Facebook Developer Conference 2018: The wrap-up

Facebook’s Developer Conference or Facebook F8 is the conference conducted by Facebook annually. This conference highlights the new technologies and tools that Facebook introduces every year. This year Facebook F8 Developer Conference was held on May 1 and May 2, 2018. This article covers the highlights of the Facebook’s F8 Developers Conference 2018.

Facebook F8 Developers Conference 2018 Recap

1. Dating Home-

Facebook is going to integrate a new online dating feature directly into its app. Facebook named this new dating feature as Dating Home. Users can access this feature by clicking on a small heart-shaped icon. This icon will be available in the top right corner of the Facebook app and lets users with Facebook dating profiles chat with potential matches.

These matches base themselves on the events and groups in which the users are interested. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Facebook said,

“This is going to be for building real long-term relationships, not just hookups.”

He also said,

“I want to be clear that we have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning.”

It means that the Facebook is very much serious about the privacy of its millions of users. This feature will work for the users who create a dating profile on the Facebook. The app will give the suggestions matching to their preferences.

2. Facebook Clear History-

Facebook is going to introduce a Clear History tool. The Facebook does not disclose the date to launch this tool. This feature will work just like the evident history features of the web browsers. It let users clear the history from their Facebook profiles. According to Mark Zuckerberg, once Facebook introduces this feature, users will be able to view the information about the apps and websites with whom they were interacting.

They will be able to clear this information from their account. After users clear the history, all the data including history and cookies will be entirely clear. Due to this, they have to configure the things again just like on web browsers.

3. Facebook Upvotes and Downvotes-

Facebook is going to introduce a new upvote and downvote feature. This feature lets users upvote or downvote the comments on Facebook. Using this feature, users can downvote the abusive comments on the Facebook. This feature will be similar to the Reddit styled upvoting-downvoting design.

4. Facebook Watch party-

Facebook soon will launch a new feature, named Watch Party. With the help of this feature, users can watch videos while chatting with their friends. To explain this feature, Zuckerberg used his congressional testimo NY as an example. He said,

“Let’s say your friend is testifying in Congress. You can laugh together, cry together. Some of my friends did this! Let’s not do that again any time soon.”

5. WhatsApp is coming with new stickers and group video calls-

WhatsApp is one of the largest used messaging apps across the globe. Today, WhatsApp has 450 million daily users. In the Facebook F8 Developers Conference, Mark Zuckerberg announced WhatsApp soon would rollout with two unusual features. Users will enjoy the group calling feature and new stickers on the Whatsapp.

For now, the video and audio calling features are available only for one to one communication on the WhatsApp. Like other messaging apps (Hike, WeChat.), Facebook is also going to introduce new stickers on the WhatsApp. Currently, the new stickers are available on the Beta version of the app for the testing purpose. However, soon it will be available across the globe.

6. WhatsApp Business-

Last year Facebook introduced a new feature on the WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business. The feature is currently available for small businesses. It lets small businesses to communicate with users on the platform. In the conference, Facebook announced that in 2018 it would test it for large businesses.

7. Instagram-

Facebook will allow third parties to create custom AR filters on Instagram. In the conference, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would allow third-party app development companies to create custom AR filters. The custom AR filters are available in most of the messaging apps like Snapchat. Soon this feature will be available on the Facebook’s Instagram.

• Video Chat on Instagram:

In the Facebook F8 conference, Facebook announced, soon video chat feature will be available on the Instagram. With this feature, users will enjoy the video calling just like on Facebook.

• Bully Filter:

  Instagram is going to add Bully Filter this year. This feature will filter the inappropriate and threatening comments from the Instagram.

• AR Camera Effects on Instagram:

  The AR Camera Effects Platform lets users create custom filters. This feature is a little bit different from that of the Facebook. Here, one has to follow the person who had created the filters to unlock them.

8. Oculus Go-

Oculus Go is now available in the market. It is the Facebook’s standalone virtual reality headset. The all-new Oculus Go supports multiplayer games, live shows such as concerts, and more. For now, it is available for $199. Oculus TV app lets users stream live content from many TV channels like ESPN, Netflix, and Showtime.

• FIFA World Cup Live Stream in VR:

  Oculus is going to stream four matches of the FIFA World Cup without charging anything in virtual reality. It will start with the Sunday’s face-off between Mexico and Germany. Other than this world cup, Oculus is also going to stream other events including a weekly MLB game and weekly standup comedy acts from the Gotham Comedy Club.

9. 3D Photos-

Facebook is going to introduce 3D Photos. It lets users click 3D images of objects using their smartphones.

10. Redesign of Messenger soon-

In the Facebook F8 conference, Zuckerberg announced Facebook Messenger would be available in the dark theme. The dark mode on the messenger will turn the white or blue theme into the eye-friendly dark theme. This mode lets users chat with their friends at night without straining their eyes. It is the feature users have been demanding for a long time. Facebook did not disclose the actual date for the release of the new version of the messenger.

Ending Note

After the Facebook Data Leak case, Facebook is more concerned about the privacy of its users. To enhance the users’ experience and increase the security, Facebook is going to upgrade with the latest technology. Soon, Facebook will launch a lot of new features that will boost the customers’ experience and make their life more comfortable.

For more app industry updates, refer to our Blog section.

Hemendra Singh

My name is Hemendra Singh. I am Managing Director and co-founder of PuzzleInnovationz, a Mobile App Development Company. I am having a keen interest in the latest trends and technologies that are emerging in different domains. Being an entrepreneur in the field of IT sector, it becomes my responsibility to aid my audience with the knowledge of latest trends in the market.