Social Media Round up

FACEBOOK TO HAVE DISAPPEARING MESSAGES
Following in the footsteps of Snapchat, Telegram andWeChat, Facebook may soon bring ephemeral messaging concept to its messenger app.

As per a screenshot posted by Twitter user iOSApp Changes, the Facebook Messenger for iOS version 68.0 was seen with "disappearing messages" inside a chat window.

"You turned on disappearing messages. New messages will disappear from this conversation 15 minutes after being sent," Messenger says in the chat window screenshot. Another screenshot also reveals that users will have options to make the messages disappear after a minute, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 day, and never. Some other screenshots also showed the option to book a ride and share links. However, details on those features are yet to be revealed.

More screenshots about disappearing messages (and shared links section).
Thanks @Geek_Break.@WABetaInfo#Messengerpic.twitter.com/MDWjsqdhID

— iOSAppChanges (@iOSAppChanges) May 1, 2016

Although Facebook Messenger v68.0 for iOS is available to download from the App Store, users are not able to view the aforementioned features just yet. It may be that Facebook is testing the feature with limited users, or that the feature will arrive as a server side update that's rolling out slowly.

TELEGRAM BUYOUT RUMOUR IS “BULLSHIT”
A Russian report last week had said that Google was looking to buy Telegram.The report said that Telegram was assessed at around $1 billion valuation and that Google's acquisition of Telegram would give the search engine giant a successful instant messaging service under its belt as Google Chat didn't do well and was later integrated into Hangouts app.

A Telegram spokesperson however has put an end to any buyout speculations involving Google. The company spokesperson told the Next Web, "This is complete bullshit. There were no acquisition talks, no plans for any such thing either."

"If Telegram runs out, we'll invite our users to donate and add non-essential paid options to break even. But making profits will never be a goal for Telegram," the support page reads.

WHATSAPP WORKING ON NATIVE CLIENTS FOR WINDOWS AND OS X
Last year, WhatsApp introduced its WhatsApp for Web client, a Web interface that mirrored the messages from your smartphone onto desktop browsers. However, the company is now being said to be working on separate clients for the Windows and OS X operating systems.

According to a series of screenshots posted by WABetaInfo on Twitter, WhatsApp seems to be working on clients for Windows and OS X. The screenshots show alleged translation requests by the WhatsApp team, pointing at the upcoming release of the apps.

You can see these screenshots. #WhatsApp#Mac#Windows#NativeClient#iOS#Android#WP#Blackberry#Symbian#Nokiapic.twitter.com/AKja58zf5C

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) April 29, 2016

Phrases such as "Download for Mac OS X", "Download for Windows" and "OS versions supported by WhatsApp Native client" are clearly seen in the screenshots posted on Twitter. The details however, are scarce at the moment. Although there is no way to confirm the authenticity of these images, it should not be a difficult task for the company as it already has a Web interface. It might also be that WhatsApp is just testing the idea, which might not even see the light of day.

TWITTER IS OFFICIALLY A ‘NEWS APP’
In the wake of dismal revenue reporting, Twitter has been re-categorised under the News section of Apple's App Store.

The reclassification is seen as a move to bring more visibility to the app, giving it further prominence than a listing on the Social Networking section. Of course, while Twitter has been focusing on the real-time news aspect tin the recent past, this reclassification on face value certainly appears to have given it a boost in terms of visibility - it is now the number one app in the US in the News section.

FACEBOOK’S PROPOSED STOCK PLAN RUNS INTO LEGAL SUIT
A Facebook Inc shareholder has filed a proposed class action lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery on Friday in a bid to stop the company's plan to issue new Class C stock, calling the move an unfair deal to entrench Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg as controlling shareholder.

The lawsuit contends that a Facebook board committee which approved the share deal "did not bargain hard" with Zuckerberg "to obtain anything of meaningful value" in exchange for granting Zuckerberg added control.

Earlier Facebook had said that the plan "is in the best interests of the company and all stockholders." The company has said keeping Zuckerberg at the helm is key to its future success.