It was quite clear that this year’s Facebook developer conference, F8, was going to be about the Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg in ‘apology mode’, not to mention the additional mea culpas for the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The event kicked off with Zuckerberg talking about what Facebook is doing to ensure there are stringent policies against developers and apps and to ensure that another ‘Cambridge Analytica’ incident doesn’t surface.
But, apart from the usual, there were some very exciting announcements made by Zuckerberg on what users can expect from Facebook and its subsidiary apps in the coming months.
Facebook Right Swipes Dating
What was perhaps the biggest announcement of the event, Facebook has now ventured into the dating space, where more prominent apps like Tinder and OkCupid have already established a strong foothold.
Mark Zuckerberg referred to “building meaningful relationships” while introducing the new dating feature in the app.
Facebook’s dating feature interface is said to be built around what you see on common dating apps. The feature will work as a part of your Facebook app and won’t be made public. It will keep your dating profile accessible only to you.
You will be given recommendations based on your interests and also you won’t get any recommendations from your friend list.
There’s no news on when the feature will be rolled out, but I’m sure Tinder and other dating apps are feeling a cold chill running down their spine.
Clear History? Wow, that’s Something New! NOT
A feature that Facebook should have rolled out years ago, finally enters the fray. Clear History!
This feature allows Facebook users to completely delete any browsing history, cookies, and cache that remains on the Facebook app.
It’s just like clearing your browsing data on Google Chrome or any other browser. Though, Zuckerberg went on to add that the user’s Facebook experience won’t be as intuitive and easy as before, but then there will be the additional security that will be transferred to the users.
Mark Zuckerberg has posted on Facebook about the Clear History feature and how it would make privacy control much better.
WhatsApp Now with Group Video Calling
WhatsApp has been on a roll ever since the app was launched, and now the introduction of the group video chat feature paves way for a range of new avenues for the web chat application.
While there isn’t much that we can discuss about WhatsApp’s new feature, it's very clear that the feature will allow only four users at one time.
WhatsApp already supports a one-to-one video chat feature and this addition means that more and more users will be shifting to a video form of communication.
Oculus Go ‘Finally’ Launched!
The Oculus Go VR headset was supposed to be the headliner at last year’s F8 but somehow Facebook had dropped the idea of making the announcement.
This year, however, the story is different as the Oculus Go virtual reality headset finally goes official. The standalone VR headset has been priced at $199 (Rs 13,500 approx) and is ready to be shipped.
What came as a surprise to many, was that everyone at the Facebook F8 got lucky as they got to walk home with a free Oculus Go headset.
This gizmo from Facebook connects directly to a network, without the need for a PC or a phone. Waiting for it to come to India.
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