Facebook unveils new login tools

While Facebook’s app log in tools are popular, they are being updated to better serve their users.

The platform’s Account Kit which enables users to log into a Facebook app using their phone number will be enhanced so, in future, the system will enable users to verify their identity by using a text message or voice call in 19 different languages.

Facebook has also revealed a Basic Web SDK so developers of Account Kit can reach people through the Free Basics platform, run by Internet.org.

Developers will also be given permissions to gain deeper insights into how users are using the system and monitoring their behaviours.

Also, for app developers working on location awareness applications, Facebook has also launched Places Graph API which enables access to its knowledge base for real-world locations.

The platform has also unveiled a Developer Circles project that will help developers improve coding skills within a community environment.

Live streaming apps targeted in China

Chinese authorities have unveiled plans that will make demands on Apple to review the live streaming apps available in its store.

The government says it wants to control the live streaming apps and new services from Chinese sources to ensure they meet with regulations.

The move follows the revelation that three news outlets do not meet legal requirements and all are offering their apps via Apple’s Chinese App Store.

Tesla unveils new app

Tesla, the electric car and battery storage maker, has unveiled an updated smartphone app which will enable customers to manage their home energy needs.

It’s essentially the same platform that owners of the firm’s electric vehicles will be using and will tell owners of their storage ‘power flow’ and solar generation.

The idea is that users can control energy storage levels when bad weather is predicted or electricity outages are planned.

Most active users on social media apps revealed

A survey in America has revealed that black teenagers are the most active people when it comes to using social media apps.

Among the most popular apps are Instagram and Snapchat with nine in 10 black teenagers using Snapchat, whereas just seven in 10 white teenagers do so.

Of all teenagers, three quarters say they use Snapchat and Instagram while two in three say they use Facebook on a regular basis.

Also, texting is still popular for nine in 10 teenagers but four in 10 teenagers are also using messaging apps including Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Skype.

In other Miratrix mobile phone app news …

A mobile phone app has been developed in Limerick in Ireland to help fight back against invasive plants. The idea is to feed data into the country’s biodiversity database to control plants such as Japanese knotweed from taking control.

Italian researchers have unveiled an app that monitors high pollution levels wherever the smartphone user is cycling or walking. The smog tracker has been devised by scientists at Italy’s National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.

A smartphone thief at the Coachella music festival was caught with 100 phones after users tracked him down with their Find My iPhone app. He was arrested and charged with the thefts.

Smartphone users in Manchester can take part in a Google-funded trial which could see daily news and events listings being beamed direct to their phones. The developers say the new service could transform the way people enjoy local news and information though users do not need a specific app’ Local stores could send information about discounts and promotions also.

A deal with privacy watchdogs may see Facebook using data from WhatsApp this summer. The messaging service was bought in 2014 and an investigation took place by EU watchdogs when Facebook announced it would begin sharing data earlier this year because the firms had not obtained the valid consent for this to take place under European regulations.