The british don't want to know how popular you are

Facebook debuts a new look and shines the spotlight on groups

Facebook's F8 developer conference took place last week, and Mark Zuckerberg (CEO and founder) revealed a new look for the platform on both mobile and desktop. This will arguably be the most drastic change to Facebook's website since the company introduced the timeline in 2011.

The new design is predominantly white and intended to be simpler, more streamlined, and easier to navigate. The Facebook icon will also be changing, to be "a bit more lively and modern," according to Zuckerberg. And on top of the new design, the company is rewriting the code for its website and app from scratch to make them faster.

With the new redesign, there will be an emphasis on groups. Within the Facebook universe, groups are where people are the most active. More than 400 million people are part of "meaningful groups," on Facebook, Zuckerberg said, and groups are also where the company has been focusing much of its attention for the last couple of years. According to Zuckerberg, the goal is to make "communities as central as friends" to the Facebook experience.

Instagram might soon hide your likes — the British are behind it

Amid a lot of debate about Instagram's effects on teenagers, the company is trying out new ways to look more responsible. This week, the company began running tests in Canada that hide "likes" from everyone except the account owner. "We are testing this because we want your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get," a spokesman said.

This is also a reaction to new regulations from the British Information Commissioner's Office, who suggest that social media networks could avoid an outright ban on "likes" if they stop collecting personal data when children engage with them. Therefore, Facebook and Instagram could face limits on allowing under-18s to "like" posts, while Snapchat could be prevented from allowing the age group to build "streaks".

The goal is to restrict children from being exposed to so-called "nudge techniques", and the ICO advocates that internet firms make several changes for their younger users. For instance, privacy settings should be "high" by default, location tracking should be switched off by default after each session, and it should be visible when it is activated. It should also be clear if parental controls, such as activity-tracking, are being used.

Firms that do not comply with the code could face fines of up to 20 million euros, or 4% of their worldwide turnover, under the General Data Protection Regulation if the suggested ICO regulation comes into effect.

Slack is the next tech start-up in line for an IPO

The workplace messaging start-up Slack revealed the details of its business on Friday as it joined the cavalcade of tech companies planning to go public this year. Slack, which grew from a video game company into a popular way for workers to communicate, is trying to become a substitute for e-mail.

For the first time, Slack shared its financial results widely, in an offering prospectus, declaring it had collected $400.6 million in revenue last year (well, the previous fiscal year, which ended January 31st). That was nearly double the amount from the previous fiscal year. Still, Slack lost $140.7 million in the latest fiscal year, down from $180.9 million the year before.

Slack also reported 88,000 paying customers at the end of last year, up almost 50% from the year before. Among those customers, 575 spent more than $100 000 for their subscriptions, accounting for about 40% of the revenue.