Facebook is doubling down on groups even as the tech giant faces more allegations that the company puts its profits over the safety of its users.  On Thursday, Facebook said it’s testing a way for group administrators to create subgroups for various topics. Facebook is also experimenting with tools that will allow groups to make …

This story is part of Making the Metaverse, CNET’s exploration of the next stage in the internet’s evolution. Facebook’s iconic thumbs-up sign at its Menlo Park, California, headquarters now bears a blue infinity-shaped symbol along with a new name: Meta. The corporate rebranding, unveiled Thursday at Facebook’s Connect conference, is part of Facebook’s headlong sprint into the metaverse, a virtual …

Facebook said Thursday it’s rebranding itself as Meta to reflect the company’s focus on building the metaverse, a virtual world where people work, play, learn and connect with their friends and family. Meta will be a new corporate brand that will preside over Facebook and its services including photo app Instagram, messaging app WhatsApp and its virtual and augmented reality …

Twitter’s user base grew 13% in the third quarter as it experimented with features to keep people on its platform. But the microblogging site swung to a loss on a one-time litigation charge even as it appeared to weather changes to Apple’s mobile operating system that have affected other social media companies.    Twitter has focused on creator tools, live …

Facebook didn’t get a new name as widely expected, but the social network did unveil a new reporting structure. On Monday, the social media giant said it would begin reporting results as two businesses: its core family of social networking apps and its Facebook Reality Labs, which houses its augmented and virtual reality efforts. Under the new structure, which will …

When former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen unmasked herself earlier this month as the whistleblower who leaked company research calling into question its motives, it was clear she had major trust issues with her former employer.  “The thing I saw at Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and …

Snap, the parent company of disappearing-message app Snapchat, reported third-quarter revenue that missed Wall Street’s expectations on Thursday. At one point, Snap’s shares plunged nearly 25% in after-hours trading to $56.36 per share. The company posted $1.07 billion in revenue in the third quarter, below the $1.1 billion forecast by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Snap earned 17 cents per …

Facebook said Wednesday it will demote all content posted in Groups from users who have broken the site’s rules, making potentially problematic content harder for others to find. The social network will also let people who manage groups know when content from members has been flagged by Facebook and will offer administrators the ability to appeal before a post gets …

Pinterest said Wednesday it’s revamping its home feed, adding a new tab called Watch where people can scroll through short videos or a series of photos.  The new tab looks similar to TikTok’s feed, where you can quickly swipe up or down to watch videos. Pinterest users can save the content to their profile and “pin” it to a virtual …

Instagram said it’s rolling out new features, including a way to co-author posts and short videos, underscoring the Facebook-owned social network’s effort to double down on retaining and attracting creators. Instagram’s Collabs tool lets you invite another user to co-author a post or short video.  Facebook Starting this week, Instagram is testing a tool called Collabs that will allow a …