Just last week Facebook announced that its messaging services, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, would include end-to-end encryptions with their latest updates. A massive step forward, many people already feeling relieved as it was well known that one could listen in on WhatsApp calls.

But now Facebook is taking things one step further and will announce its future plans that are a little less serious than encryption codes. Think Chat Bots, Live Video, and Virtual Reality.

Set to be announced at this year’s F8 conference mid-April, the announcements will only take Facebook a step further into looking at our online behaviour – and that’s pretty much why we should quit while we’re ahead.

Chat Bots

The firm is expected to announce new tools that will help businesses create their own “chatbots” for Facebook Messenger, which could handle customer service queries, process transactions or help with marketing campaigns.

Chatbots are already alive and well on Messenger performing a variety of tasks. Disney built a Miss Piggy bot that chats with fans of her Facebook Page in order to promote ABC’s Muppets show. Uber’s bot helps users hail rides from within Facebook’s app. And KLM Royal Dutch Airlines just launched the first airline bot.

Live Video

Again, online live-streaming is not a new innovation. But Facebook’s massive scale is bringing new life to the format via Live, the company’s new instant broadcasting feature. Facebook unleashed a torrent of Live updates last week, including a world map showing livestreams as they’re happening and a video portal that makes it easier for people to find Live videos after they’ve disappeared from the News Feed.

Currently, Facebook’s Live videos can only be shot using a smartphone. Facebook may announce the ability to shoot using higher-quality cameras at F8, according to Recode. That could help the company entice more media companies, especially from the world of television, to commit significant resources to Live. Already some unusual videos have managed to attract large audiences. A BuzzFeed stream of a watermelon exploding under pressure from rubber bands gained 800,000 live viewers.

Virtual Reality

Facebook-owned Oculus VR just released its Rift virtual reality headset, so it’s likely Facebook will be crowing about VR’s potential to change the way we communicate. F8’s schedule includes multiple sessions dedicated to optimising 360-degree video for the Rift, so it’s possible Facebook will sneak in an announcement or two related to the format.

[source: time]