Facebook has begun rolling out a simplified redesign to its desktop News Feed. The refresh improves some of the elements which were previously announced last March, before plans for a global launch were shelved due to poor user feedback. Among the introductions is a change of font - Helvetica for Macs and Arial for PCs - and the left-hand column has been lightened down with the removal of separate feeds for ...

Feb 20: Facebook Inc., the world’s largest social network, agreed to acquire mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp Inc. for as much as $19 billion in cash and stock, seeking to expand its reach among users on mobile devices. The purchase would be the biggest Internet deal since Time Warner’s $124 billion merger with AOL in 2001, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The accord includes $12 billion in stock, ...

Facebook celebrates its tenth birthday today, marking a major milestone for the social network which boasts more than 1.2 billion monthly users. In its first decade Facebook has garnered users from all over the globe keen to communicate with friends, post updates and share photographs. The social network - which was established by Mark Zuckerberg while at Harvard University - has grown to become a multi-bil ...

Feb 2: For the first time, Google, Facebook and other leading Internet companies issued reports Monday about previously secret U.S. government demands for their users' data, while renewing their call for reform of surveillance programs that have become a major source of friction between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The companies said the government's demands under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillanc ...

Facebook could be spreading unhappiness through society as well as keeping people connected, research has shown. The number one social networking site is strongly associated with declines in well-being, psychologists claim. Scientists found the more time people spent on Facebook over a two-week period, the worse they subsequently felt. In contrast, talking to friends on the phone or meeting them in person l ...