Meta is launching a new ad campaign targeting Apple’s iMessage platform head-on. The ad campaign unveiled by Mark Zuckerberg today criticizes Apple for only offering end-to-end encryption for iMessage, not standard SMS communication. WhatsApp, on the other hand, offers end-to-end encryption that “works across both iPhones and Android.”
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Ask for the views of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Apple, and it will come as no surprise that he’s critical. It seems this even applies to products the Cupertino company hasn’t even yet announced.
The Facebook founder effectively criticized Apple for its (unknown) pricing strategy on its (unannounced) Apple Headset …
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has never hidden his opinions against some of Apple’s decisions, especially after the company introduced App Tracking Transparency. This time, Zuckerberg criticized Apple and its rumored mixed reality headset as he argued that the metaverse should be “open.”
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Update: The names of the apps are now known. Apple has removed them from the App Store, but the apps also need to be removed from devices – see the list added to the end of the piece.
Meta has issued a Facebook security warning to around one million users that their login credentials may have been stolen by scam apps. While most of the apps were Android ones, 47 of them were iOS apps found in Apple’s App Store …
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It seems Meta is having problems persuading even its own employees to don one of its virtual reality headsets and use its primary metaverse app, Horizon Worlds. So much so that an internal memo says the company would “hold managers accountable” for their teams using it.
It’s one of a set of leaked memos that suggest Apple may not have too much to fear from Meta’s competition to its own upcoming VR/AR headsets …
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Meta is facing a class action lawsuit after both Facebook and Instagram were found to be using an App Tracking Transparency workaround to track users on the web, even after they were denied permission to do so.
The company is accused not just of breaking Apple’s privacy rules, but also violating both state and federal laws …
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Facebook has been conducting an interesting experiment in “informed democracy” as it figures out how to deal with the huge number of posts containing climate change misinformation …
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Execs from Instagram and Pinterest have been ordered to appear before an inquest into the death of a 14-year-old girl, Molly Russell. Russell took her own life after using the apps to view extensive material on self-harm, depression, and suicide.
It’s the latest development in growing concerns about the impact of social media platforms on the mental health of teenagers, girls especially …
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Execs from four tech giants were called before the Senate Homeland Security Committee yesterday. The Senate questioned Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter on safety, privacy, misinformation, and more.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was also seen in the building, but he did not appear before the committee …
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The Meta Quest Pro headset is set to launch next month, and it’s believed to have many features in common with the upcoming Apple headset expected to be launched early next year. We already knew the name, and it now appears we know what both the device and its packaging look like, thanks to a careless employee.
A sample of the headset, its controllers, and retail packaging were left in a hotel room, bringing back memories of the time an Apple engineer left an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar …
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Fears about midterm election disinformation have led both Meta and TikTok to outline the defensive measures they plan to deploy. It follows a disastrous experience in 2016, when Facebook unwittingly sold political ad space to disinformation agents working on behalf of Russia.
Meta subsequently put in place protections for the 2020 elections, and says that it will maintain the strategies shown to be effective, as well as improving on them …
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It might seem a little early for a virtual reality antitrust intervention, in a field which is as yet still a niche interest, but the FTC is taking no chances. It has moved to block Meta’s planned purchase of VR fitness company Within.
The aggressiveness of the move makes it seem likely that Apple will face similar bars on acquiring VR companies to assist its upcoming Apple Headset product …
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The future of the internet will depend on the outcome of an Apple versus Meta headset battle, claims Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
He told employees that the two companies had very different visions for the metaverse, and admitted that it’s not yet clear which will be better …
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How would you like to send your WhatsApp messages hands-free? WhatsApp, the popular messaging platform, is now coming to Stories Glasses. With this integration, users can call, send end-to-end encrypted messages, and also hear messages, entirely hands-free.
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We knew that Facebook’s parent company Meta was working on a new high-end VR/AR headset, but a couple of new reports reveal both the name – Meta Quest Pro – and more about what to expect.
The broad specifications for the combined virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headset seem close to what has been reported for the upcoming Apple Headset …
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Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta last year launched “Novi,” a new digital wallet with support for cryptocurrencies. However, it seems that the project didn’t work out so well as Meta has now announced that it will discontinue and shut down Novi in the coming months.
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The global VR headset market grew by 241.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest market intelligence data. Virtual reality (VR) headset shipments are expected to hit 13.9M units for the year as a whole.
But next year is expected to be the crucial one for the VR and augmented reality (AR) sector, as Apple enters the market …
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Developers working on VR apps for Meta’s headsets have accused the Facebook owner of hypocrisy over commissions.
They say company founder Mark Zuckerberg described Apple’s 15-30% commissions as “monopoly rents,” yet Meta will take the exact same cuts from them for virtual reality apps …
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In an update today, Meta is introducing new ways to organize and quickly access Facebook Groups. These features help admins and members stay on top of their community engagements.
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Instagram age verification – or rather, lack of same – has been a hot-button issue for some time with both parents and lawmakers. App owner Meta has so far made no effort to ensure that claimed user ages are correct but says that it is now testing three verification options.
However, even if one or more of these are implemented, it still won’t prove much of a barrier to underage kids who claim to be older …
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The formation of a Metaverse Standards Forum has been announced, with members comprising many of the companies expected to become major players in the space. Apple, however, was not one of them, despite its work on a mixed-reality headset.
The company didn’t offer any immediate comment on this, but it’s not a complete surprise …
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Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Meta announced that it wouldn’t take a cut of creators’ revenue on Facebook and Instagram as a measure to help small businesses. The company first announced the cut-free revenue would last “for at least the next year,” but now it has confirmed that the benefit will extend until 2024.
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A leaked Meta internal memo from late April reveals the plan to entirely transform Facebook’s feed to become more TikTok-like. In addition, the company’s executives want to reintegrate Messenger back into Facebook’s main app, revealed a report.
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Instagram is gradually becoming a safer place for teens and is giving new tools for parents to have control over their child’s experience. With that, Meta is unveiling new parental supervision features on Instagram, according to a company blog post today.
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