Facebook Messenger Limits Message Forwarding to Cut Spread of Misinformation
Facebook has announced a new forward limit on its Messenger chat platform so that messages can now only be forwarded to five people or groups at a time.
The limiter was revealed in a Facebook Newsroom blog post explaining that the new rule has been introduced to provide users with "a safer, more private messaging experience," particularly amid the ongoing global health crisis and in the run up to major elections in the United States.
Limiting forwarding is an effective way to slow the spread of viral misinformation and harmful content that has the potential to cause real world harm.
The change follows a similar limit on Facebook-owned WhatsApp that was introduced in July. In limiting the ability to forward messages to multiple chats at once, the encrypted messaging platform cited events in India as a specific example of how spreading fake messages could cause harm.
Earlier this year, a series of viral message-related crimes in India resulted in 12 dead in the span of just one month. One incident left one man dead and two others severely injured after false rumors went viral on WhatsApp that they had tried to abduct children.
WhatsApp said it was "horrified" by the violence in India, and that it had announced several changes to help address the issues.
Related Stories
WhatsApp's plan to bring iMessage-style message reactions to the massively popular chat platform appears to be entering its final stages, based on new screenshots shared by WABetaInfo.
WhatsApp has been working on message reactions – or "Tapbacks" in Apple Messages parlance – for some time, with evidence of their development first coming to light last summer. The feature gives...
Telegram today announced it has updated its iPhone and iPad app with several new features, including message reactions, translation, hidden text, additional interactive emoji options, themed QR codes for users and channels, and more.
With the addition of reactions, users can now double tap on a message bubble and a small thumbs-up emoji will appear at the bottom of that message. You can...
WhatsApp is working on an app for iPadOS, and thanks to Mac Catalyst, an app for macOS too, according to WABetaInfo.
WhatsApp's rumored app for iPad will be a Catalyst app, enabling it to run seamlessly on macOS. This effectively allows the same app to share code while running on separate platforms.
The new WhatsApp app for macOS apparently looks very similar to the app for iPadOS,...
WhatsApp has launched a cryptocurrency payment feature for a small number of users in the United States, thanks to Novi integration, a digital wallet owned by Facebook (now Meta).
The pilot program lets users of the encrypted messaging app send and receive money "instantly, securely, and with no fees" using the Paxos Dollar (USPD) stablecoin, whose value is linked to the US dollar.
The...
Facebook is re-adding voice and video calling features to its main Facebook app after moving the features to Messenger back in 2014, reports Bloomberg.
Users in some countries including the United States are now able to make voice or video calls directly from the Facebook app. As of now, Facebook is testing the feature, which is meant to cut down on the number of times that Facebook users...
European lawmakers have provisionally agreed upon a new law that would force Apple to allow user access to third-party app stores and permit the sideloading of apps on iPhones and iPads, among other sweeping changes designed to make the digital sector fairer and more competitive. The European Council and European Parliament said on Friday they had reached a political agreement on the...
Facebook is researching ways to analyze encrypted data, such as WhatsApp messages, without actually decrypting the information, according to a new report from The Information. The report cites that Facebook has confirmed it is building a team of artificial intelligence researchers to "study ways of analyzing encrypted data without decrypting it." While it is still early in development, the...
WhatsApp is testing a helpful new feature on iOS that displays profile pictures in system notifications when users receive new messages from chats and groups.
Image credit: WABetaInfo First spotted by app specialist WABetaInfo, the first new feature for the platform in 2022 uses APIs in iOS 15 to add the WhatsApp profile images to notifications in top-screen banners and in the Notification...
Popular Stories
Apple earlier this week announced the discontinuation of the iPod touch, and because it was the last iPod still available for purchase, its sunsetting effectively marks the end of the entire iPod lineup.
To send the iPod on its way, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the most notable iPod releases over the last 21 years.
Original iPod (2001)
Introduced in October...
iOS 16 will include new ways of interacting with the system and some "fresh Apple apps," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said, offering some more detail on what Apple has in store for the upcoming release of iOS and iPadOS set to be announced in a few weeks at WWDC. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman wrote that while iOS 16 is not likely to introduce a major face-lift to...
It's been over 200 days since Apple debuted its redesigned MacBook Pro lineup. Offered in 14-inch and 16-inch display sizes, the new-look MacBooks wowed Apple fans and creative pros alike with their powerful custom Apple silicon, mini-LED screen, and multiple connectivity options. But there are still some things you can't do with a MacBook Pro. Here are five features some Mac users are still...
While there are as yet no concrete rumors related to which devices iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 will support, the discontinuation of the iPod touch earlier this week may be an indication that as many as nine devices could be about to lose support for Apple's upcoming operating systems.
iOS and iPadOS 13, 14, and 15 support all of the same devices, with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus,...
Apple has launched a special limited-time offer for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad trade-in that offers customers additional credit when trading in their only device for a new one.
The offer is being run in several countries including the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, India, and France. In the UK, Apple is offering up to £50 of extra trade-in credit...
Sony's flagship WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones have been among the best on the market for some time, and today Sony announced its fifth-generation WH-1000XM5 headphones, boasting a new design and several improvements over the previous model.
The redesigned headphones replace the shrouded arms that swivel on the XM4's with an exposed arm that has a single contact point at the earcups,...
Apple plans to launch a new version of the Apple TV in the second half of 2022, according to well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a tweet today, Kuo said the new Apple TV will have an improved cost structure, suggesting that the device could have a lower price that is more competitive with other streaming media players like Google's Chromecast line, Amazon's Fire TV line, and the Roku line. ...
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models will be available in a refreshed range of color options, including an all-new purple color, according to a recent rumor.
The claim comes from a post on Chinese social media site Weibo by an unverified source and purports to reveal the full range of color options for Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. Compared to the selection of color...
Top Rated Comments