Facebook risks becoming the next big victim of China’s economic slowdown due to falling advertising spending from Chinese companies, a top Wall Street analyst has warned. The Silicon Valley social media giant, which reports its next quarterly earnings on Wednesday, is banned from operating in China but it still collects about $7bn per year in advertising revenues from big Chinese companies seeking to reach western consumers, according to Brian Wieser, analyst at Pivotal Research. China’s economy grew by 6.6pc in 2018, its lowest level since the 1990s. The weaker pace of growth has led to a tough period for Chinese companies. The Chinese slowdown is likely hit Facebook as advertisers begin spending... To continue reading this article Start your free trial of Premium Access all Premium articles Subscriber-only events Cancel any time Free for 30 days then only £2 per week Try Premium Access one Premium article per week … [Read more...] about Facebook’s China problem: could it be the next tech giant hit by the Asian slowdown?
WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger integration: What does it means for users?
In these trying times for Facebook, even the smallest steps taken by the world's largest social networking platform draws close inspection. But Mark Zuckerberg has been anything but subtle in taking bold steps to steer his multi-billion-dollar company into the right directions. Now, a report has emerged revealing Facebook CEO's big plans to integrate the social networking sites' messaging services. According to an NYTimes report, Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger apps will be integrated soon, bringing together three of the biggest messaging apps with a combined user base of over 2.6 billion. But it's worth noting that the plan is still in its nascent stage, expected to be completed by the end of this year or early 2020. The integration of WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger has sparked a debate online with experts questioning how this would affect the security of users' chats. But Zuckerberg has that covered as the Facebook boss has ordered all apps to be end-to-end … [Read more...] about WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger integration: What does it means for users?
Zuckerberg defends Facebook’s mission in op-ed: ‘We don’t sell people’s data’
By Rex Crum | [email protected] | Bay Area News GroupPUBLISHED: January 25, 2019 at 8:04 am | UPDATED: January 25, 2019 at 3:17 pm Faced with ongoing criticism over just what his company does with its users’ personal data, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg took the op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal on Friday to clarify what he called “the principles of how we operate.” Zuckerberg said it has been “misreported” that the company sells the data of its approximately 2 billion users to outside advertisers or groups. He said part of the confusion involving Facebook and its user base comes from how it operates in order to keep its basic services free. “You get our services for free — and we work separately with advertisers to show you relevant ads,” Zuckerberg wrote. “This model can feel opaque, and we’re all distrustful of systems we don’t understand.” Zuckerberg went on to add that such a setup has … [Read more...] about Zuckerberg defends Facebook’s mission in op-ed: ‘We don’t sell people’s data’
Facebook admitted defrauding kids and parents of thousands of dollars in early free-to-play games
Facebook engaged in practices that tricked children and parents into spending money in free-to-play games, according to court documents unsealed and reported by the publication Reveal. And the company often denied attempts by parents to recover hundreds or even thousands of dollars until credit card companies “clawed back” the money from Facebook. The 135-pages of documents include internal Facebook memos, secret strategies, and employee emails that showed how the social media company engaged in what was internally dubbed “friendly fraud” in order to maximize revenues. These findings are explosive, as they tell a different story about so-called “whales,” or the small percentage of players who spend a lot of money in games. It suggests that, rather than being willing big spenders, many whales were accidental or unintentional, as children didn’t realize that purchases of virtual currency were connected to their parents’ credit cards. When … [Read more...] about Facebook admitted defrauding kids and parents of thousands of dollars in early free-to-play games
How to use Facebook Messenger without a Facebook account
Facebook Messenger is one of the most widely used messaging services out there — and you probably know at least a few people who use the messaging service almost exclusively. In fact, there are plenty of people out there who use Facebook Messenger without ever wanting to use Facebook itself. Thankfully, it’s possible to use Facebook Messenger without having a Facebook account at all — which is very helpful for those who don’t necessarily want to hand over all of their data to Facebook, but still want to be able to contact friends and family who keep in touch through Facebook Messenger. Whether you want to use Facebook Messenger without creating a Facebook account, or you want to delete your Facebook account and still use Facebook Messenger, here’s how to do so. How to use Facebook Messenger without a Facebook account If you don’t have a Facebook account but still want to use Facebook Messenger, it’s very easy to do so. Here’s how. … [Read more...] about How to use Facebook Messenger without a Facebook account