APP SHARE

Facebook is a social media app which provides social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004, Facebook aimed to make the world more open by staying connected with friends and family. Facebook helps user to discover what's going on in the world and share with others what really matters to them. Facebook can be accessed from multiple devices such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones as long as there is Internet connectivity. As of 2020, Facebook is reported to have 2.8 billion monthly active users. It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s.

In total, 123,442,451 reviews are found in Google play store with 3.3 stars rating. There has been 5,000,000,000+ installs and the most recent update is December 15, 2021. While in Apple app store Facebook is ranked No.1 in social networking category with 2.2 stars rating by 1.2M users. 

On August 14, 2020, Facebook started integrating the direct messaging service of Instagram with its own Messenger. for both iOS and Android devices. Facebook launched a climate science information centre to promote "factual and up-to-date" information on climate science in Sept 2020, this move shows Facebook's commitment to their social responsibility. Facebook temporarily increased the weight of ecosystem quality in its news feed algorithm after 2020 US election. In November 2021, Facebook announced that it would stop targeting ads based on data related to health, race, ethnicity, political beliefs, religion and sexual orientation. The change will only occur in January 2022 and will affect all apps owned by Meta Platforms.

Facebook has often been criticized over user privacy, one such example is the Cambridge Analytica data scandal in 2018 where user data were leaked and used for un-intended purposes without user consent. As a mitigation measure, Facebook announced in Nov 2021 that it will discontinue its facial recognition feature and delete data collected on over a billion users. However, Meta has a plan to implement other biometric systems for future products.  Other issues like political manipulation in 2016 U.S. elections, mass surveillance, adverse psychological effects associated with addiction and low self-esteem. Critics have accused Facebook of willingly facilitating the spread of false content  as well as exaggerating user data to attract business owner/advertisers.

On the other hand, most business users find that Facebook is the best B2C social media platform to promote their business. Facebook Ads, Lead Generation and automated optimizations with built in security features, Facebook is recommended as one of the most in-demand platforms for e-commerce/products and ultimately leads to Sales!

Pros

- Easy to use and effective means of advertising, communicating with the general public and clients for all business.

- Facebook has added multi-dimensional, interactive social experience not limited to photo and text message.

- Stay connected with large pool of active user online.

- User friendly interface and frequent improvement to keep app getting better.

Cons 

- Fake profiles and online scammers/posers are not detected by the developer.

- User privacy violation and data leaking is real threat.

- Target Ad manipulate/influence user ability to make decision on their own.