Facebook outlines steps towards building a privacy-focused platform, in nod to China’s WeChat
- The changes on Facebook are putting its Groups, which can be public or private, at the centre of the platform
Facebook has unveiled a redesign aimed at emphasising private, group-based communications and introducing a close friend circle for its messaging service, in a nod to the way in which China’s messaging and social media super-app WeChat operates.
The changes on Facebook are putting its Groups, which can be public or private, at the centre of the platform, enabling users to chat directly with friends and people with similar interests, and share content in Groups from the News Feed page.
Facebook’s Messenger app, on the other hand, will become its own social network built around messaging. Later this year the company will roll out a dedicated space to view content and messages from close friends and families and share with them in the same space, rather than on public Facebook content pages.
“As the world gets bigger and more connected, we need that sense of intimacy more than ever. So that is why I believe that the future is private. This is the next chapter for our services,” said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive of Facebook, at the company’s annual F8 conference on Tuesday.
Marking the app’s shift from “town square” to the “living room” of users, Zuckerberg’s remarks echo similar comments made by Allen Zhang, WeChat’s creator, in January when he said that the town square model is creating a lot of stress for users and they prefer a more intimate environment.
Facebook and Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issues in this report.