iWorld
Facebook’s India-focused news feed feature launched
GURGAON: Social media giant Facebook a short while ago announced a new feature for providing India-focused news feeds. This decision was announced at Facebook’s yet-to-be-officially-launched office here.
Among the features of the new architecture will be:
1. Client side ranking
2. Fetching stories throughout the day
3. Surfacing stories from your phone (you haven’t seen)
4. Inserting new loaded stories into people’s feeds while they scroll
These features will be rolled out today to a limited number of users at first. It’s (mobile) Android-only — for now. “Facebook has tested these features globally but the user engagement is the highest in India as it addresses specific Indian needs such as low connectivity,” Facebook VP product management Adam Mosseri said.
Among its many firsts, Facebook Messenger’s Data Saver option recently started rolling out to Android phones in India. A new setting has been spotted on the app in the latest Google Pixel smartphone and an older Samsung device running Android 5.1. The setting was not available on an iOS version of the app.
Facebook has started rolling out the feature to regular app users as well. Users have the option of toggling on/off the data saver mode in the settings. Facebook Messenger will also show much data it has saved per session. One can also reset this data count, depending on your needs.
Also, Facebook recently introduced new features to allow one to order food, request an appointment with a local spa, get a quote and even book movie tickets with your friends’ recommendations as you travel to a new place.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
