Facebook has begun notifying users who upload photos from their iOS devices that their synced albums will be deleted next month (via TechCrunch).
Facebook's iOS photo syncing feature was launched in 2012, and let users automatically upload all photos on their mobile devices to a private album called 'Synced' or 'Synced from Phone'.
The idea behind the feature was that copying the photos makes it easier to find and share pictures with friends on the social network.
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Users are now being informed by email and via app notifications that these albums will cease to exist on July 7, and that they should either download the albums, or install the company's photo-centric Moments app to retain their uploaded status.
News of the change has seen the Moments app shoot up the App Store's Top Free Apps chart, where it currently ranks #2 ahead of Facebook's hugely popular Messenger app, which sits at #3.
The forced adoption of yet another Facebook app has caused consternation among a number of social media account holders, who were subject to a similar heavy-handed approach in early 2014.
I'm gonna delete @facebook from my phone before I install Messenger AND Moments! Facebook is the new MySpace. https://t.co/ewszcNBEGY
— Ray Ulrich (@ulrichray) June 2, 2016
On that occasion, the company pushed all users to download Facebook Messenger after it removed the chat feature from its flagship app. Messenger has remained among the App Store's top-ranking free apps ever since.
This month, the company also announced that it would be removing chat from its mobile web app too, leaving users with no other option but to download Messenger if they want to continue using the feature on their phones or tablets.
In related news, Facebook announced this week that it has begun rolling out a new 360-degree photo feature across the social network, which will let users view uploaded panoramic shots and 360-degree photos in a more immersive way.
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Photos compatible with the 360 feature are identified by a compass icon on the right-hand side of the shot once it has been uploaded. Mobile users can explore a photo by tapping and dragging it or by moving their phone, while desktop users can click and drag it with their mouse or trackpad.
Moments is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Top Rated Comments
I'm not sure why people are complaining since Facebook is free. If you were actually paying for the product, then you would have grounds for complaints.
Mark? Is that you?Glassed Silver:mac
And on top of that, Mark gets to rape all his users who will happily do whatever he SAYS !!
Slavery was harmless compared to Facebook. Wait n See !
Lol, condescending much??!!Well, you are missing out
The assumption that people that eschew Facebook don't know what it is or what it does, is the height of egotistical ignorance.
Please.
Yeah; believe it or not: we can actually grasp the concept. And we are not "missing out"; trust.
As a matter of fact.... I challenge you to d/l a timer app & for a day, press it every time you waste your life on that time vampire; then- come back here & post to me in minutes and seconds the quantified amount YOU are missing out on life... I will be looking into my daughter's beautiful eyes during that time, listening to her slowly starting to connect in her perfect little brain the sounds animals make with photos of them in her picture books.
Perhaps if a colleague of a former flatmate's cousin saw a video of something equally precious & posted it on FB, you will be able to semi experience that type of joy third-hand.
Enjoy the disconnect.
I absolutely LOVE technology; it is my lifeblood, career, & passion- but miss me with Facebook please. It is the antithesis of all which I hold dear.