macroeconomics, increased competition, and loss of ads signal that "have caused our revenue to be much lower" than expected. 

An apology

Mark Zuckerberg says "got this wrong" and takes responsibility for the situation. Going forward Meta says it will focus on a smaller number of high-priority growth orders like AI and the metaverse. It is also shrinking its real estate footprint and cutting costs. 

Employees affected will get 16 weeks severance plus two weeks for every year of service, six months of health insurance, career services, and immigration support. 

11,000 employees are to be laid off, 13% of its workforce. Meta is also extending its hiring freeze through Q1. 

Facebook has suffered in part from major privacy changes made by Apple in iOS 14 that made tracking users with an IDFA identifier for the purposes of advertising an opt-in feature, something that has drastically neutered the effectiveness of paid-for advertising that companies like Meta rely on for some of their income. 

What you need to know

• WhatsApp's new Calls tab borrows heavily from WhatsApp.
• Meta says that people are making voice and video calls more and the new interface will make them easier to initiate.
• The new change is rolling out to people now.

Meta is rolling out a new Calls tab for the Facebook Messenger app that is designed to make it easier for people to make audio and video calls. The new design takes a leaf out of WhatsApp's book and will be immediately familiar to users of the other Meta instant messaging service.

DigitalTrends reports that the new Calls tab is rolling out to people now and while it might not appear for everyone immediately, it's on its way. Meta believes that the change is a worthwhile one at a time when people are making more calls than ever thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and new working and living situations.

Facebook Messenger continues to borrow from WhatsApp in a way that will make the two apps more interchangeable than ever, at least for those who have the same contacts across both platforms. That should perhaps be no surprise given the fact they're both from the same company, of course. Both are among the best iPhone apps for staying in touch with friends and family.

It doesn't appear that there will need to be an app update for the new call tab to kick in, but everyone who doesn't yet have the Facebook Messenger app installed can download it for free right now.

What you need to know

• Meta Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down.
• The COO role will be taken on by Chief Growth Officer Javier Olivan.
• Sandberg had been at Meta/Facebook for 14 years.

Meta Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down from her role at the company, it has been confirmed. After arriving as Facebook COO in 2008, Sandberg spent 14 years alongside CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The announcement of the move actually came via Zuck's own Facebook post, going on to say that "it's unusual for a business partnership like ours to last so long."

Meta's current Chief Growth Officer Javier Olivan will fill the role that Sandberg is leaving, with Zuckerberg noting that the new role "will be different from what Sheryl has done." There will be more moving around of names and titles as part of a mini-reshuffule, too.

TechCrunch reports that there had been concerns that the political tensions brought on by Facebook had caused a rift between Sandberg and Zuckerberg, although there is obviously no mention of that in the announcement.

Facebook has long been the best iPhone app for snooping on former work colleagues but it's increasingly becoming a social network that decides people rather than unites them. Meta has also found itself in Apple's crosshairs, with the company putting anti-tracking technology into iOS that impacts the ad sales that are Zuckerberg's lifeblood.

What you need to know

• Russia has banned almost 1,000 people from entering its country for life.
• Mark Zuckerberg is just one of the people no longer welcome in Russia.
• Morgan Freeman is one name that you might not expect to see on the list, but it's there.

Russia has officially permanently banned almost 1,000 Americans from entering the country. While some of the names won't be a surprise to most, some are more on the odd side of things.

The country updated its list of people that are no longer welcome in its country this past weekend, adding the likes of Meta's Mark Zuckerberg as well as President Biden and Vice President Harris. The Washington Post reports that the names have been added over their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But some names have been added despite their inability to do that — including Sen. John McCain who died in 2018.

Russia says that the list is a result of "hostile actions taken by Washington" and its work to "incite Russophobia."

It isn't just politicians and tech firm CEOs that have found themselves on the list, either. Hollywood star Morgan Freeman found himself namechecked — likely thanks to a documentary he narrated that looked into Russian election interference. Notably, former President Donald Trump does not appear on the list of people Vladimir Putin doesn't want to see set foot on Russian soil.

As for Zuckerberg, it's easy to see why he's been targeted. Facebook initially kicked two pro-Kremlin news outlets off its platform in March, a move which later saw Russia work to ban Meta's services including WhatsApp and Instagram. Meta, Facebook, and especially Zuckerberg are far from popular in the country right now.

Russia has also, predictably, banned a number of journalists from entering the country for good including ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and Bret Stephens of The New York Times.

What you need to know

• Facebook has released its quarterly transparency report.
• It reveals that the platform has removed an astonishing 1.6 billion fake accounts in just three months.
• Nearly all of those were found by Facebook before they could be reported.

Facebook has released its new quarterly transparency report for Q1 22, revealing that the company removed 1.6 billion fake accounts from its platform in just three months from January to March.

The report is designed to show how Facebook is implementing its policies across 14 different areas on Facebook and 12 on Instagram. Areas include bullying and harassment, hate speech, spam, violence, and more.

A hot topic in the social media world right now is fake/spam accounts, a sticking point in Elon Musk's proposed acquisition of Twitter. This week Musk said his deal to buy Twitter could not move forward without proof that less than 5% of the accounts on the platform are fake. Interestingly, Facebook estimates it has around the same number:

Facebook says its goal "is to remove as many fake accounts on Facebook as we can", prioritizing accounts that seek to cause harm through spam or financial motivations. Facebook's accounts actioned for Q1 2022 actually decreased to 1.6 billion, down from 1.7 billion in the last quarter of 2021. One comforting measure is that Facebook says it found and flagged these accounts in 99.70% of cases and that only a tiny fraction were actually found and reported by users.

Meta says that it can't currently provide similar metrics for fake accounts on Instagram.

What you need to know

• Facebook is killing off two features at the end of the month.
• Nearby Friends will be canceled soon, preventing people from sharing their location with others.
• Weather alerts will be disabled at the end of the month.

Facebook says that it is killing off two of its location-based features with Nearby Friends and Weather alerts set to be disabled after May 31.

In a message that is being sent out to users, Facebook says that the two features are set to end soon; Nearby Friends allowed people to share their location with others, while the Weather notifications feature is self-explanatory. Both features require location data, however, with Facebook saying that Location History and Background Location data will stop being collected after May 31, according to 9to5Mac.

However, none of this means that Facebook is going to stop following its users around. Instead, it says that location data will continue to be used for other things, although it doesn't say what. Those who want to stop Facebook from tracking them can do so, but they'll need to take additional steps.

No new version of Facebook will be needed for these changes to come into force, but those who want to install Facebook afresh can get it from the App Store now.

Facebook isn't saying specifically why it's making these changes. although the company continues to come under scrutiny for the amount of data it collects on its users — it's possible it's simply trying to reduce its exposure to such criticism.

What you need to know

• Facebook is pulling out of the podcast business.
• The company will no longer allow podcasters to add podcasts to Facebook starting this week.
• It plans to remove podcasts from its app altogether starting on June 3.

After a year at taking a crack at it, Facebook has decided to pull out of the podcast business.

As reported by Bloomberg, the company has sent a note to podcasting partners that it plans to remove podcasts from its social media app altogether starting on June 3. It will also stop allowing podcasters to add podcasts to the app starting this week.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Bloomberg that the Soundbites feature and central audio hub, which powers the podcasting experience, will be shut down in the "coming weeks."

Oddly, Facebook said that it doesn't plan to tell anyone on Facebook that podcasts are going to be removed. That responsibility will fall on podcasters to alert their audience.

Facebook has attempted to get into podcasts since April of last year, but it never really took off. Most people use Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast-specific service to access all of the shows that they want to listen to.

Facebook's exit from the podcast business continues to solidify Apple and Spotify's hold on the market.

What you need to know

• Meta recently announced that it would charge almost 50% commission on transactions in its metaverse.
• Apple has now spoken out against the company.
• It says the move lays bare the hypocrisy of Facebook, which has publicly clashed with Apple over its much lower 30% rate.

Apple has slammed Meta's plans to charge a 47.5% rate of commission on transactions in its metaverse despite publicly berating Apple's much lower 30% rate.

On Thursday Apple's Fred Sainz told MarketWatch:

The plans Meta announced were reported earlier this week, from that report:

That fee comes despite Meta (then Facebook) previously putting Apple on blast for charging 30% fees on transactions in the explicit context of the metaverse. "As we build for the metaverse, we're focused on unlocking opportunities for creators to make money from their work," the company stated in November. "The 30% fees that Apple takes on transactions make it harder to do that, so we're updating our Subscriptions product so now creators can earn more."

What you need to know

• Meta has confirmed that there will be no F8 developer event this year.
• There is no word yet on whether the event will return in 2023.

Meta, the parent company behind Facebook, says that it won't be holding its annual F8 developer conference at all this year, let alone in person. The previous two years have both seen an online event held, but 2022 is all about preparing for the meteverse, the company says.

Meta's Diego Duarte Moreira announced the news via a blog post, saying that Meta is "pausing F8 in 2022" while the company continues to "gear up on new initiatives." One of those initiatives is set to be the meterverse.

The F8 conference has been held for a number of years dating back to when Meta was still called Facebook. In 2022, though, Meta says that people should look to the Conversations event that will take place on May 19. There will also be the Connect event later this year, where Meta will "share the latest on our VR, AR, and metaverse platform offerings."

The news comes days after Apple confirmed that its own Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will kick off on June 6 via an online-only event.

What you need to know

• Meta this week announced that it is building a new Canadian engineering hub.
• 2,500 jobs in Toronto and beyond will focus on helping build the metaverse.
• It is also establishing new teams for apps like WhatsApp and Messenger.

Meta this week announced it is expanding its operations in Canada with a new engineering hub focused on building the metaverse.

The company stated:

The company says that while the majority of the new roles are engineering-focused and aimed at reality experience and "Meta technologies", it is also creating new engineering teams in the country for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Remote Presence.

The artist formerly known as Facebook is investing heavily in what it believes is the future of augmented and virtual reality, the metaverse. While Apple reportedly has its own Apple VR mixed reality headset in the works, executives have steered clear of using the term, suggesting that the future fight for the augmented and virtual reality markets may be defined by diverging strategies.

Meta also announced a further $510,000 in unrestricted grants to Canadian research labs.

What you need to know

• Messenger has launched a pair of new shortcuts in its app.
• @everyone will notify everyone in your group chat.
• /silent will send your message but not notify anyone in the chat.

Messenger has announced two new features as well as previewed a few others for its iOS app.

In a press release, the company announced that it is launching two new shortcuts to its messaging app. The first is @everyone, a Slack-like feature that will notify everyone in a group chat when you send your message. The other, /silent, will send a message but notify no one when it is sent.

The company has also previewed some additional shortcut functionality it plans to bring to its app, including a shortcut to pay a friend and one to send a GIF.

The @everyone and /silent shortcuts are available today. The rest, according to Meta, will be added "in the coming weeks." The company says that it plans to introduce more shortcuts throughout the year.

You can read everything in the press release.

What you need to know

• Meta is being sued by Australia.
• The country's media watchdog claims it allowed scam adverts relating to crypto on its Facebook platform.
• The ACCC alleges that adverts were likely to mislead people and that Meta is responsible.

Meta is being sued by Australia over claims it let advertisers post scam crypto ads to its Facebook platform, misleading users.

The ACCC announced Friday that it had started court proceedings against Facebook owner Meta "alleging that they engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by publishing scam advertisements featuring prominent Australian public figures."

The body also says that Meta "aided and abetted or was knowingly concerned in false or misleading conduct and representations by the advertisers."

The suit pertains to ads "which promoted investment in cryptocurrency or money-making schemes" and were likely to mislead users. The schemes were associated with well-known celebrities including businessman Dick Smith, TV presenter David Koch, and former NSW Premier Mike Baird.

ACCC Chair Rod Sims said that Meta was responsible for the ads on its platform and that it was aware of the crypto scams but didn't take sufficient action to address the issue. Sadly, it seems that some customers and users on Facebook did indeed fall for some of the averts, Sims said that in one "shocking case " the ACCC was aware of someone who lost more than $650,000 to one of the scams.

Meta has attracted global scrutiny over its handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and Instagram was banned in Russia because of its decision to continue allowing calls for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in a deviation from its usual policy.

What you need to know

• Meta says people can no longer call for the death of Russians as the country continues its invasion of Ukraine.
• Discussion of the assassination of President Putin has also been banned.
• While Putin was not namechecked, the context is clear.

Following a change to Meta policy last week that allowed people more leeway when discussing the potential death of "Russian invaders," the company has now backtracked — prohibiting people from talking about things including the potential assassination of Russia's president.

Russia moved to ban Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram last week when the news broke that a change was being made to an existing Meta rule regarding hate speech — a change specific to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as 'death to the Russian invaders.' We still won't allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters last week.

Now, Reuters reports Meta says that it's had a change of heart.

Clegg went on to call out any potential assassination discussion.

This comes after Russia did ultimately ban Instagram yesterday, something Meta said would affect around 80 million of its users. It's notable that this change in stance comes so soon after that ban and will surely be seen as a win in Moskow.

What you need to know

• Facebook says it is "restricting access" to two Russian media outlets thought to spread Russian propaganda.
• RT and Sputnik are no longer available on Facebook in the EU.
• Google has already removed the same channels from its YouTube service.

Facebook has announced that it has taken action to restrict access to two pages run by media agencies thought to be mouthpieces for Moscow.

In a post to Twitter, Facebook VP of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said that the social network was "restricting access" to both RT and Sputnik — two media agencies long thought to be pro-Putin and accused of spreading disinformation and propaganda. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Clegg says Facebook took action given the "exceptional nature of the current situation."

The full statement reads:

Checks by The Verge's Alex Heath show that RT and Sputnik pages are no longer available "in the EU" although they are still viewable in Russia.

The news that Facebook is blocking access to the two pages comes at a time when other social networks and media companies are doing something similar. YouTube also confirmed that it has removed RT and Sputnik's channels across Europe. Ukraine has also asked Apple to remove the App Store and other services from Russia, not to mention products.

What you need to know

• Meta is now barring Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on its platforms.
• It will also continue to label posts from Russian state media accounts.
• Russia began to restrict access to Meta's apps yesterday.

Meta is taking its own action against Russia in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

As reported by Reuters, the company is banning Russian state media from runnings advertisements or monetization of any way on its platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp. The banning will apply worldwide, essentially cutting off Russian state media from the media giant.

Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta's security policy head, said that they will "also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media" over the weekend.

Yesterday, Russia demanded that Meta stop fact-checking posts from Russian state media across the company's social media platforms, something that the company refused. Nick Clegg, Meta's VP of Global Affairs, said that Russia is now restricting the use of the company's service for its citizens.

Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. As of the writing of this article, Ukrainian forces are continuing to hold off a Russian offensive of its capital city of Kyiv. Many countries have announced additional sanctions against Russia and pledged more aid to Ukraine.

What you need to know

• Russia demanded that Meta stop fact checking some local media outlets.
• Meta says it refused to comply and would continue to fact check Russian news.
• Russia is now limiting access to Meta services in the country.

Meta says that Russia is limiting access to some of its services because it refused a demand to stop fact checking the country's claims.

In a post to Twitter, Meta VP of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said that Russia had demanded that the company "stop the independent fact-checking and labelling of content" posted to Facebook by "four Russian state-owned" outlets. Meta refused and now some of its services are being restricted.

The move comes as Russia tries to control the news stories circulating inside Russia amid its ongoing aggression towards Ukraine, a country it began the invasion of a day or so ago.

Clegg's comment suggests that Russian news agencies wanted to be able to post content to Meta's platforms without the possibility of it being flagged as untrue during the fact-checking process. Following Meta's refusal to pause those checks, Russia is now preventing its people from accessing parts of the Meta ecosystem of services.

What you need to know

• Facebook is rolling Reels out worldwide.
• Reels will appear in all corners of the Facebook app.
• New ways for creators to monetize Reels have also been announced.

Facebook has announced that it is now rolling Reels out to more than 150 countries globally while also sharing more details on how creators can make money on the platform.

Reels, similar to TikTok, are short videos that will now live pretty much everywhere throughout the Facebook app. Facebook says that they're its "fastest growing content format" and it seems determined to make sure that continues.

To do that, it's putting Reels everywhere — in your feed, in your Stories, and more.

Over the coming weeks, we'll roll out the following updates to make it easier to create and discover reels in new places:

• Reels in Stories: You can share public reels to Stories on Facebook, making it easy to share favorite reels with friends and giving creators more visibility and reach. You'll also be able to create reels from existing public stories.
• Reels in Watch: You'll be able to watch reels directly within the Watch tab and we're developing tools to help you create reels in the Watch tab as well.
• Top of Feed: We're adding a new Reels label at the top of Feed so you'll be able to easily create and watch reels in just a few clicks.
• Suggested Reels in Feed: In select countries, we're starting to suggest reels that you may like in your Feed from people you do not already follow.

Facebook is also pointing people to the Meta for Creators blog. That's where they'll find more information about how they can earn money from their reels via overlay ads.

Creators can also look forward to a raft of creation tools including Remix, a way to create new content alongside existing videos.

• Remix: Create your own reel alongside an existing, publicly-shared reel on Facebook. When you create a Remix, you can create a reel that includes all or part of another creator's reel.
• 60-second Reels: Make reels up to 60 seconds long.
• Drafts: You will soon be able to create a reel and choose to "Save As Draft" below the Save button.
• Video Clipping: In the coming months, we're planning to roll out video clipping tools that will make it easier for creators who publish live or long-form, recorded videos to test different formats.

Facebook says all of these changes will kick in over the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled!

What you need to know

• The Facebook News Feed is no more.
• Long live the Feed.
• No, nobody really knows why Facebook or Meta made the change but here we are.

Facebook has today confirmed that the News Feed, the main view everyone sees when signing into the social network, is no longer called that.

In news shared to Twitter of all places, Facebook proudly announced that the News Feed is now called ... Feed.

Yes, that's correct.

For reasons unknown — but likely just because Meta knows your Facebook feed doesn't have real news in it anymore — the removal of one word was enough to make the rebrand worthwhile. There's even a handy dandy GIF to drive the point home, too.

Facebook's rebrand to Meta and this switch away from the News Feed are just two examples of the changes the company is making of late. Facebook Messenger recently gained Split Payments and new voice message controls among other things, and Meta-owned WhatsApp and Instagram have been undergoing their own metamorphosis as well.

Although none will have quite the huge impact that changing the name of the News Feed will have, of course!

Don't yet have the Facebook app installed? You can grab it from the App Store for free now. It's still the best iPhone solution for people wanting to keep up on what their family is doing — and you can even see what your colleagues from four jobs ago are up to, too.

What you need to know

• Messenger is getting some new features.
• Meta's app (formerly Facebook Messenger) now supports Split Payments and voice message controls.
• It also now features vanishing messages.

Meta, formerly Facebook, has today announced a slew of new features coming to its Messenger app.

The first is Split Payments in the U.S., available to both iOS and Android users, which will allow group chats to split payments among members, confirming the amount and payment details.

Messenger is also getting new audio features that will let people record messages with new controls to pause, preview, delete, or continue before sending. If you like to talk, you'll be happy to know messages are now capped at 30 minutes, not one.

Finally, there's a new Vanish mode:

Meta's Messenger app is one of its most popular products and one of the best iPhone messaging services available.

Meta recently reported that changes made by Apple to privacy in iOS 14 would cost the company some $10 billion in revenue, causing shares in the company to free fall. In April of 2021 Apple made tracking via an IDFA identifier across apps and services by third-parties an opt-in feature, and CEO Tim Cook says that the company has been a tremendous response from customers.

The changes have wiped some $278 billion from the market value of four social media companies in less than a year since they were introduced.

What you need to know

• Messenger now supports end-to-end encryption for everyone.
• Encryption won't be enabled by default.
• Other improvements include screenshot notifications and more.

Meta's Messenger app has added support for end-to-end encryption across both chats and calls for all users, the company has announced. Now, people have two different ways to make sure that their messages are secure.

When sending messages people can enter vanish mode by swiping up on an existing chat or select Secret Conversations when starting a new chat by toggling the option on.

Alongside the new encryption features Messenger will now also warn people when someone takes a screenshot, similar to the way Snapchat also notifies people of the same thing.

Other improvements include the addition of GIFs and Stickers, while Reactions allow people to tap and hold on a message to select a Reaction of their choice.

You can read about the other changes, including new typing indicators, in the original press release.

Meta's Messenger is one of the best iPhone apps at what it does and you can bet all of your friends have an account already.

What you need to know

• Facebook has been sued for $150bn.
• A group of Rohingya refugees claims the platform allowed hate speech against them to spread.
• They say this contributed to the violence in the country that left thousands dead and many more displaced.

A group of Rohingya refugees has sued Facebook parent company, Meta, for $150bn over claims the platforms allowed hate speech against the group, contributing to genocide in Myanmar in 2017.

According to multiple reports, the group claims Facebook contributed to the 2017 genocide in the country. From The Times:

According to the BBC a UK law firm has sent a letter to Facebook, and a class action lawsuit has been filed against the company in San Francisco. The complaint states:

It is estimated that 10,000 Rohingya Muslims were killed in the 2017 Myanmar genocide, and 70,000 more were displaced. The lawsuit claims Facebook allowed anti-Rohingya sentiment and propaganda to perpetuate on its platform:

The suit says Facebook failed to take action and is still helping to propagate misinformation "to this day." As noted the prayers for relief seek "at least" $150bn in damages. The class represented is defined as "all Rohingya who left Burma (Myanmar) on or after June 1, 2012, and arrived in the United States under refugee status, or who sought asylum protection, and now reside in the United States."

What you need to know

• Facebook parent company Meta is being forced to sell Giphy.
• The UK's Competition and Market Authority says the acquisition could allow Facebook to significantly increase its market power in social media.
• Specifically by denying access to GIFs on platforms that aren't owned by Facebook.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has ordered Facebook parent company, Meta, to sell Giphy.

The CMA stated today:

The CMA says a review of the merger concluded Facebook would "be able to increase its already significant market power in relation to other social media platforms" by denying access to Giphy GIFs on other platforms, driving traffic to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, and by changing terms of access for platforms like TikTok, Twitter, and Snapchat that could have seen those sites forced to hand over more data in order to use Giphy GIFs.

The CMA also found that Giphy's advertising could compete with Facebook's own display advertising and that by terminating this at the time of the merger Facebook removed "an important source of potential competition."

The CMA has already fined Meta some £50 million over the merger and has now ordered Giphy be sold in its entirety. A Meta spokesperson told The Guardian:

What you need to know

• Mark Zuckerberg and Meta has a new way to get past Apple's 30% App Store fees.
• It is creating a new promotional link for creators.
• It will let them keep more money from Subscriptions.

Mark Zuckerberg says Meta, which owns Facebook, is creating a new link that will let creators keep more money from their subscriptions without paying fees to Apple.

In a post today Zuckerberg stated:

Zuckerberg went on to say that "Creators will have more ownership of their audience" including the ability to download the email addresses of all their new subscribers.

Meta is also launching a new bonus program that will pay creators for each new subscriber they get as part of its $1 billion creator investment program.

Facebook, now Meta, has clashed with Apple over its App Store fees, which take 15 or 30% commission from App Store transactions done through in-app purchases. The companies have also squared off over changes to tracking users that have dented Facebook's advertising business.

Zuckerberg didn't go into details about the technical implementation of the new feature, which could be presented as part of Facebook's app or used on devices like iPhone, however, he clearly presented it as a way to avoid Apple's 30%/15% fees.

What you need to know

• Facebook will close its facial recognition service this month.
• The closure will see more than a billion face scans deleted.
• Parent company Meta says the move is due to "the many concerns about the place of facial recognition technology in society."

Facebook says that it will be closing down a facial recognition system that has been running for a decade, deleting more than a billion face scans in the process.

The move, announced via blog post, comes as Facebook and new parent company Meta are coming under increasing pressure relating to privacy and the social network's role in society. According to Jerome Pesenti, VP of Artificial Intelligence, the move will "represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology's history."

While Pesenti goes on to say that he still sees facial recognition to be a "powerful tool," he does acknowledge that there are "growing concerns" about its use on the whole.

Facebook's facial recognition feature first debuted in December 2010 and was designed to allow people to tag friends and family in photos based on who the social network thought they were. The feature has left Facebook as the owner of "one of the largest repositories of digital photos in the world" thanks to the feature, according to a New York Times report.

You may love Facebook or just hate it with a burning rage. Regardless of how you feel, Facebook is still immensely popular with many people, and it's even considered the primary way some people keep in touch with others. But your information on Facebook, even if you don't use it much, is something you don't want others to get a hold of. Therefore, you should take any means necessary to protect your data. Thankfully, Facebook supports two-factor authentication (2FA) in a few different ways.

Here's how to set up two-factor authentication for Facebook, no matter what device you're using, from the best iPhone or iPad to your Mac.

How to set up 2FA for Facebook on Mac

Getting 2FA set up on your Mac (or PC) from a web browser is an easy process. Once you're logged in to your account on Facebook, just follow these steps:

1. Click the Account button in the upper right corner (it looks like a triangle pointing down).
2. Click Settings & Privacy from the drop-down menu.
3. Click Settings.

4. Click Security and Login in the left sidebar menu.
5. Scroll down and click on Use Two-Factor Authentication.

6. Choose your 2FA Authentication method. Your options include an Authenticator app (recommended) or Text Message (SMS) (less secure).
7. Scan the QR Code or input the secure code into your authenticator app of choice. We recommend Authy.
8. Click Continue and follow the rest of the on-screen directions.

Once you have added your Facebook account to your authenticator app, it generates six-digit codes that you'll need to input whenever you try to log in to your Facebook account. These codes expire after 30 seconds.

How to set up 2FA for Facebook on iPhone or iPad

If you prefer to use the Facebook mobile app on your iPhone or iPad, such as the iPhone 13, then you can set it up from there as well.

1. Launch the Facebook app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the menu button in the bottom right corner. It looks like three lines stacked vertically (hamburger).
3. Scroll down and tap on Settings & Privacy.

4. Tap Settings from the drop-down menu.
5. Tap Password and Security.
6. Tap Use Two-Factor Authentication.

7. Choose your 2FA Authentication method. We recommend Authentication app because it's more secure, but you can also use Text Message (SMS) if you want, though it's less secure.
8. Tap Continue.
9. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app, or tap Set up on same device. You can also copy and paste the secure code into the app.
10. Once you've set it up in your app, tap Continue and follow the rest of the on-screen directions.

Protect yourself with 2FA for Facebook and more

Adding 2FA to any of your online accounts gives it another layer of protection and security. It is highly recommended to enable it whenever possible, so it's harder for people to force their way into your digital accounts.

What you need to know

• Facebook is changing the way people access audio features in its iPhone app.
• A new Audio tab will be available within the Facebook Watch section.

As of right now, Facebook is rolling out a change that will put features like Live Audio Rooms and podcasts into their own section of the iPhone app. The change is only happening in the United States for now, however.

According to a TechCrunch report, all US-based users aged 18 and older are now set to see the features move around. Tapping the Watch tab will bring up a redesigned interface that now not only houses video but audio as well.

Live Audio Rooms, Facebook's answer to Clubhouse, is also rolling out to users worldwide as well.

Facebook believes that the move will make it easier for people to find creators' work, while the new section will only show those creators that people have already found at launch. Personalized recommendations will begin to surface new content, however.

If you aren't yet seeing the new Audio section, give it time. These changes can sometimes take a little while to reach everyone — and as for those not living in the United States, you're going to need to wait a little bit longer still.

What you need to know

• Facebook suffered a colossal outage yesterday.
• The company has now confirmed that a single configuration change caused the issue.
• The company says no data was compromised during the downtime.

Facebook has confirmed that the huge outage it suffered on its platform yesterday was caused by a single configuration change.

The company apologized to its users in a blog post explaining what happened stating:

Facebook says a "faulty configuration change" on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between its data centers caused the issue. Facebook says that user data was not compromised as a result and apologized to its users across Facebook and its other platforms:

Users flocked to Twitter as the outage took hold, recording the highest number of users on its platform ever.

What you need to know

• Facebook has announced it is bringing Reels to its app for the first time.
• The Reels option will only be available in the United States for now.

Facebook today announced that it is bringing Reels to its main iPhone app, borrowing the feature from Instagram. A press release notes that Reels will only be available in the United States, with the aim being to bring "short form, entertaining video experiences and tools that have inspired creators on Instagram to more creators and audiences on the Facebook app."

Facebook says that Reels will consist of music, audio, and effects and that they'll be found in the News Feed and Groups.

Notably, Facebook is also giving creators a way to make money from their Facebook Reels in the same way they already do on Instagram.

People will be able to make use of an AR effect component when creating their Reels, while options to speed up and slow down video will also give creatives the tools they need to come up with something unique.

Those looking to get into using Reels can learn more about the changes over on the Facebook Newsroom post. Facebook might not be the best iPhone app for sharing short-form video right now, but that isn't going to stop Mark Zuckerberg's outfit from continuing to try and change that.

What you need to know

• Facebook is bringing back voice and video calls.
• It is rolling out the features on a trial basis.
• Facebook previously separated the functions with its Messenger app, but now it's bringing them back!

Facebook has confirmed it is bringing back voice and video calls to its original Facebook app, after previously separating the features with its Messenger app.

As noted by Reuters the company is going to let some users make voice and video calls within the Facebook app, rolling out the feature on a trial basis. Apparently, the move is part of a plan to make it easier to make video and voice calls without having to open the separate Messenger app.

As the report notes, Facebook launched its Messenger app back in 2011 but is now on the charge to resynchronize and realign messaging across its platforms including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.

Whilst Facebook is rolling out the new features on a test basis, it doesn't appear guaranteed at this stage that the returning functions will stick, and a Facebook spokesperson said that for the full messaging, voice, and video call experience customers should keep using Facebook Messenger.

Apple has continued to push the limits of its own communications app, FaceTime, in iOS 15 on devices like the iPhone 12, bringing portrait mode, audio refinements, and a new SharePlay functionality which has sadly been delayed. From a report last week:

What you need to know

• The FTC is going after Facebook again.
• The body has filed another lawsuit against the company, on the grounds that its acquisitions strategy is anticompetitive.
• If successful, the FTC could force Facebook to sell WhatsApp and Instagram.

The FTC is having another run at Facebook over claims its acquisitions of apps like WhatsApp and Instagram were anticompetitive.

In an amended complaint filed Thursday, the FTC stated:

Specifically, the FTC claims that Facebook has "maintained its monopoly position" within social media by following a strategy of anti-competitive acquisitions, noting Mark Zuckerberg's own words stating "it is better to buy than compete" from 2008:

In its prayers for relief, the FTC is asking the court to force Facebook to sell off WhatsApp, Instagram, and even some other assets to restore competition in the industry. The FTC's case had previously been dismissed on the grounds it had not plausibly established that Facebook had monopoly power in the market for personal social networking services. Keeping one eye on the suit will be Apple, who have asked the judge in its Fortnite legal battle to consider the dismissal of the case as one of the reasons why it should rule against Epic Games.

In response Facebook stated "It is unfortunate that despite the court's dismissal of the complaint and conclusion that it lacked the basis for a claim, the FTC has chosen to continue this meritless lawsuit." The company continued:

What you need to know

• Facebook is testing a new feature that borrows heavily from TikTok.
• Reels is being tested in India, Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
• People can cross-post Reels from Facebook.

Social network Facebook is the latest to borrow from TikTok, with Facebook Reels now being tested in a handful of countries.

Now live in India, Mexico, and Canada, and the United States, Reels are short videos that people will see in their News Feed, according to a report by The Verge. Notably, users can cross-post Reels to Facebook from within Instagram, too. At least, they can during this testing phase — it's possible that facet of the feature will be removed before Reels is live for everyone.

Instagram and Facebook are far from the only ones trying to copy TikTok, of course. YouTube already offers its own version of the same idea and I can't imagine it being the last, either.

TikTok fast became the best iPhone app for people who wanted to watch and share short videos. Those videos have steadily grown in length, but the idea remains the same. So far, more apps copying its features hasn't led to a mass TikTok exodus. Whether that changes in the future, we'll have to wait and see.

What you need to know

• Facebook has announced Horizon Workrooms, a new VR experience for people who really want to work in an office.
• The new app is in beta and available for Oculus Quest 2.
• People can work in a virtual office at a time where working in a real one might not be an option.

Facebook today announced Horizon Workrooms, a new VR experience that allows people to work in a virtual office for improved collaboration. The app is available in beta right now for anyone who has an Oculus Quest 2 headset at hand.

The new app was announced via press release and is designed to give people the option of working from an office without actually setting foot inside one. As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are still working from Home. Facebook thinks Horizon Workrooms is the answer.

While still a beta experience, Horizon Workrooms can be downloaded right now so long as you have an Oculus Quest 2.

Current features include:

• Bring your physical computer, keyboard and desk into VR with you. You can share your screen, send messages, and type naturally.
• Seamlessly write and draw on the shared whiteboard by flipping your controller to use it like a pen.
• With spatial audio, add dimension to every conversation and create the feeling of a shared location.
• Stay synced in and out of VR with chats, calendars and notes that automatically update via web.
• Customize your avatar to be a true expression of your personality.
• Adjust the layout to fit your agenda, from presentations to brainstorms. As participants come and go, your table dynamically scales.

Facebook says it's been using Horizon Workrooms in-house itself, saying that VR will "will fundamentally transform the way we work." You can learn more about the whole thing over on the announcement post.

Still looking to dip your toe in the world of VR? These are the best VR headsets for Macs right now.

What you need to know

• The UK Competition and Markets Authority has released its preliminary findings into its investigation of Facebook's Giphy acquisition.
• It says the deal raises competition issues.
• The body says it might make Facebook sell Giphy.

Facebook could be forced to sell Giphy on the back of findings made by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority.

The body announced its findings today stating:

According to the release the CMA has "provisionally" found the Facebook's takeover of Giphy "will negatively impact competition between social media platforms", it explains:

The body is concerned the deal could see it deny other platforms access to its GIFs or change the terms of the access, making platforms like Twitter and Snapchat hand over more user data to keep using the product. The CMA also notes that Giphy's own paid advertising was in competition with Facebook and that buying up the company may have removed a market competitor for Facebook. Similar concerns were raised by the company's deals for WhatsApp and Instagram. The inquiry chair Stuart McIntosh said "Millions of people share GIFs every day with friends, family, and colleagues, and this number continues to grow. Giphy's takeover could see Facebook withdrawing GIFs from competing platforms or requiring more user data in order to access them. It also removes a potential challenger to Facebook in the £5.5 billion display advertising market. None of this would be good news for customers."

Facebook announced plans to buy Giphy in May of 2020 in a deal reportedly worth $400 million.

Other interested parties now have until September 2 to respond, and possible remedies must be submitted by August 25. A final report will be issued on October 6.

What you need to know

• Facebook has announced a redesigned settings menu for its iPhone app.
• The change is supposed to make it easier to navigate the app's settings.

Facebook has announced a change to the settings menu in its iPhone app, with the social network saying that the settings are now easier than ever to navigate.

According to an announcement made yesterday, Facebook's changes are part of its "ongoing efforts to improve people's experience on" the social network.

Facebook also says that it has relocated several settings so that they now live beside more related options, ensuring we don't need to go spelunking through the app to find things anymore. "For example, the News Feed setting, which previously lived in a smaller category of its own, now lives under Preferences where it is grouped with similar settings," the company said.

Even with these changes, few would accuse Facebook of being one of the best iPhone apps in the App Store. Still, it's good to see Facebook taking steps in the right direction.

What you need to know

• Facebook announced its Q2 2021 earnings today.
• The company revealed advertising revenue of $28 billion, a 56% year-over-year increase.
• It did, however, warn that Apple's ATT will impact its ad business in Q3.

Despite Apple's anti-tracking privacy changes with iOS 14.5, Facebook is still making a ton of money with its advertising business.

Facebook held its Q2 earnings call today and announced that advertising revenue had passed $28 billion, a 56% year-over-year increase. Noted by Jason Kint, Facebook's CFO, David Wehner, said that the company expects to see an impact on its ad revenue in the third quarter rather than the second quarter.

When questioned by analysts, on the call, Wehner said that Facebook has still not rolled out all of the new privacy changes that Apple released with iOS 14.5 back in April. Wehner did not say exactly what kind of impact the company expects from Apple's privacy protections but said it will be within their expectations.

The company also announced that employees wanting to return to the office will need to be vaccinated, following Google's announcement of the same thing from earlier in the day.

Apple's App Tracking Transparency enables users to choose if they want an app to track their activity across apps and the web. If the user asks an app not to track them, the service should disable their tracking for that user. A report from May found that 96% of users were opting out of tracking.

What you need to know

• Facebook cloud gaming is now available on iPhone and iPad via a Safari web app.
• People can play games if they're in the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico.

Facebook today confirmed that its cloud gaming service is now available on iPhone and iPad, although you'll need to use Safari and live in the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico.

According to a tweet, gamers can access the cloud gaming service by opening Safari and heading to http://fb.gg/play. People in other countries will have to put up with playing HTML 5 games, at least for now.

In a statement to iMore, Vivek Sharma, VP, Facebook Gaming pointed out that Facebook has come to the same conclusion as other cloud gaming companies and services — Safari really is the only way to get onto Apple's mobile devices.

Apple has famously made it impossible for Microsoft xCloud and other companies to get their game streaming apps into the App Store, forcing them to go the web app route.

Is it time to level up your mobile gaming? Our roundup of the best iPhone game controllers is a great place to start your research!

What you need to know

• Facebook Messenger is getting new 'Soundmojis'.
• They're emojis that make sounds and can be used in chats with your friends.

Facebook has today announced that its Messenger service is getting new 'soundmojis' for use in chats.

The company says that every day 2.4 billion messages on its platform feature emojis, and now some of them can talk:

Soundmojis will let users send a short sound clip in your Messenger chat when you use an emoji, such as the clapping or drumroll emoji. There are also audio clips from artists and TV shows and movies including Fast and Furious and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. To use emojis, simply head into the smiley face emoji menu, then tap on the loudspeaker icon where you can preview all the Soundmojis and send them.

The new library will be updated regularly with new sound effects and famous sound bites. Facebook says that the new soundmojis have arrived "just in time" for World Emjoi Day, which is on July 17, so expect them to go live over the next couple of days.

Also in time for World Emoji Day, Emojipedia has shared some of the next emojis we might get to see later this year in iOS 15. From that report:

What you need to know

• Facebook Pay is coming to more websites and businesses in the U.S.
• The company has announced it will roll out the service to any business that wants to enable it.
• Facebook Pay, like Apple Pay, lets users seamlessly check out whilst shopping online without re-entering their payment info.

Facebook says that its rival to Apple Pay, Facebook Pay, is coming to more businesses and websites later this year.

The company has announced that it is extending the availability of Facebook Pay beyond its own platforms to businesses that want to provide "a seamless checkout experience" for their customers on their own websites.

Facebook says that from August, US businesses that use participating platforms will have the option to enable Facebook Pay as an option for customers at checkout. Like Apple Pay, Facebook pay lets users enter their payment information once, rather than having to re-enter it each time they want to buy something. Facebook says the rollout will begin with Shopify merchants, with expanding availability coming over time.

Facebook says its payment system "is designed to help businesses drive conversion higher by giving customers a low-friction and mobile-friendly way to pay online" and that details are encrypted and securely stored, "eliminating the need for businesses to manage customers' card or bank account numbers." The company also says that details are not used to inform people's advertisements or experiences on the platform.

A link for businesses that wish to sign up for Facebook Pay and receive product and availability updates is listed but the web page had not gone live at the time of publication.

The news comes following reports earlier this week that Apple is working on an 'Apple Pay Later' initiative that could let users finance purchases.

What you need to know

• Facebook groups can now designate Group Experts.
• Group Experts are people particularly knowledgeable about a particular group topic.

Facebook is adding a new feature to Facebook Groups called Group Experts. The move will allow group admins to designate people who are particularly knowledgeable about the group's subject matter to be parked as experts for all to see.

According to a report by The Verge, Group Experts will receive a badge next to their name so people in a group will always know that they're the person to listen to when discussing a particular topic. Admins will be the only ones capable of bestowing Expert status upon someone and they can also revoke it when needed, too.

How will admins know who to give the new title to? The Verge says there are new tools coming to help make that easier.

It's worth remembering at this point that someone having the Group Expert tag doesn't necessarily mean that they really are an expert in anything — it just means the group's admins believe they are. If those group admins aren't to be trusted either, the whole thing can go awry. Facebook says its existing fact-checking protocols should deal with that, however.

Speaking of experts, did you know iMore is full of expert deal finders? Check out our list of the best iPhone deals to see why!

What you need to know

• New research suggests that the apps Apple ships on its iPhones are crowding out those from other developers.
• The research was funded by Facebook.

We've seen a ton of talk of late about Apple's pre-installed apps. Apps like Safari and Mail that come installed on all new iPhones are causing a stir because some believe it gives them an unfair advantage over apps created by third-party developers. Now, it appears a Facebook-backed Comscore study might back that up.

According to the report, seen by The Verge, as many as 75% of the top 20 apps available for iOS are made by Apple. The top four apps were also made by Apple, according to the report. The suggestion is that none of this is good news for the millions of third-party apps in the App Store. That's a shame considering some of the best iPhone apps aren't actually Apple's.

Facebook paid for the research so it could show the "impact of preinstalled apps on the competitive app ecosystem," according to Comscore.

Apple, predictably, isn't having any of it, and appears to suggest that the data was selected specifically to make it look the way Facebook needed it to.

Regardless, antitrust laws are already trying to ban Apple from installing its own apps on its own devices, and reports like this will only help their cause. You can read more about the report, and see some graphs that illustrate Comscore's point, in The Verge's report.

What you need to know

• Facebook is getting ready to enter the world of podcasts starting next week.
• New podcast clips are also part of the equation.

Facebook is set to enter the world of podcasts with June 22 being the big day. Facebook really does have to ruin everything, doesn't it?

According to a new report by The Verge that builds on the June 22 date shared by Podnews, a new "podcasts" tab will appear on Facebook pages. Facebook is in the process of emailing owners of podcast pages to get them on board.

The Verge also received one of those emails including the news that a future podcast clips feature will allow listeners to create and share snippets of podcast episodes.

Facebook seems to be hoping that podcasters are already using its platform and that they'll allow their feeds to be published via their pages, too. Whether there's a future ad component to this play remains to be seen, but it's difficult to imagine that isn't at least somewhere on Facebook's podcast roadmap.

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