Category: Social

WhatsApp is preparing to drop support for older versions of Android, impacting users running versions older than 4.1. Like most companies, WhatsApp routinely updates their app’s requirements with new versions. An upcoming update will drop support for Android 4.0.4 and older, according to the company’s notes. WhatsApp will no longer support Android phones running OS 4.0.4 and older on November 1, 2021. Please switch to a supported device or save your chat history before then. Users will need to be running Android 4.1 or later to continue using WhatsApp.

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When it comes to search, Facebook’s focus was, is, and apparently always will be on the idea of “friend search.” That’s the main conclusion you draw from reading paidContent’s interview with Akhil Wable, the man leading Facebook’s search product. Friend search is becoming a core part of the social web experience, and it’s an area […] When it comes to search, Facebook’s focus was, is, and apparently always will be on the idea of “friend search.” That’s the main conclusion you draw from reading paidContent’s interview with Akhil Wable, the man…

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Facebook has announced Horizon Workrooms, the company’s foray into virtual reality office space. Much in the workplace has changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote and hybrid work trends were kicked into overdrive as employees were sent home to work remotely. Even many companies’ recent efforts to return to the office have been dealt a blow and postponed as a result of the surge in Delta cases. Facebook is working to address the challenges of remote work with virtual reality, in an effort to improve workplace collaboration. Workrooms…

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Until Andy Murray recently gave hope for a British man winning Wimbledon for the first time since his clothing’s namesake Fred Perry, the news here in the UK had been almost entirely full of stories about politicians, their inventive expenses and the political careers that had come to a premature end (or overdue end, depending […] Until Andy Murray recently gave hope for a British man winning Wimbledon for the first time since his clothing’s namesake Fred Perry, the news here in the UK had been almost entirely full of…

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The test is currently limited to a handful of retailers in the U.S., but the ads, which are already showing domestically, will be rolling out globally to users in the coming months. Instagram is now testing ads in the Shop tab, TechCrunch first reported on Monday. The ads can include a single image or a carousel of images, and the test is currently only open to a handful of retailers. The ads are rolling out now to mobile users in the U.S. Why we care Ads in Instagram Shops may provide retailers…

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Facebook is taking action, that appears to be retaliatory, against researchers that are investigating it. Researchers from New York University have been investigating how political advertising money is spent on the social media platform and shed a light on disinformation. The researchers created a browser plug-in that allowed users to capture ads they saw and post the data to a public database. Facebook has since blocked the researchers, claiming they are breaking the company’s Terms of Service by scraping data, saying so in a blog post: Today, we disabled the accounts, apps, Pages…

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Popular chat and social media app WeChat, known as Weixin in China, has announced it is suspending new subscriptions as it deploys a security upgrade. WeChat is wildly popular in China, and among Chinese populations around the world. Owned by Tencent, the app was the target of the Trump administration over security concerns, before earning a reprieve under the Biden administration. The company says the security upgrade is necessary to bring the app into compliance with local laws and regulations, and will prevent new subscriptions while in progress. The upgrade is expect…

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Just a few weeks after adding Twitter to its news shortcuts, Yahoo has announced that it’s adding Twitter to its main search results, too. That’s a search for “climate gate” with tweets showing at the bottom of the search results page. Yahoo says this isn’t a replacement for the news shortcut tweets, and that this […] Just a few weeks after adding Twitter to its news shortcuts, Yahoo has announced that it’s adding Twitter to its main search results, too. That’s a search for “climate gate” with tweets showing at the…

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Facebook.com was the most-visited web site in the U.S. last week, surpassing even Google.com. And this is not the first time it’s happened. According to Experian Hitwise, Facebook.com received 7.07% of all internet visits during the week that ended on March 13th, with Google getting 7.03%. This compares visits between the two main domains — […] Facebook.com was the most-visited web site in the U.S. last week, surpassing even Google.com. And this is not the first time it’s happened.   According to Experian Hitwise, Facebook.com received 7.07% of all internet visits…

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Twitter has added support for security keys to support two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA is widely considered to be an important step in securing accounts and information. With 2FA enabled, a user does not gain immediate access to their account when they log in using their username and password. Instead, they are required to take an additional step, such as confirming the login via their phone or other device, providing a fingerprint or using a security key. A security key has some distinct advantages over other forms of 2FA, as Twitter…

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