Facebook has just unveiled a new feature on its mobile app that can effectively disrupt the way people consume media on their devices. Dubbed as Facebook Instant Articles, the new feature should allow publishers to create fast and interactive articles on the social network.

The company is claiming that Instant Articles can load articles ten times faster than standard mobile web articles. Aside from faster loading times, Instant Article also makes use of different interactive features that make the act of reading a story more enjoyable.

Introducing Instant Articles, a new tool for publishers to create fast, interactive articles on Facebook.
Posted by Facebook Media on Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Publishers should also benefit with the new feature through different monetization opportunities that include ads and Facebook’s own Audience Network. They will also be able to track data and traffic coming through the app with different analytics tools.

Facebook is working with a number of launch partners for Instant Articles including The New York Times, National Geographic, Buzfeed, NBC, The Atlantic, the Guardian, BBC News, Spiegel and Bild.

Instant Articles will be initially available on the iPhone with a special set of stories published by some of the launching partners.

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Facebook has just made its messaging app a whole lot better by adding a new feature that makes it better equipped in facing its rivals in the highly competitive market of instant messaging.

The update to the Facebook Messenger app will be available to Android and iOS users and will add a new button that will enable users to make video calls on their smartphones. The feature will allow users to make video calls regarding if the two parties are using mobile phones that run on different operating systems.

The video call functionality will be launching this week initially in the following markets: Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greek, Ireland, Laos, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, the United States, UK and Uruguay.

Meanwhile, other markets will have to wait in the coming months to get the feature, much like in the case of the money transfer functionality on messenger that was announced back in March.

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Facebook’s annual developer conference this week became the venue where the company announced its newest apps for developers to play with. To be more precise, the star of the show was the new developments for its Messenger app.

The company has earlier announced the money-sending facility that it will be incorporating in future versions of Messenger. And this week, the social networking giant introduces the new Messenger platform – a new way for apps to integrate with the Messenger app.

Through the platform, developers can build apps that will enable users to enhance their conversations with the use of different apps that utilizes photos, videos, audio clips and GIFs to name a few. These apps are seamlessly incorporated into Messenger making the user experience as smooth as possible.

Facebook also announced Business on Messenger – an upcoming feature in the Messenger app that allows users to directly connect with businesses on the web.

This feature should allow users to receive relevant messages from business including order confirmations and shipping status updates as well as provide a facility to take basic actions like modifying, tracking or returning an order.

Business on Messenger will initially launch with a number of partners though the exact date was not mentioned.

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Facebook’s latest update is something that people who like throwbacks will certainly appreciate. The new feature is called “On This Day” and it lets users remember certain memories in their past that happened on that exact date.

Your throwback moments will be in the form of status updates, photos, posts from friends and other things you’ve shared or been tagged in. And if you’re worried that your friends might see something you’re not that proud to share, Facebook is giving all of us the option to keep it to ourselves by default.

Users will also be given the option to subscribe to notifications ensuring that they’ll always be informed whenever they have a memory to look back on. Posts can also be shared with friends or be deleted if the user wants to.

The new feature will rollout globally in the coming weeks both for web and mobile. If you’re already part of the select few to get the feature today, you can try to access it now by searching for “On This Day” or visit its page using this link.

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Facebook may now be transitioning to a new phase when it comes to its business model, well, at least for its chat app. The social networking giant today announced that its messaging client will soon have the ability to send money to other people.

Transactions will be completed using either a credit or debit card, which the user needs to register in his account before any money can be send over the air. Once a card is registered, Facebook will generate a PIN which needs to be entered every time the user wants to send money.

In terms of security, Facebook says the connection between your device and their server is encrypted so users need not worry about your sensitive financial information being compromised. At the moment, the feature is only available in the US and in the desktop and iOS version of the app.

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Facebook’s iOS app as well as its photo-sharing platform Instagram are getting new features today that’s meant to make shutterbugs really happy.

For starters, the iOS version of the Facebook app is getting an automatic enhancement feature that will improve the quality of photos uploaded to the social network. According to a report by TechCrunch whose sources say the feature will have something like a slider so users can have a way to control the photo adjustments including clarity, lighting and shadows.

On the other hand, Instagram is also introducing new features today. Specifically, the app is adding five new filters to its existing list of predefined photo filters. These include Slumber, Crema, Ludwig, Aden and Perpetua.

Moreover, the IG app is also adding a “manage” button so users can rearrange the filters based on their preference. The preview section of the app is also tweaked a bit with a specific focus on speed by providing users with a blurred preview of their photo when the filter is applied. This should, in theory, allow people to see at a glance how their photo will appear after the filter effect has been applied.

The updated version of the IG app is now available both on Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play.

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Facebook’s Group feature has long been a resident of the social network’s website. And though it hasn't really received much attention in contrast to other features of the site such as the messenger, Facebook still considers the Group feature as an important tool to fulfill the company’s goal to connect people that it has made a standalone version of Group on mobile.

The Groups feature is said to have around 700 million users every month, so it’s not surprising that Facebook would want to give more focus to its patrons. The app should allow Group managers and admins to more efficiently manage content among the members of the community.

There’s also a new Discover feature where users will see suggested Groups based on different factors including those related to the pages they've liked, communities that they’re friends have joined and those groups that are near their location.

The app is now available on Google Play and Apple App Store for free. But unlike the Messenger app that requires users to install it on their device, the Groups feature will remain a resident of the Facebook main app, which can be viewed as part of the News Feed.

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