Mark Zuckerberg announces “Facebook Home” for Android

Facebook home is a family of apps designed around people’s Facebook connections.

12:58 06 April 2013

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has finally unveiled “Facebook Phone” however, it’s not what you think. Called FaceBook Home, it is designed to integrate its network on Android devices. Mark Zuckerberg says that its aim is to put people first instead of apps.

Users who opt to download the new app which will become available to Android users on April 12th, will see the social network become the hub of their smartphones. Instead of seeing set of apps for maps, emails, and other services when users turn their phones on, they will be greeted with updates from their Facebook feeds.

"You're going to be able to turn your Android phone into a great social device," Zuckerberg said at the unveiling. "Our phones today are designed around apps, not people. We want to flip that around."

Meanwhile, industry watchers and analysts warn that Facebook Home could destroy users’ privacy.

 

Om Malik from tech news website GigaOM wasn’t impressed with the “always on” nature of Home. He said: "This application erodes any idea of privacy. If you install this, then it is very likely that Facebook is going to be able to track your every move, and every little action."

 

Users of home could see their privacy "destroyed", he warned.