Were you worried people were really going to #DeleteFacebook? Well, let go of that fear because it looks like the company is in the clear.
So far in 2018, Facebook has kept gaining, not losing, users. In Q1 2018, Facebook added 48 million daily users and 70 million monthly active users, a 3.28 percent growth from Q4 2017.
"Despite facing important challenges, our community and business are off to a strong start in 2018," announced Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO.
With the Cambridge Analytica controversy in their rearview mirror, Facebook is charging full speed ahead. Most recently, users in Australia and New Zealand now see options to upvote comments if they find it helpful/insightful or downvote if it has bad intentions or is disrespectful. In essence, Facebook wants its comments to be sorted more like they are on Reddit.
A Facebook spokesperson told CNET, "People have told us they would like to see better public discussions on Facebook … Our hope is that this feature will make it easier for us to create such spaces, by ranking the comments that readers believe deserve to rank highest, rather than the comments that get the strongest emotional reaction."
The tests are going well so far, but it’s not clear yet if (or when) Facebook will roll out this feature. In the meantime, Facebook announced lots of other changes at F8, its annual developers’ conference.
Below are the most exciting features and updates coming down the big line.
1. Find love on Facebook
This opt-in feature won’t show up in your News Feed (nor will it suggest you date your friends). Instead, you create a separate dating profile and will be alerted when others, who also have opted in, fit your preferences.
From there, you can comment on any photo or interest on their profile to start a text-based conversation. You can also unlock events and see if anyone you match with will attend.
As has become typical for Facebook, their new feature looks an awful lot like another app, Hinge.
2. Make a video call on Instagram
WhatsApp, a messenger app that Facebook owns, has 1.5 billion monthly active users who spend a collective 2 billion minutes per day on WhatsApp video and audio calls. Because of the success of that feature, users will now be able to add up to four people to a video call in the coming months.
Facebook is aldo bringing video calling to Instagram Direct. Currently, Instagram is testing this feature before its global rollout.
3. Say hello to a sleeker, smarter Messenger app
Facebook Messenger, the world’s second-most popular messaging app with 1.3 billion monthly active users, is also getting a makeover. The new design will feature fewer buttons to deliver a cleaner, simpler and faster experience. This will roll out "very, very soon."
Also, businesses on Facebook Marketplace that receive messages from users in another language will have them automatically translated. Then, the business’ response will also be translated back to the user.
4. Clear history
Rolling out later this year, Facebook is also building a tool that will allow users to see and clear their history on Facebook, much like people clear their cookies or history in browsers.
