Facebook is trying to help users learn more about what’s going on in their own communities.  The social network said Wednesday it’s testing a new section of its app dedicated to events and news stories from local publishers and organizations. The new section is called “Today In,” and it’s being tested in just five cities …

Facebook’s M is on the way out. The social network is shutting down its virtual assistant chatbot, which uses a combination of human contractors and artificial intelligence software to answer queries and perform tasks for people in Facebook’s Messenger app. The M bot, first announced in August 2015 and still in beta, will be shut down on Jan. 19, the …

Facebook says it’s trying to make sure you’re safer when you use its services. The social network on Tuesday unveiled new tools aimed at curbing abuse and bullying on its platform. One tool is designed to make sure that when you block someone who’s been harassing you, the person can’t simply create a new account and continue to harass. The …

Sometimes there are people on your Facebook feed you just don’t want to see for a while. The social network says it wants to help. Facebook on Friday globally released a feature called Snooze that lets users hide certain people, groups or brand pages for up to 30 days, without permanently unfriending or unfollowing them. When the snooze window is …

Facebook is taking big steps to bring more augmented reality to its services. For the uninitiated, augmented reality, or AR, lets people superimpose virtual graphics on top of real world images. It’s what gives you digital sunglasses or dog ears in Snapchat and Instagram. The social network on Tuesday said it’s bringing a new feature, called World Effects, to its …

With over 2 billion users today, Facebook is already the world’s biggest social network. But the company is looking ahead to tomorrow, and it’s decided that a big new market of opportunity is with younger users. To join Facebook or its free chat app Messenger, you need to be at least 13 years old. But Facebook on Monday announced Messenger …

Earlier this year, Google unveiled new search tools designed specifically to help people find jobs. Now the tech giant wants to try to make the process a little easier. Google said on Wednesday that it’s adding new features to its job search tool. With the updated features, you can search for jobs by location, from two to 200 miles away, …

Sean Parker, Facebook’s first president, had some harsh words about the social network during an interview this week. The tech investor, also a co-founder of Napster and, perhaps most recognizably, the guy played by Justin Timberlake in “The Social Network,” said Facebook was designed to exploit the way people fundamentally think and behave. There have been “unintended consequences,” Parker said, …

Looking for a new place to rent can be a terrible experience. Facebook says it wants to help. The social network on Thursday announced an update of the Marketplace section of Facebook, where people can go to buy or sell new and used stuff locally. Now, users in the US will have more options when they are sorting through house …

Comcast’s Xfinity internet service is suffering major issues on Monday, the company confirmed. Consumers in several US cities, including San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and New York, have reported outages, according to the website Down Detector. The site says 66 percent of the reports are about issues with internet service. Comcast said it’s working to fix the problem. Some customers are having …