Facebook is testing bringing voice and video calls back to its main app, seven years after it separated them to its side Messenger platform.
Some users, including those in the US, will be able to start enjoying the feature from their main Facebook app this week. The reintroduction of the feature is currently only in trial mode, and is designed to reduce the need for users to switch between apps when trying to keep in contact with friends.
It comes after Facebook tested the reintroduction of a limited version of the Messenger inbox in the main app last autumn.
Connor Hayes, director of product management at Messenger, told Bloomberg that Facebook is beginning to think of Messenger as a service rather than a standalone app, and as such users can expect to see its features slowly become integrated across Facebook’s platforms, including Instagram, Oculus and Portal devices.
He said Messenger is the “connective tissue for people to be together when apart, regardless of which service they’re choosing to use".
Facebook started enabling messaging capabilities between Instagram and Messenger in September 2020, and has plans to introduce WhatsApp into the mix, too. Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has argued that integrating the company’s messaging services would be beneficial to users, allowing them reach more people and reducing the need to download or jump between separate apps.
Facebook confirmed to The Verge that users in several countries would be able to start using voice and video calls in the main Facebook app, for stressed that for a “full-featured messaging, audio and video call experience, people should continue using Messenger.”
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
