Even some WhatsApp users also grappled with significant outages. The problem showed up at around 8:56 pm Tuesday. While users encountered difficulties in uploading content on their feeds, others faced issues of logout.
While all the apps were down, Elon Musk’s ‘X’ worked fine, triggering hilarious memes on the app. Hashtags like ‘Instagram Facebook down’, ‘Mark Zuckerberg’, and ‘Cyberattack’ have been trending on X since last evening.
Even Elon Musk seized the opportunity and flaunted the superiority of his platform while playfully trolling Facebook and Instagram. Taking to his X (formerly known as Twitter) handle, Musk wrote, “If you’re reading this post, it’s because our servers are working.”
While his tweet was just the tip of the iceberg, other social media users brutally trolled Zuckerberg as he enjoyed the ongoing pre-wedding bash of Mukesh Ambani’s sons Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant.
Below are a few hilarious memes that will tickle your funny bones:
influencers when they got to know #instagramdown & #facebookdownpic.twitter.com/0KomOpJmrc
— زماں (@Delhiite_) March 5, 2024
The real reason behind #instagramdown and #facebookdown
— Kashmiri Hindu (@BattaKashmiri) March 5, 2024
Guys are busy enjoying the Grand Indian Wedding. pic.twitter.com/4yojnQulev
Take a break. #instagramdown #facebookdown pic.twitter.com/LP3ppnDpOw
— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 🏹 (@RoflGandhi_) March 5, 2024
Only X users are allowed to like this 😜#instagramdown #meta #META #facebookdown #WhatsAppdown #MarkZuckerbergpic.twitter.com/7DfJYwGCR1
— Anvar Khan (@anvarkhan63) March 6, 2024
Elon Musk is enjoying while Mark Zuckerberg's Instagram and Facebook was down 🤣#facebookdown pic.twitter.com/QWJot5D45B
— Raj Kumar (@TodayHandle) March 5, 2024
Website outage tracking website Downdetector showed more than one lakh reports of Facebook being down, and the number was increasing.
Instagram also had more than 20,000 reports of outages being faced by the users across the globe.
Affected users took to X to report about being unable to log in and the session expiring across Meta's family of apps.
It is still unclear what caused the outage as the company is yet to issue any official statement.
This is one of the biggest outages for Meta in years.
"We are announcing that we will be creating a path for developers of Instant Games on Facebook to launch their games directly to people on Facebook, even if the game is in the early stages of development and historically would have been blocked by the Quality Guidelines," Meta said in a blogpost on Friday.
The company also said that it will change the way games are distributed across our organic discovery experiences.
In the new process, the tech giant is introducing the Play Lab tier, which will allow games that previously may not have passed Quality Review to go live on the platform in a way that allows them to acquire users, collect feedback, and experiment.
The company is also creating a new distribution tier for higher-quality and high-performing games -- Play Tab.
"IGs in the Play Tab tier will be distributed across our organic discovery surfaces and available for promotion in editorial units," Meta explained.
IGs in the Play Lab tier will be hosted on the Facebook Play platform, but will not be distributed via the company's organic discovery or editorial surfaces.
Play Lab IGs will continue to be able to create a game page and grow their player base via paid user acquisition, social discovery, and community building, according to the company.
Meanwhile, Meta has introduced a new "Facebook Stories API" (Application Programming Interface), which will allow developers, creators, and brands to create and share a Facebook Story directly from a third-party desktop or web app.
Between September 1-30, Facebook received 19,850 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism, and said that it provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 3,121 cases.
These include pre-established channels to report content for specific violations, self-remediation flows where they can download their data, avenues to address account hacked issues, etc, Meta said in its monthly report in compliance with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
"Of the other 16,729 reports where specialised review was needed, we reviewed content as per our policies, and took action on 4,942 reports in total. The remaining 11,787 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned," Meta added.
On Instagram, the company received 13,251 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism.
"Of these, we provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 3,486 cases," it informed.
Of the other 9,765 reports where specialised review was needed, Meta reviewed content and took action on 4,843 reports in total.
The remaining 4,922 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned.
Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.
"We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) we take action on for going against our standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning," said Meta.
In the month of August, Meta took down over 14 million pieces of content across 13 policies for Facebook and over 5 million pieces of content across 12 policies for Instagram.
The potential feature was discovered by an app developer who shared screenshots of the feature that a Meta employee had originally posted.
These screenshots showed a numbered list of trending topics plus how many "threads" were actively discussing each item, reports TechCrunch.
The post was spotted by user Willian Max, who believes it was intended to be sent to an internal feed only accessible to Meta workers. "Oops. I think the trending topics feature just leaked on the timeline," he posted on Threads.
The screenshot reveals top trends like Drake’s new album at No. 1 and other current topics, like Billboard’s Latin Music Week or Disney+’s release of Loki Season 2. In contrast to X, Threads' primary Trends list does not seem to be accompanied by additional trending lists by categories, such as News, Sports, and Entertainment, or a list of Trends that are customized "For You", the report mentioned.
The proposed addition to Threads would be a significant move towards making it more competitive with X.
The Instagram-run app is trying to take advantage of the frequent changes and disruptions on the Musk-owned microblogging network to attract users to join Threads instead.
Meanwhile, Meta is preparing to allow Threads users to delete their accounts without affecting their Instagram profiles by December. Currently, there is no way for Threads users to delete their accounts without deleting their Instagram accounts.
Between August 1-31, Facebook received 25,049 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism, and said that it provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 2,701 cases.
These include pre-established channels to report content for specific violations, self-remediation flows where they can download their data, avenues to address account hacked issues etc, Meta said in its monthly report in compliance with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
"Of the other 22,348 reports where specialised review was needed, we reviewed content as per our policies, and took action on 5,045 reports in total. The remaining 17,303 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned," Meta added.
On Instagram, the company received 20,904 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism.
"Of these, we provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 4,529 cases," it informed.
Of the other 16,375 reports where specialised review was needed, Meta reviewed content and took action on 6,322 reports in total.
The remaining 10,053 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned. Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.
"We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) we take action on for going against our standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning," said Meta.
In the month of July, Meta took down over 15.8 million pieces of content across 13 policies for Facebook and over 5.9 million pieces of content across 12 policies for Instagram.
According to the company, creating multiple personal profiles will let users easily organise who they share with and what content they see in the various parts of their lives.
For example, users can have one profile for the foodie scene they love and another one to keep up with their friends and family.
Each profile will have a unique Feed with relevant content and users will be able to easily switch between profiles without having to log in.
However, some Facebook features -- such as dating, marketplace, professional mode and payments -- will not be available to additional personal profiles at launch.
"To start, messaging will be available within the Facebook app and on the web for additional personal profiles," Meta said.
Moreover, the company plans to expand Messenger support for additional profiles in the coming months. The option for an additional personal profile will be available only to eligible adult accounts.
Users can choose any name for their additional profiles, but not for their main profile.
Meanwhile, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced a new feature in India that will allow WhatsApp users to pay businesses using a variety of payment options, including all supported UPI apps, debit and credit cards, and more.
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority imposed a ban on Meta that will initially apply until October.
The ban will apply from August 4 and last for three months, or until Meta can show that it complies with the law.
“Should Meta not comply with the decision, the company risks a coercive fine of up to one million NOK ($100,000) per day. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s decision only applies to users in Norway,” the authority said in a statement.
The authority said the practice of Meta is illegal and is, therefore, imposing a temporary ban of behavioural advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
In December last year, the Irish Data Protection Commission issued a decision on behalf of all data protection authorities across the EEA which established that Meta has conducted illegal behavioural advertising.
Since then, Meta has made certain changes, but a fresh decision from the Court of Justice of the European Union has stated that Meta’s behavioural advertising still does not comply with the law.
“The Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s decision does not ban Facebook or Instagram in Norway. The purpose is rather to ensure that people in Norway can use these services in a secure way and that their rights are safeguarded,” said Tobias Judin, Head of International in the Norwegian Data Protection Authority.
“All business models must respect privacy as a human right. Users must have sufficient control over their own data, and any tracking must be limited,” Judin added.
Recently, an unexpected turn of events has set them on a collision course in an eagerly awaited cage fight.
The saga commenced with a bold move from Elon Musk, the charismatic CEO of Tesla, who openly challenged Mark Zuckerberg, the genius behind Meta.
Amidst the growing anticipation surrounding the upcoming battle, a parody account impersonating Elon Musk introduced an intriguing proposal.
In a humorous twist, this satirical alter ego ponders over the potential outcome of the fight and the reward for the winner.
The suggestion put forth was that the winner would gain control of the opponent's social media platform for a 24-hour period.
For instance, if Elon Musk emerged victorious, he would temporarily take charge of Meta while a triumphant Mark Zuckerberg would assume control of Twitter.
The parody account playfully conveyed the idea, stating, "I have a proposal for Mr. Zuckerberg... Winner of our fight gets ownership of the other person's social media platform for 24 HOURS. You win, you get Twitter. I win, I get Meta. Let me know. Best, Elon 'your wife drives a Tesla' Musk."
I have a proposal for Mr. Zuckerberg…
— Elon Musk (Parody) (@ElonMuskAOC) July 9, 2023
Winner of our fight gets ownership of the other persons social media platform for 24 HOURS.
You win, you get Twitter.
I win, I get Meta.
Let me know.
Best,
Elon “your wife drives a Tesla” Musk
Jason Crawford, a lawyer from the United States, sued Facebook because his account was allegedly terminated without proper justification.
Despite his efforts to reach out to Facebook for a resolution, the company ignored him, as per a report.
As per the report by FOX 5 Atlanta, Jason Crawford had previously received a violation notice from Facebook for his political comments on the platform.
However, in this specific case, his account was locked by Facebook without a satisfactory explanation.
Frustrated by the company's lack of response, Crawford took legal action to address the problem.
One of the main challenges Jason encountered was the difficulty of reaching a real person at Facebook for help.
Additionally, the process of appealing Facebook's decision proved to be complex, as he could only appeal using his own locked Facebook account.
In August 2022, Jason Crawford, a lawyer, lodged a complaint against Facebook, claiming that the company had ignored him and barred his access to his own Facebook account based on unfounded accusations of child sexual exploitation, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
He strongly asserted that these allegations were completely false.
Crawford expressed his frustration, as he had valuable memories in the form of pictures, videos, and posts on his account that he did not want to lose due to the actions of individuals without any legitimate justification.
Surprisingly, even after filing the lawsuit, Facebook's legal team did not respond to the situation.
The court's intervention marked a significant turning point in the case.
The court directed Meta, Facebook's parent company, to compensate Jason Crawford with $50,000 (roughly 41 lakh in India) for the negligence and disregard shown by the company.
It was only after this ruling that Facebook finally contacted Crawford to address the issue.
While Crawford felt a sense of vindication when his account was restored, he emphasised that his decision to take legal action was not solely driven by monetary compensation.
He sought to hold Facebook accountable for its lack of transparency and failure to provide satisfactory answers to its users.
This advanced model, designed to mimic human-like intelligence, aims to revolutionise image completion by achieving higher accuracy than the current models.
By emulating human reasoning, Meta aims to overcome typical errors in AI-generated images and push forward the progress of AI technology.
Meta's I-JEPA is an advanced AI model that excels in analysing and completing incomplete images with superior efficiency compared to previous models.
Unlike traditional generative AI models that rely primarily on neighbouring pixels, I-JEPA takes into account broader background knowledge about the world.
This innovative strategy, championed by Meta's esteemed AI scientist Yann LeCun, aims to replicate human-like reasoning and enhance the precision of image completion.
By considering a wider context, I-JEPA accurately fills in missing elements in images, successfully addressing common problems such as the generation of extra fingers on hands.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has gained a reputation for its dedication to open-source AI research.
The company's internal research laboratory consistently releases groundbreaking studies and shares the models created by its researchers.
This open approach not only encourages innovation but also facilitates the identification of safety concerns and cost reduction.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, believes that standardising industry tools benefits everyone, as improvements made by various organisations can be collectively utilised to advance AI technology.
Through promoting collaboration, Meta activities to push the industry while prioritising the integration of safety measures into AI systems.
Meta not only focuses on research but also integrates generative AI features into its consumer products.
By harnessing the power of AI, Meta strives to improve user experiences and provide innovative tools.
For instance, the company has developed ad tools that utilize generative AI to generate captivating image backgrounds, enabling advertisers to create more engaging visuals.
Moreover, Meta's Instagram product employs generative AI to modify user photos based on text prompts, adding a creative touch to image customisation.
These consumer-oriented applications of generative AI highlight Meta's dedication to utilizing AI's potential for practical purposes.
They are now working on a new app called 'Project 92' to directly compete with Twitter, bringing the battle to the microblogging platform.
Meta executives, last week, delighted employees by showcasing a preview of their upcoming Twitter rival during a companywide meeting.
According to The Verge's obtained preview, Meta once again exhibits its talent for seamlessly incorporating features from different social media apps into its own platforms.
This innovative approach has already brought functionalities like Reels, inspired by TikTok, and Stories, influenced by Snapchat, offering users a comprehensive and enjoyable experience within Meta's ecosystem.
Rumours about Meta's intention to develop a rival to Twitter have been circulating for a while.
Recent reports indicate that the company is making significant progress towards turning this idea into reality, generating excitement within the social media industry.
Meta's Twitter competitor aims to deliver a user experience that feels familiar.
The app will allow users to log in using their existing Facebook or Instagram credentials, eliminating the need for a separate account.
Users will be able to express their thoughts using a Twitter-style prompt and engage with others through features like (likes, comments, and re-sharing).
Meta's upcoming Twitter-like app will feature threaded conversations for organised discussions.
It will integrate Instagram's account system, ensuring a seamless user experience.
It is learnt that Meta is in talks with influential figures to attract users. It aims to build a well-managed and trustworthy platform, unlike recent concerns with Twitter.
Meta Verified is available for purchase on Instagram or Facebook in India via a monthly subscription for Rs 699 on iOS and Android.
In the coming months, the company will also introduce a web purchase option for Rs 599 a month.
"We'll also retain the verified badge for accounts that were verified before the introduction of Meta Verified," the social network said in a statement.
With Meta Verified in India, you will get a verified badge, confirming you're the real you and that your account has been authenticated with a government ID.
The users will also get "more protection from impersonation with proactive account monitoring for impersonators who might target people with growing online audiences".
It will also help users for common account issues.
At the moment, support is available in English only, but it will be extended to include Hindi as well in the coming months, said the company.
"We want to build a subscription offering that's valuable to everyone, including creators, businesses, and our community at large. As part of this vision, we are evolving the meaning of verified accounts on our apps," said the company.
To be eligible, accounts must meet minimum activity requirements, such as prior posting history, and applicants must be at least 18 years old.
"Applicants are then required to submit a government ID that matches the profile name and photo of the Facebook or Instagram account they're applying for," the company added.
Meta Verified subscriptions will include proactive monitoring for account impersonation.
Businesses are not eligible to apply for Meta Verified at this time.
The CPSC said on Tuesday that Boppy Newborn Loungers are no longer legally available for purchase, but thousands of them have been discovered on Facebook Marketplace since the 2021 recall began, reports Fox Business.
The agency wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, requesting that recalled items be removed from Marketplace.
It singled out the Boppy loungers as "a particularly egregious example" of a product that endangers consumers.
"Until these sales are stopped, babies will continue to be at risk of death," CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka, was quoted as saying.
He also stated that Meta "has not taken effective action" in response to the CPSC's request that the listing be removed from the social media site.
The CPSC has asked Meta to remove listings for Boppy loungers about a thousand times per month on average over the last year, the report mentioned.
"Meta can and should be doing much more to save lives," Trumka continued.
According to CPSC, infants are at risk of suffocating if they "roll, move, or are placed on the lounger in a position that obstructs breathing".
More than 3 million of the Boppy Company's baby loungers were recalled in 2021 following eight infant deaths from the product within five years. Two more infant deaths occurred after the recall, the report said.
Meanwhile, a court has ruled that Metan does employ third-party content moderators, sending a blow to the social network which said it is not the moderators' employer.
In the lawsuit filed in March, 184 moderators in Kenya had sued Meta and its content review partner in Africa, a company called Sama, for unlawful dismissal.
This deceptive scheme targets people through social media platforms, aiming to trick them and gain access to their personal information.
Here is a look at "Look Who Died" scam, including how it operates, and valuable tips to safeguard yourself from becoming a victim of such fraudulent activities.
Beware of suspicious messages from friends urging you to click on links.
Scammers may use the "Look Who Died" scam to trick you into revealing personal information.
This international scam primarily targeting Australia, with a few reported cases in India, as per India Today report.
Hackers impersonate your Facebook friends and send Messenger messages claiming someone has passed away, along with a link to a news article.
When a scammer sends you a suspicious link, they might use a sneaky trick to get your attention.
They could create a link that leads you to an article featuring pictures of your deceased friend from your circle.
They may claim that it is in the news and if you want to read it, you have to click the link.
But if you click the link, you will be taken to a page that asks for your Facebook username and password.
So, this is a trap set by the scammer. The link actually contains harmful software that lets hackers steal your login information and personal details from your Facebook account.
Once they have your login details, they can take control of your account and lock you out.
Then, they will send the same message to all your friends on your friends' list, continuing the scam and spreading it further.
To stay safe from the "Look Who Died" scam or similar phishing attempts, follow these essential tips.
Remember, being proactive and implementing preventive measures is crucial to safeguard yourself from falling victim to these scams.
This write-up will explore the recent scam and furnish you with some suggestions on how to evade Facebook account hacks and malware frauds.
Hackers have exploited verified Facebook pages by posing as Facebook itself, and one of the methods they have used is by creating pages that sound official, such as 'Meta Ads' and 'Meta Ads Manager', which post dubious links to tens of thousands of followers.
It is crucial to exercise caution and be on the lookout for accounts that could be impersonating Facebook or any other reputable organisation.
Always verify the account name and handle to ensure it is legitimate.
Another way in which hackers breach Facebook accounts is by disseminating malware via ads containing links to malicious websites or files.
These links may masquerade as authentic content, so it is vital to exercise care when clicking on links on Facebook.
If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a link, it is advisable not to click on it.
Always hover over the link to ascertain its destination and only click on links from credible sources.
To safeguard your Facebook account from malware scams and hacks, it is imperative to have anti-malware software installed on your device.
Anti-malware software can identify and eradicate harmful software, viruses, and other types of malware before they can harm your device or compromise your Facebook account.
There are several anti-malware programmes accessible in the market, so it is crucial to conduct research and pick one that aligns with your requirements.
Between March 1-31, Facebook received 7,193 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism, and said that it provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 1,903 cases.
These include pre-established channels to report content for specific violations, self-remediation flows where they can download their data, avenues to address account hacked issues etc, said Meta in its monthly report in compliance with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
"Of the other 5,290 reports where specialised review was needed, we reviewed content as per our policies, and we took action on 1,300 reports in total. The remaining 3,990 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned," Meta added.
On Instagram, the company received 9,226 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism.
"Of these, we provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 4,280 cases," it informed.
Of the other 4,946 reports where specialised review was needed, Meta reviewed content and took action on 1,656 reports in total.
The remaining 3,290 reports on Instagram were reviewed but may not have been actioned.
Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.
"We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) we take action on for going against our standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning," said Meta.
Earlier, users could share status updates to Facebook stories, but they had to go through the extra step of manually sharing the update each time they posted something new, according to WABetaInfo.
But now, due to this new feature, the process may be automatic for certain status updates users choose, when the option is enabled.
In the Status Privacy setting on WhatsApp, users will find a new option "share my status updates across my accounts", where they can add their Facebook account, according to the report.
Moreover, the report mentioned that this option will be optional and disabled by default.
Users will be able to enable this option within the Status Privacy settings if they want certain status updates to be shared to Facebook stories without leaving WhatsApp.
Furthermore, the report stated this feature will allow users to save time and effort when they manually share their status updates with Facebook Stories without leaving WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature called "audio chats", which will be available within conversations in a future update of the application on Android.
A new waveforms icon will be added to the chat header, allowing users to initiate audio chats, plus users will see a red button for ending ongoing calls.
The social media giant has announced a new shared gaming feature for Messenger that allows users to play games with friends and family during an ongoing video call.
Here are different games that can be played on Messenger, the steps required to play games during video calls, and some other important aspects of this new feature.
The new feature on Messenger offers around 14 free-to-play titles, including popular games like Mini Golf FRVR, Words With Friends, Card Wars, and Exploding Kittens.
Each game supports a different number of players, but most of them can be played with just two people.
With so many different games to choose from, you can easily find a game that both you and your friends will enjoy.
Playing games during video calls on Messenger is a straightforward process that requires just a few steps.
To get started, download and install the latest version of the Messenger app and ask your friends and family to do the same.
Once everyone has installed the app, follow the steps below:
That’s it! The game will then load in a new interface on the Messenger app itself, making the video call screen smaller and clubbed together at the top.
According to the official blog post by Facebook Gaming, users don't require anything other than the Messenger app's latest version to play games during a video call.
"This new, shared experience in Messenger makes it easy to play games with friends and family while in a video call, allowing you to deepen connections with friends and family by engaging in conversations and gameplay at the same time," the company said in a blogpost.
The tech giant said that there are 14 free-to-play games available in Messenger video calls on iOS, Android, and the web, with no installs required.
Games include a mix of brand new titles, such as "Card Wars" by Bombay Play and "Exploding Kittens" by Coatsink as well as some fan favourites like "Mini Golf FRVR" by FRVR and "Words With Friends" by Zynga.
While each game supports a different number of players, most games can be played by just two people, the company said.
The games can be accessed by starting a video call on Messenger, tapping the group mode icon in the centre, and then tapping on the "Play" icon.
Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is rolling out its paid subscription plan for Facebook and Instagram to users based in the US.
First launched in Australia and New Zealand, the "Meta Verified" plan offers a verified label, better protection from impersonation and direct access to customer support
The subscription plan costs $11.99 per month for the web and $14.99 per month for mobile.
The news website Disclose.tv tweeted, "JUST IN - Zuckerberg copies Twitter: $12 bucks per month to get verified and receive a blue badge."
Musk replied: "Inevitable."
Meta on Sunday announced it is testing paid verification for Instagram and Facebook for $11.99 per month for the web and $14.99 per month for mobile.
In a tweet, Sriram Krishnan, a former Twitter executive of Indian origin and Musk's adviser, said: "Think @elonmusk basically ended the old world of verification and badges online forever."
"I hate the old verification system. Endless favour trading / corruption / people getting some random press piece written just to get verified / unhappy customers and uneven implementation. This is so much better and cleaner," Krishnan added.
To this Musk replied: "Exactly".
Many users expressed their thoughts on Twitter CEO's post.
While one user said, "Facebook is a worthless wasteland at this point. The only reason I keep my account is to get the occasional photo memory. You'd be better off taking that $12 a month and setting it on fire."
Another commented, "Verification will just become another business expense you can have your accountant write off like office supplies and coffee."
More than a decade later, she flew down from Sweden two days ago, and got married to Pawan in true Indian style, according to Hindu customs.
The wedding took place in a local school and hundreds gathered to witness the event.
Christen was dressed in a red bridal attire while Pawan wore a suit. The two exchanged garlands and sat through the wedding rituals.
Pawan Kumar, who completed his B. Tech from Dehradun, works as an engineer at a firm. He said that his family did not have any objection to the marriage.
"We have been friends for so long and we were also sure of our commitment to the relationship," he said.
The groom's father Geetam Singh said that their happiness lies in the happiness of the children. "We totally agree with our son's decision to marry Christen," he said.
Trump, 76, announced in November last year that he will make another dash for the White House in 2024.
Before his accounts got suspended, he had 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram.
"The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances," Nick Clegg, president Global Affairs, Meta said in a blog post on Wednesday.
"The public should be able to hear what politicians are saying so they can make informed choices," he said.
Clegg asserted that under its new newsworthy content policy if Meta assesses there is a public interest in knowing that Trump made the statement that outweighs any potential harm, it may opt to restrict the distribution of such posts but still leave them visible on his account.
"We default to letting people speak, even when what they have to say is distasteful or factually wrong. Democracy is messy and people should be able to make their voices heard," Clegg wrote.
"We believe it is both necessary and possible to draw a line between content that is harmful and should be removed, and content that, however distasteful or inaccurate, is part of the rough and tumble of life in a free society," he said.
Clegg said Meta has put new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses."
Facebook is not only the world's largest social media site, but also a critical source of fundraising for Trump's political campaigns.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump responded by saying: "FACEBOOK, which has lost Billions of Dollars in value since "deplatforming" your favorite President, me, has just announced that they are reinstating my account. Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution."
Trump was reinstated by Twitter in November last year after Elon Musk took over the company.
This will be helpful for users who use more than one of the company's applications, Meta said in a blog post on Thursday.
"Things like Personal details, Passwords and security, and Ad preferences will now live in a centralised place, so it'll be easier for people who use multiple apps to manage their settings."
For instance, users can now easily make their ad topic preferences consistent for Facebook and Instagram accounts by adding those accounts to the same Accounts Center.
However, users who want to keep their accounts in separate Accounts Centers can do so, as adding more than one account to the same Accounts Center is optional.
Moreover, the company is also making improvements to some of the ad settings controls.
"We know people want more control over the ads they see, which is why we're exploring new ways to give people the ability to see more ads about the things that interest them, in addition to the existing option of seeing fewer ads about things that don't interest them," the company said.
"These changes will begin to go into effect today, and will gradually roll out to everyone on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram in the coming months," it added.
She will start her new role on January 1, 2023 and will report to Dan Neary, Vice President, Meta APAC.
Devanathan will be a part of the APAC leadership team and will move back to India to lead the country's organisation and strategy.
"Sandhya has a proven track record of scaling businesses, building exceptional and inclusive teams, driving product innovation and building strong partnerships. We are thrilled to have her lead Meta's continued growth in India," said Marne Levine, Chief Business Officer, Meta.
Devanathan will focus on bringing the organisation's business and revenue priorities together to serve its partners and clients, while continuing to support the long-term growth of Meta's business and commitment to India, said the company.
She joined Meta in 2016 and helped build out the Singapore and Vietnam businesses and teams as well as Meta's e-commerce initiatives in Southeast Asia.
In 2020, she moved to lead gaming for APAC which is one of the largest verticals for Meta globally.
Meanwhile, amid the heightened insecurity and mass layoffs, Abhijit Bose, Head of India, WhatsApp and Rajiv Aggarwal, Director of Public Policy, Meta India -- have resigned, the company confirmed on Tuesday.
Shivnath Thukral, Director of WhatsApp Public Policy, India has been appointed as Director, Public Policy, Meta India (across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in India), replacing Aggarwal who joined Meta last year from Uber.
In a LinkedIn post, Bose said that it "has been a tough week for all of our team at WhatsApp as we had to say Goodbyes to many amazing teammates last week".
"It's been 4 years since I joined as WhatsApp's first Country Head in India, After a small break, I plan to rejoin the entrepreneurial world; you'll see announcements on that shortly," Bose wrote.
Earlier this month, Ajit Mohan, head of Meta in India, left the social network to join rival Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, as lead of the company's Asia-Pacific business.
Meta last week sacked more than 11,000 employees, or 13 per cent of its workforce, in one of the worst tech lay-offs that hit various teams in India.
The Meta executives announced at an internet meeting that the company has planned to kill both Portal and the wearables, reports The Verge.
The tech giant has also dropped its plans to offer Portal video calling hardware to other businesses, as well as the other two smartwatches that were in the early and intermediate stages of development.
The most advanced smartwatch, code-named 'Milan', which was expected to ship in spring 2023 for about $349 and was likely to feature two built-in cameras for video conversations, was secretly postponed by Meta in June, the report said.
Recently, Meta had announced plans to launch another consumer-grade virtual reality headset next year.
At the company's earnings call, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the new high-end VR headset would deliver high-resolution mixed reality to blend virtual objects into the physical environment around the users.
"Our goal for the Quest Pro line over the next several years was to enable more and more people to get their work done in virtual and mixed reality even better than they could on PCs," said Zuckerberg.
However, her story will break your heart.
According to her Linkedln post, Anneka Patel was on a maternity leave. She woke up at 3am to feed her three-month-old daughter. However, she received a mail about the layoff at 5:35am.
Her linkedln post is now going viral with 9,575 likes and hundreds of comments. Have a look at her post here.
Patel wrote, “I woke up at 3am to pump for my three month old baby girl, Emilia. I checked my work email as I was anticipating the email from Mark Zuckerberg about the layoffs. Emilia woke up at 4am so I nursed her and at 4:30am I got a text from my manager that she had been laid off. I put Emilia back down to sleep at 4:45am and sat there wondering what to do next. I lay in bed, refreshing my emails, talking to other coworkers, all of us on the edge of our seats whether we would be impacted, or commiserating with those who had already been notified. One of my coworkers said the automated emails were being sent out from then until 7am so I was in two minds of whether to go back to sleep, or stay up. Then at 5:35am I got the email that I had been included in the layoffs. My heart sank.”
She also requested her readers to refer her if any role looks perfect for her.
“ With that being said, if in the New Year you see a #communications role that looks perfect for me, please refer me or send it my way. Meta lost so many talented individuals today and I am thinking about everyone who was impacted. If I can make introductions to anyone in my network, I would be more than happy to,” read her post.
On the other hand, Indian techies who had moved to Canada and London and joined Meta after quitting their stable jobs were also laid off. Many had just joined the company two-three days ago.
Neelima Agarwal, who joined Meta two days back, after quitting her stable job at Microsoft in Hyderabad, was laid off in just two days of her joining.
"Relocated to Canada from India just a week back and joined meta 2 days ago after going through such a long visa process. But the unfortunate sad day has come and I got laid off," she said.
Similarly, Vishwajeet Jha had joined Meta three days back after working for over three years at the Amazon office in Bengaluru
"I joined Meta three days back after waiting for the long visa process. Thanks to all the folks who made that transition smooth. Really sad that this happened, my heart goes out for everyone who is affected by the layoffs," Mr Jha posted.
Similarly, another Indian-American Raju Kadam, who was part of Meta's technical team, said he has been in the US for 16 years and never faced job loss. "I have an H1-B visa... my clock to leave the US has started today...I have been in the US for 16 years and seen 2008, 2015 (oil) and 2020 downturns, but never lost my job," he said, adding that his sons are US citizens and their lives will be impacted.
In a blog post, Facebook parent company Meta said that the proposed Act falsely presumes that it "unfairly benefits from its relationship with publishers."
"We believe the Online News Act misrepresents the relationship between platforms and news publishers, and we call on the government to rethink its approach to help create a more fair and sustainable news industry in the long-term," Meta said.
Marc Dinsdale, head of media partnerships at Meta's Canadian unit, was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal that "we feel it is important to be transparent about the possibility that we may be forced to consider whether we continue to allow the sharing of news content in Canada".
Meta said that the Canadian government's approach is particularly misguided because, under the current system, Facebook helps publishers.
According to the company, registered news publishers in Canada received over 1.9 billion clicks over the past 12 months, bringing in an estimated $230 million Canadian dollars in value.
"Posts with links to news articles make up less than 3 per cent of what people see in their Facebook Feed and Canadians tell us they want to see less news and political content," said the company.
The framework of the current legislation presumes that Meta unfairly benefits from its relationship with publishers.
Earlier, Google also said that the Act "will make it harder for Canadians to find and share trusted and authoritative news online".
The social network has now urged the Canadian government to consider a policy response in support of public interest journalism that is fact-based and reflects the interests of not only a small handful of legacy publishers, "but also those of small businesses, innovative independent publishers and the 21 million Canadians who use Facebook every day".
"As always, we remain open to working with the government on ways to achieve that goal," it added.
According to the company, it reported its findings to Apple and Google and are helping potentially impacted people to learn more about how to stay safe and secure their accounts.
"These apps were listed on the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store and disguised as photo editors, games, VPN services, business apps and other utilities to trick people into downloading them," said David Agranovich, Director, Threat Disruption at Meta.
Meta said Apple and Google have taken down those 400 malicious apps from their respective online stores.
"We are also alerting people who may have unknowingly self-compromised their accounts by downloading these apps and sharing their credentials, and are helping them to secure their accounts," the company said in a blog post late on Friday.
Malicious developers create malware apps disguised as apps with fun or useful functionality like cartoon image editors or music players and publish them on mobile app stores.
"To cover up negative reviews by people who have spotted the defunct or malicious nature of the apps, developers may publish fake reviews to trick others into downloading the malware," said Meta.
If the login information is stolen, attackers could potentially gain full access to a person's account and do things like message their friends or access private information.
Meta said that if you believe you've downloaded a malicious app and have logged in with your social media or other online credentials, "we recommend that you delete the app from your device immediately".
This was a part of an agreement between the Uttar Pradesh Police and the social networking site to save precious lives through real-time alerts and action to check cases of suicide.
As per the agreement, any person who submits social media posts on intention to commit suicide, the site concerned will issue an alert to the police control room and help will be rendered immediately.
Additional director general, law and order, Prashant Kumar, said the information was immediately sent to the Lucknow Police Commissionerate and they were asked to work in the case.
"We have directed all the policemen to respond quickly to social media posts related to suicide and save the lives of persons who post such messages. Facebook has partnered with us so that we can respond immediately," he said.
Additional CP (West) Chiranjeev Nath Sinha immediately reached the house of the 29-year-old man who had posted the message to end his life.
The man admitted that he had committed a mistake and promised not to repeat such a thing in future.
"He said that he took the step due to mental tension he was facing after not being able to qualify NEET and he was counselled that it was not the end of life. We have provided him the police mobile number and asked him to feel free in calling up whenever he has any problem," said Sinha.
A senior police official said that Facebook sends an alert to UP Police whenever somebody posts a message regarding suicide. He said the police had saved lives of several persons in the past after taking cognizance of the alerts.
Recently, Prayagraj police saved the life of a man who had posted on Facebook that he was about to end his life.
On the microblogging site Twitter, the photo-sharing platform's head Adam Mosseri announced the new Reels updates.
"We are launching a few new Reels features to make it fun and easy for people to find + share more entertaining content -- 'Add Yours' Sticker, IG-to-FB Crossposting, FB Reels Insights," Mosseri captioned the video posted on Twitter.
With the tap of a button, the new update allows users to cross-post Reels from Instagram to Facebook.
Mosseri also mentioned that the Add Yours sticker that became popular in Stories is now coming to Reels on Instagram and Facebook.
All qualifying creators on the platform will soon have access to the Facebook Stars tipping function. They will also have access to more Reels insights via Creator Studio.
Meanwhile, recently, the Meta-owned platform confirmed that it will soon begin testing new 'ultra-tall photos'.
The company said it will introduce support for slimmer, taller 9:16 screen ratio photos to help them fill the entire screen as users scroll through the app's feed.
When asked about the idea of giving up social media, 54 per cent of teens say it would be at least somewhat hard to give it up, while 46 per cent say it would be at least somewhat easy.
"Teen girls are more likely than teen boys to express it would be difficult to give up social media (58 per cent vs 49 per cent)," the survey findings showed.
Conversely, a quarter of teen boys say giving up social media would be very easy, while 15 per cent of teen girls say the same.
"Older teens also say they would have difficulty giving up social media. About six-in-ten teens ages 15 to 17 say giving up social media would be at least somewhat difficult to do. A smaller share of 13- to 14-year-olds think this would be difficult," the survey revealed.
When reflecting on the amount of time they spend on social media generally, a majority of US teens (55 per cent) say they spend about the right amount of time on these apps and sites, while about a third of teens (36 per cent) say they spend too much time on social media.
Beyond just online platforms, the vast majority of teens have access to digital devices, such as smartphones (95 per cent), desktop or laptop computers (90 per cent) and gaming consoles (80 per cent).
The study shows there has been an uptick in daily teen internet users, from 92 per cent in 2014-15 to 97 per cent today.
In addition, the share of teens who say they are online almost constantly has roughly doubled since 2014-15.
While teens' access to smartphones has increased over roughly the past eight years, their access to other digital technologies, such as desktop or laptop computers or gaming consoles, has remained statistically unchanged, the survey said.
"We are introducing Music Revenue Sharing on Facebook, making it easier for creators to monetise their videos that use licensed music from popular and emerging artists like Post Malone, Tove Lo, Grupo La Cambia, Leah Kate, Bicep and more," the company said in a blogpost.
"This gives both creators and music rights holders a new way to earn money from videos on Facebook," it added.
Meta claimed that this feature is the first of its kind within the music industry -- no other platform offers creators this type of revenue model at this scale.
Music Revenue Sharing is powered by Rights Manager, a video, audio and image-matching tool the company developed to help content owners protect their rights and manage their content at scale. The tool is now rolling out to video creators globally. Eligible videos will monetise with in-stream ads delivered in the US to start, and the company said it will expand the tool to the rest of the world in the coming months.
The entry of firms like Google, Amazon and Facebook (Meta), referred as big tech companies, also poses question marks around competition and data privacy.
"They (big tech) carry risks, which need to be properly assessed and dealt with," Das said while speaking at Modern BFSI Summit 2022 organised by Financial Express.
Such companies can include entities in e-commerce, search engines and social media platforms that have started to offer financial services in a "big way" on their own or through tie-ups, he said, adding this is leading to the use of new methodologies in credit assessment.
"Such large-scale use of new methodologies in credit assessment can create systemic concerns like overleverage, inadequate credit assessment and similar other risks," he added.
Das said deploying harsh recovery methods like calling up at odd hours or using foul language is "unacceptable" and assured that the RBI is paying "serious attention" to such happenings to ensure necessary action is taken to curb such activities.
He said most of such instances are reported from unregulated entities, but added that the central bank has also come across such tactics being used by entities regulated by the RBI, and urged all players to give special attention to the same.
The comments came at a time when there have been allegations of suicides by many borrowers triggered by harsh recovery practices by agents.
The central bank will continue with its role to foster innovation while trying to contain the systemic challenges, he said, adding that the RBI will soon come out with a discussion paper on digital lending.
She joined Facebook in 2008 and hoped she would be in this role for five years.
"Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life. I am not entirely sure what the future will bring... I have learned no one ever is. But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women," Sandberg said in a Facebook post late on Wednesday.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that it's the end of an era.
"After 14 years, my good friend and partner Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down as COO of Meta," he posted.
"I'm going to miss running this company with Sheryl. But I'm glad that she'll continue to serve on our board of directors so we can benefit from her wisdom and experience even after she transitions out of her day-to-day management role in the coming months," Zuckerberg informed.
Prior to joining Facebook, Sandberg spent six years at Google building up its online sales channels, for AdWords and AdSense tools.
Her departure from Meta was speculated earlier.
Her leaving "will be an incredibly non-shocking departure to basically everyone inside the company", tweeted Drew Pusateri, a former member of Meta's communications department.
Sandberg reportedly faced internal scrutiny over using her influence to bury two stories about her former boyfriend, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, in a popular UK media outlet.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal in April, Sandberg put pressure on the Daily Mail not to publish stories about a restraining order filed against Kotick by his former girlfriend.
Meta investigated if Sandberg potentially violated company policy.
However, a Meta spokesperson had said that "Sheryl Sandberg never threatened MailOnline's business relationship with Facebook in order to influence an editorial decision".
In her post, Sandberg said that sitting by Zuckerberg's side for these 14 years "has been the honour and privilege of a lifetime".
"He was just 23 and I was already 38 when we met, but together we have been through the massive ups and downs of running this company, as well as his marriage to the magnificent Priscilla, the sorrow of their miscarriages and the joy of their childbirths, the sudden loss of Dave, my engagement to Tom, and so much more".
She said that she is "beyond grateful to the thousands of brilliant, dedicated people at Meta with whom I have had the privilege of working over the last 14 years".
"It's because of this team -- past and present -- that more than three billion people use our products to keep in touch and share their experiences. More than 200 million businesses use them to create virtual storefronts, communicate with customers, and grow. Billions of dollars have been raised for causes people believe in," Sandberg said.
Zuckerberg said that looking forward, he does not plan to replace Sheryl's role in the existing structure.
"I'm not sure that would be possible since she's a superstar who defined the COO role in her own unique way. But even if it were possible, I think Meta has reached the point where it makes sense for our product and business groups to be more closely integrated, rather than having all the business and operations functions organized separately from our products," he posted.
"Marne Levine, our Chief Business Officer and the top business person who handles our partnerships, will report to Javier Olivan so that our Ads and Business Platform product group will be closer to the Meta Business Group," the Meta CEO informed.
"Javi will become our next Chief Operating Officer since he will now lead our integrated ads and business products in addition to continuing to lead our infrastructure, integrity, analytics, marketing, corporate development and growth teams," he added.
The company said this is will replace the company's current ticker symbol 'FB', which has been used since its initial public offering in 2012.
"The new ticker symbol aligns with the company's rebranding from Facebook to Meta, announced on October 28, 2021," the company said in a blogpost.
"No action by the company's shareholders is required with respect to the ticker symbol change. The company's Class A common stock will continue to be listed on NASDAQ and its CUSIP number will remain unchanged," it added.
Reports say that the rebrand, from Facebook to Meta, is part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's efforts to shift gears away from Facebook being known as just a social media company into plans for building the metaverse.
At the time, Meta said it would change its stock ticker to "MVRS," effective December 1. In late November, the company said it was delaying the change to the first quarter of 2022.
"Announcing @Meta -- the Facebook company's new name. Meta is helping to build the metaverse, a place where we will play and connect in 3D. Welcome to the next chapter of social connection," the company earlier wrote on Twitter.
Meta, earlier known as Facebook, is also adding new facial shapes and assistive devices for people with disabilities.
"Representations in the metaverse should reflect the diversity of the real world. Avatars are just the first step toward enabling everyone to express themselves in their unique ways," said Manish Chopra, Director and Head Partnerships, Meta India in a statement
"When you create your avatar you can choose the right facial features, body types, clothing styles, and more to create your virtual self," he added.
The update adds Cochlear implants and over-the-ear hearing aids (for one or both ears) in a variety of colours, and on all platforms including Virtual Reality.
It also includes wheelchairs, which will appear in stickers on Facebook, in Messenger chats and in DMs on Instagram.
The company said it is also improving the look of Avatars, subtle adjustments have been made to certain facial shapes and skin shaders to make avatars more authentic.
It will continue to add more options over time based on feedback from the community, the company noted.
In a notification sent to people who have used the feature in the past, the tech giant said it will stop collecting data associated with these features on May 31 and will wipe any stored data on August 1, reports The Verge.
"While we are deprecating some location-based features on Facebook due to low usage, people can still use Location Services to manage how their location information is collected and used," confirming the news, Meta spokesperson Emil Vazquez said in an emailed statement.
According to the report, this does not mean that the tech giant will stop collecting location data altogether, though.
As stated in its note to users, Facebook said it will "continue collecting location information for other experiences" to serve up relevant ads and location check-ins in line with its data policy.
Users can view, download or delete any location data the platform saved within the Settings and Privacy menu. Otherwise, Facebook will automatically delete any stored data related to its discontinued services on August 1, the report said.
The company is also shutting down short-form experience called 'Soundbites' and 'Audio Hubs', The Verge reported on Tuesday.
"After a year of learning and iterating on audio-first experiences, we've decided to simplify our suite of audio tools on Facebook," a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.
"We're constantly evaluating the features we offer so we can focus on the most meaningful experiences," the spokesperson added.
The social network is also integrating its live-streaming Live Audio Rooms feature into its broader Facebook Live suite.
After foraying into podcasting and audio features, Meta-owned Facebook is losing interest in its podcasting plans, looking to prioritise other initiatives in collaboration with its podcast partners.
According to reports, Facebook is now focused on pursuing other opportunities with podcast partners -- like events in the metaverse and e-commerce.
Facebook's parent company Meta is also said to be prioritising short-video projects above other initiatives, likely due to increasing competition from popular short-form video app TikTok.
The company has been receiving feedback from creators on what's working well and what it can improve on.
Between March 1-31, Meta received 656 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism for Facebook, and responded to 100 per cent of those reports.
"Of these incoming reports, we provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 556 cases," Meta said in its compliance report.
For Instagram, the company received 1,150 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism, and it responded to 100 per cent of those 1,150 reports.
Of these reports, Meta provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 556 cases.
"Of the other 594 reports where specialised review was needed, we reviewed content as per our policies, and we took action on 20 reports in total," the company informed.
"The report describes our efforts to remove harmful content from Facebook and Instagram and demonstrate our continued commitment to making Facebook and Instagram safe and inclusive," said the company.
"We use a combination of Artificial Intelligence, reports from our community and review by our teams to identify and review content against our policies," it added.
Meta actioned a huge 14.9 million spam content, 2.5 million violent and graphic content and 2.1 million content related to adult nudity and sexual activity, among others.
"We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) and take action for going against our standards," it said.
In February, Meta took down 21.2 million pieces of content across 13 policies for Facebook and over 2.4 million pieces of content across 12 policies for Instagram.
Meta-owned WhatsApp on Monday said that it banned over 18 lakh bad accounts in India in the month of March in compliance with the new IT Rules 2021.
Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.
Meta, however, admitted that the world needs more academic research to better understand social media's true impact on society, especially in the American context.
Reacting to a recent article in The Atlantic, titled "Why the Past 10 Years of American Life have Been Uniquely Stupid," Meta said that while the article certainly raises valid questions about social media's impact, "the preponderance of research tells a far more nuanced story and many of these questions lack clear answers".
According to Pratiti Raychoudhury, Vice President, Head of Research, Meta, research shows that mainstream media plays a bigger role disseminating disinformation than popularly accepted.
"Polarisation is decreasing in parts of the world where social media use is rising. More and more research also discredits the idea that social media algorithms create an echo chamber that causes polarisation and political upheavals," she countered.
For example, evidence simply does not support the idea that Facebook, or social media generally, is the primary cause of polarisation, she argued.
"Research from Stanford last year looked in depth at trends in nine countries over 40 years, and found that in some countries polarisation was on the rise before Facebook even existed, and in others it has been decreasing while internet and Facebook use increased," said the company.
There are also studies showing that mainstream media plays a bigger role in disseminating disinformation than popularly accepted.
Meta said that the strength of civic institutions has been declining long before social media was invented.
"We need more academic research to better understand social media's true impact, especially on democracy in America. That is one of the reasons why Meta is investing in open research and transparency including the Facebook and Instagram Election Study," said Raychoudhury.
While Facebook (now Meta) had reported its first loss in the number of DAUs last quarter, Twitter's monetizable DAUs grew only by 2 per cent in the US and 15 per cent globally.
Snap (parent company of Snapchat) grew its revenue 38 per cent year-over-year to reach $1.06 billion for the quarter that ended March 31, 2022.
"Our first quarter results reflect the underlying momentum in our business through a challenging operating environment," said Evan Spiegel, CEO.
"We remain focused on providing value for our growing community, delivering ROI for our advertising partners, and investing against our enormous opportunity in augmented reality," he said in a statement late on Thursday.
The company said it was set to gain 44 per cent growth since Q1 2021. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has hit its advertising revenues.
"We believe the impact of the war in Ukraine on input costs, marketing budgets and overall economic competence has been significant, and that it is difficult to predict its impact on a forward-looking basis," Snap CFO Derek Andersen said during the earning's call.
The company said that over 250 million Snapchatters engaged with Augmented Reality (AR) every day on average.
"Total daily time spent by Snapchatters aged 25 and older engaging with shows and publisher content increased by more than 25 per cent year-over-year," it added.
"We observed a 350 per cent increase in the number of Spotlight submissions using creative tools or Lenses compared with Q1 2021," the company informed.
Soundbites are short-form, creative audio clips for capturing anecdotes, jokes, moments of inspiration, poems and other things.
"We'll start testing Soundbites over the next few months with a small number of creators and refine the product with their input before making it available to everyone," Fidji Simo, Head of Facebook App, said in a statement late on Monday.
To kickstart Soundbites, Facebook is introducing an 'Audio Creator Fund' to support emerging audio creators and get early feedback on the new product experience.
Currently, more than 170 million people are connected to hundreds of thousands of podcast pages on Facebook, and more than 35 million people are members of fan groups around podcasts.
To date, one had to leave the Facebook app to listen to these podcasts.
"Within the next few months, you'll be able to listen to podcasts directly on the Facebook app -- both while using the app or when the app is backgrounded," the social network announced.
Facebook will also help users find new podcasts and episodes based on their interests.
"We're also going to start testing Live Audio Rooms and we expect it to be available to everyone on the Facebook app by the summer," said Simo.
Facebook will test Live Audio Rooms in Groups, making it available to the 1.8 billion people using Groups every month and the tens of millions of active communities on Facebook.
In addition to bringing this to Facebook, the company also plans to release Live Audio Rooms on Messenger this summer.
The company said it is building a set of new audio creation tools.
"You will be able to use music from Facebook's Sound Collection in the background of your story to set the tone. And with the ability to mix audio tracks, a growing collection of sound effects, voice effects and filters, it should be a lot of fun too," Simo explained.
Additionally, Facebook will put captions on all audio experiences to make them accessible to all.
When Live Audio Rooms launch, fans will be able to support their favourite creators and public figures through Stars, or donate to causes they care about.
"Soon after launch, we'll also offer other monetisation models, like the ability to charge for access to a Live Audio Room through a single purchase or a subscription," said Facebook.
When you start a message with @everyone, all participants in the chat will be notified. @everyone is perfect for group reminders, impromptu get-togethers or when you need to gather the braintrust to crowdsource an answer to a time-sensitive question.
"@everyone is perfect for group reminders, impromptu get-togethers or when you need to gather the braintrust to crowdsource an answer to a time-sensitive question. This way, your message gets maximum exposure, and nobody misses out," the company said in a statement.
The company is also rolling out a "/silent" functionality. When you type in "/silent" before sending a message in a group chat, the members of the group will not receive a notification of your message at all.
Sending a message with /silent removes the anxiety of interrupting someone with a non-urgent pop-up notification or disturbing them during their off hours.
"Now, you can share those late-night epiphanies in the moment without disturbing the peace, and your friends can read your message at their leisure," the company added.
In addition, /pay shortcut makes it even easier to send and receive money right in your one-on-one Messenger chats. Simply type /pay to send or request money securely without fees - perfect for quickly paying a friend for dinner or getting paid back for a ride. Meta is also going to introduce a "/gif" shortcut that will allow users to quickly find and send GIFs. This feature will be coming to iOS users only.
The company said that they have added more features for Facebook group admins -- such as the ability to automatically decline incoming posts that have been identified as containing false information by third-party fact-checkers.
"...we are announcing new features to help Facebook group admins keep their groups safe and healthy, reduce misinformation, and to make it easier for them to manage and grow their groups with relevant audiences," the company said in a blogpost.
These new tools will help admins prevent the spread of misinformation and manage interactions in their group by adding the ability through Admin Assist to automatically decline incoming posts that have been identified as containing false information.
Incoming posts that contain content rated by third-party fact-checkers as false are declined before they are seen in the group, which helps reduce the visibility of misinformation.
Expanding the functionality of "mute" and updating it to "suspend," so admins and moderators can temporarily suspend group members and participants from posting, commenting, reacting, participating in a group chat, and creating or entering a Room in a group.