5 key takeaways from this year’s Facebook developer conference

Facebook’s F8 developer circle kicked off in San Jose, CA on Tuesday, where the social media giant announced various updates to Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Facebook‘s core services.

After a whole year of facing controversy over whether Facebook is invading user’s privacy and leaking users data to third parties, the company is making efforts on helping to connect on its platforms with friends and family all around the world. Facebook also shared news regarding the Oculus Quest, Rift S virtual reality smartphones and a new dating feature that could help you to initiate strong interactions between you and your friends.

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Let’s have a look at those five big announcements that Facebook CEO made this year.

Redesigning of groups and events on Facebook

Facebook is bringing an update in the groups and events section where the company is going to highlight groups and events by creating a prominent groups tab and a customized feed from the groups you have joined. The new update will also show group interaction option while you are browsing other parts of Facebook.

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The new design will also help users to expand their social circles, through a new feature called “Meet New Friends” which connects you with strangers having something in common(like a school or employer) with you. This update will also provide an easier way for you to find events near you. Facebook app on Android and iOS will receive an update right away, while the desktop version will be revamped in the coming months.

New Camera Features on Instagram with less prominent likes option

Facebook is offering its users more ways to interact with their followers on Instagram while downplaying those aspects that might stress people out. The new Instagram update will have a new “Create Mode” in its camera interface, through which users will be able to share content other than pictures and videos, like quizzes. Users will also be able to buy products from inside the Instagram app with a new feature opening the platform to artists, athletes, creators, and companies.

Instagram is also working on a system that will hide likes on a person’s feed, to allow users to focus more on shared photos and videos rather than the number of likes.

Facebook Messenger to focus more on Close Friends

The social media giant is reshaping its Messenger allowing you to keep up with your friends. Users will be able to share their images and videos with people they like and trust the most, making it extremely easy to arrange offline hangout sessions. The Facebook Messenger on iOS will take up less space than before, the new version will be under 30MB making it 20% less in size from its current app size. Facebook is also launching its desktop apps for Mac and PC later this year.

Secret crush feature on Facebook

Facebook has added a new “Secret Crush” feature on its platform which will help users to create a list of Facebook friends you are attracted to. Facebook will notify you if the person you add in your crush list adds you in theirs as well. The app will notify both users that they are in each other’s crush list.

The Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S are arriving next month

Facebook says that the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S are shipping on May 21st in 22 countries at a price of $399. These two new handsets will replace external tracking cameras with a much more user-friendly system.

These are the five major announcements made by Facebook at this year’s developer event. Mark Zuckerberg in his keynote speech said that Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even Oculus headsets will help you to easily connect with your loved ones around the world.