Meta

TikTok may be going ad-free for five bucks a month, but you’ll have to pay a bit more for a similar experience on Meta’s platforms. A new report details Meta’s proposal to offer a version of Facebook and Instagram with no ads that would cost nearly $17/month.

Threads is working on a new feature that will let you delete your account without nuking your Instagram account, but it won’t be ready anytime soon. Meanwhile, new data forecasts where Meta’s competitor to X (formerly Twitter) will be by year’s end.

The British government’s hugely controversial Online Safety Bill has today passed in the second chamber of Parliament, and after six years of debate is now set to become law.

While Apple’s iMessage and other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps were saved from being outlawed by the bill, the government hasn’t yet given up the fight …

Even before Apple unveiled Vision Pro, Meta already had virtual reality headsets called Meta Quest (which were created after Meta acquired Oculus). However, Meta’s headsets aren’t exactly a hit. But Zuckerberg seems to have ambitious plans to compete with Apple Vision Pro, as a new report suggests that Meta has been working with LG to build a new VR headset.

WhatsApp has sort of been on the Mac for a while now, but Meta’s 3.2 star-rated solution has been resource-hungry and clunky at best. Starting today, Meta is officially launching its new and improved native Mac app with group calling features and more.

Meta has announced that European users can now opt out of algorithmic feeds on Instagram and Facebook, in order to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

However, the company is not extending the same choice to app users in the US or anywhere else outside Europe …

An investigation by the Stanford Internet Observatory has found worrying volumes of CSAM on Mastodon. Of particular concern is that the child sexual abuse material included many known examples that should have been automatically detected by digital fingerprinting.

Researchers say that a large part of the issue is the open and decentralized nature of the social media platform …

As announced earlier this week, Meta today officially launched Threads – its new microblogging social network that aims to compete with Twitter. However, although Threads is a new app, it exists under the branding and structure of Instagram, so users can log in and find their friends more easily there. Read on as we detail how to download and use Threads.

Twitter users have been facing a lot of issues over the past few months, but things got even worse last weekend after the company decided to limit the number of tweets users can see per day. To take advantage of this, Meta now seems to have confirmed that Threads – its new app to compete with Twitter – will be released later this week.

The European Union’s parliament has passed the Digital Markets Act, which is antitrust legislation that will force every platform to allow the distribution of apps through other digital stores – which will have a huge impact on Apple. And one of the companies most interested in this change is Meta, which has confirmed its plans to turn Facebook into a replacement for the App Store.

Facebook Messenger parental controls have long been available for Messenger Kids – the special version of the chat app designed for children below 13 years of age – but not for teens. This has now changed, with parental controls coming to the main Messenger app when used by teens aged 13 to 18.

Separately, TikTok is integrating two existing filtering features after continuing concerns about showing inappropriate content to children – though as always, in a very weak way …

Meta has been developing its own version of Twitter that will reportedly be released under the Instagram brand. Now, The Verge has seen and shared new screenshots of the unreleased app.

Apple’s reputation is rated No. 10 in a new poll of the best-known US brands, while social networks Meta and Twitter come in the bottom 10 – not far ahead of The Trump Organization’s last place.

Poll company Harris has been using the same methodology for 24 years now, asking a large, nationally representative sample of Americans to name the two brands they consider to have the best reputation, and the two they consider to have the worst …

Alright, Apple. Pack it up, show’s over. Mark Zuckerberg just dropped a surprise announcement, unveiling the Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset. The reveal comes just *checks calendar* four days before Apple is set to officially announce its high-end mixed reality headset. So much for Apple’s headset hype, I guess.

A Facebook privacy breach has seen parent company Meta fined $1.3B – the largest amount ever imposed for breaking Europe’s tough GDPR privacy laws, according to WSJ sources. The news is expected to be officially announced later today.

The fine also raises questions about the privacy of US Facebook users, as it was levied for exposing European citizens to the much looser rules that apply to American users …

Ever since Twitter was acquired by Elon Musk, some users have been looking for alternatives to the social network as they’re unhappy with the company’s latest decisions. We’ve seen Mastodon get a lot of attention, as well as Bluesky – a new social network supported by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. But now Meta wants to join the party with a new app under the Instagram brand to compete with Twitter.