(NASDAQ:FB) Facebook Stock News : Impact of Messenger For IOS and Mobile Ads Network
(NASDAQ:FB) Facebook has updated its Messenger app for iOS devices, giving users the ability to record and send 15-second video messages. Version 6.0 of the app also adds a feature called “Big Likes” — when you really like something, press and hold to send an even bigger “thumbs up” sign. The new version of Messenger comes after Facebook’s odd, accidental rollout of messaging app Slingshot earlier this week. That app, which was quickly pulled from Apple’s App Store, also had the ability to send short video messages to friends.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has announced it will track browsing activity to better serve ads on the site. The company will also give users more control over said ads. Facebook says it’s bringing more data into its interest-based ad targeting — specifically data from non-Facebook websites and mobile apps.
So even if your profile doesn’t say anything about your love of (say) soccer during the World Cup 2014, and even if you haven’t Liked any soccer-related Pages on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), the social network can still see that you’ve visited soccer-related websites and target ads accordingly. In a blog post, the company describes this as “a type of interest-based advertising” that’s already practiced by many other Internet companies in Silicon Valley.
Facebook will now use personal information gathered from your activities elsewhere on the Web to more precisely target advertisements on the social network. Given Facebook’s extensive reach around the globe, the development has alarmed privacy advocates who are asking federal regulators review the matter. Democratic Media vowed to press Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez today on the agency’s failure to raise objections to Facebook’s new data-grabbing plan.
