facebook review 2021

Facebook and Instagram roll out personalized ‘Year in Review’ features

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has rolled out “Year in Review” features for both Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook, users can share their personalized “Year Together” card, which highlights the friends, feelings, places and people that mattered most to them in 2021. The new in-feed experience reflects on people’s year on the platform and curates it into a shareable card. The new feature is available globally starting today and will be accessible until December 30th.

On Instagram, users can share a custom end-of-year “Playback” time capsule to their IG Story. The feature leverages the Stories Archive, so users can customize and select up to 10 stories to share with their followers. To be eligible for this feature, users need to have posted more than three stories this year or have Stories Archive turned on. The platform will suggest Playback posts for you, but you’ll also have the option to pick what you want to share. Users will see a message in their Instagram feed inviting them to create their own Playback. The new feature will be available to users for several weeks.

In previous years, Instagram users have created their own version of an end-of-year feature where they would post their top nine images in a photo grid. This year, Instagram is offering an in-app method for its users to create shareable end-of-year content.

Both Facebook and Instagram’s new features are fully customizable so users can add or remove content and posts that they choose. Meta notes that these two features are rolling out over the next few days to all users around the globe.

The launch of the new features comes as shareable end-of-year recaps have become increasingly popular thanks to Spotify’s  annual Wrapped experience that is widely shared across social media each year. Facebook and Instagram join many other digital giants looking to mimic the popular feature by releasing their own versions. For example, Reddit rolled out personalized recaps with stats about users’ habits this week; meanwhile, Snapchat is expected to launch its “Year End Story” this month as well.

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Mastering facebook reviews: the complete 2024 guide.

Activate the Facebook Reviews tab on your Facebook business Page and grow with customer feedback.

Facebook reviews, or recommendations, are a vital part of a business’s online reputation.

After all, they provide the best type of social proof you can get, increase the visibility of your business, and help you convert visitors into dedicated customers.

Moreover, the impact customer reviews have on your business cannot be underestimated. The vast majority of U.S. adults (82%) say they check online reviews before a purchase. Also, over 18% of U.S. adults say they had bought something through Facebook.

So keep on reading as we tell you all about Facebook reviews, how to add them to your page, and how they help your business succeed in today’s day and age.

About Facebook recommendations former Facebook reviews

Facebook Recommendations are a feature on Facebook that allows users to provide feedback about their experiences with businesses, services, or products.

Unlike traditional star-rated reviews, Recommendations enable users to simply recommend or not recommend a business to their friends and network. These Recommendations can include written feedback, photos, and tags, creating a more comprehensive and social form of review. This feature integrates directly into a business’s Facebook Page, making it easier for potential customers to see authentic opinions and experiences shared by real users.

Note: Facebook’s ‘Recommendations’ feature is the evolution of the older ‘Reviews’ system, and you can still find it under the ‘Reviews’ tab of Facebook pages. However, instead of using the old star rating system, buyers recommend (or not) a product or a business, share a written opinion, and leave tags and images (should they choose to).

FYI: You can embed Facebook reviews widget  automatically with  EmbedReviews platform.  Start a free trial  and display your Facebook Page recommnedations now. 

Embed Facebook Recommendations and Reviews on your Website

Try EmbedReviews , generate Facebook and Google reviews, and display a social media reviews widget on your website. Automatically and in seconds.

All PRO features | Cancel any time.

How to set up your Facebook business page reviews?

You can very quickly and very easily add your Facebook Reviews tab on your official page. Just complete these straightforward steps:

• Log in to your account and go to your business Facebook page ;
• Click on your profile image (top-right corner and tap ‘Settings & privacy’ ;

That’s it! Now, your ‘Reviews’ tab will be live on your official page, and your customers can share their experiences with your business for everyone to see.

Note: Once you activate the ‘Reviews’ tab and start getting feedback, you won’t be able to delete Facebook reviews yourself. You will have to flag innacurate reviews and Facebook’s team will deal with them if they violate Facebook’s Community Standards.

How to get your Facebook Reviews page link?

Google My Business has made getting a  Google review link  easy, but getting a Facebook review link will be a bit different. No worries, we’ll show you two easy ways to do it!

Option 1: Copy the reviews page URL

To get your Facebook Reviews link, you have to follow two simple steps:

• Log in to your Facebook page —start by logging into your Facebook account and navigating to your official business page;
• Add ‘/review’ to your page URL —find the browser address bar, click at the end of it, and then simply type ‘/review’ after your page URL;
• Copy the URL to share it —simply copy the entire string you see in the address bar for future use. For instance, https://www.facebook.com/embedreviews/reviews is EmbedSocial’s Facebook Reviews page link – as shown below:

Congratulations, you have it!

Now, share the Reviews link of your Facebook business page across the internet, such as on your website, in emails, in your newsletters, or on your social media platforms, i.e., anywhere you see a chance to invite your customers to review you.

Note: When sending the link, also add a brief explanation on  how your customers can leave you a Facebook review for your product and services.

Option 2: Build your own direct Facebook review link

What if your customers are not logged into their personal or business accounts? If you send them the above link, they’ll be asked to log into Facebook first, which may discourage them from reviewing your business. No worries, here’s a solution to that:

• Utilize the Facebook login URL ->  www.facebook.com/login/
• Put a redirect to your reviews page by adding “next” ->  www.facebook.com/login/?next=
• Convert your page URL into the corresponding equivalent in HTML and add it after the “next” component ->  https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fembedreviews%2Freviews%2F

As you can see, it’s not complicated at all! Just replace the colon (:) with %3A and the slash (/) with %2F. That way, whenever the customer logs in to their account, they’ll be redirected to your reviews page. Works like a charm every time!

How can your customers leave you Facebook reviews?

Since the introduction of the ‘Recommendations’ review system, your clients will no longer have to select a number of stars to describe your products and/or services. They only have to navigate to your page’s ‘Reviews’ tab or follow the above ‘Reviews’ link.

Once there, they only have to tap ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ under the ‘Do you recommend [your business name]’ message. Then, the ‘Recommendation’ box will open and prompt users to share their thoughts about your business. They’ll have to write at least 25 characters.

As users leave you new reviews, they will start appearing at the top of the ‘Reviews’ tab feed of your Facebook business page.

How to respond to your Facebook reviews?

You must respond to all (or most of) your Facebook reviews, both positive and negative. That’s the best way to maintain a strong online presence and build trust with your customers.

To respond to Facebook reviews, you will typically get a notification on Facebook or via email , and when you click on it, it will take you directly to that review, so you can check out the review, and provide your reply—it’s as easy as writing a comment on a Facebook post.

Here are some practical  review reply templates  for review responses:

Positive reviews response example:

Hello [Reviewer’s Name], Thank you so much for your kind review! We’re thrilled to hear that you had a great customer experience with our [product/service]. Our team works hard to provide excellent customer service, and we’re glad to see that it’s making a difference. We appreciate your support and would love for you to share your experience with your friends and family. If you have any other feedback or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We look forward to serving you again soon! Warm regards, [Your Name] [Business Name]

Negative reviews response example

Hello [Reviewer’s Name], We apologize for the less than satisfactory experience you had with our [product/service]. It’s essential for us to maintain high standards, and we’re sorry that we did not meet your expectations this time. We’d like to learn more about your experience and find a way to make things right. Please reach out to us at [contact information] or send us a private message so we can discuss this further and find a suitable resolution. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused, and we appreciate your feedback as it helps us improve and provide better service in the future. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Business Name]

How to report a Facebook review?

Sometimes you may receive fake negative reviews that affect your online reputation. Naturally, you have to deal with negative reviews as soon as possible. But, since you cannot outright delete them, you’ll have to report them for violating Facebook’s Community Standards :

• Find the negative review in your ‘Reviews’ tab ;

• Choose to receive notifications about the report and click ‘Submit’ ;

Here’s a brief video covering the entire process:

How to get new reviews for your Facebook business pages?

The fun part starts here: finding cool new ways to motivate your customers to leave you positive Facebook recommendations.

These are some of the strategies you can try out include:

• Adding a physical ‘Review’ sign at your place of business— you can edit and place the official ‘ Facebook Review Us ‘ stickers anywhere from your counter to your tables, walls, shopping windows, or any other prominent sections of your premises;
• Use the Facebook Wi-Fi feature— set up Facebook Wi-Fi in your business location to get more customer reviews, which will allow your visitors to hook up to your guest Wi-Fi for free once they check in to your Facebook business page and leave you a review;
• Embed a digital ‘Review us on Facebook’ button— you can place this button anywhere from your homepage to your blog and social media sites;
• Create a Facebook contest —you can always stage a discount contest for your customers, who will be able to participate if they leave you a Facebook review;
• Asking your regular customers— you can always ask for a review outright, especially your regular visitors, which will be included to help you out. You can either ask them in person or send them an email such as this one, along with the promise of a discount:

“Thanks for stopping by again [customer name]”.  “Do you use Facebook? The reason I ask is that we have a Facebook Reviews section that we use to collect our customer’s comments. Would you be interested in posting one?”   Here is our link (link to Facebook reviews section) Thank you so much. [Your Name] [Your Company Name]

Need more strategies for getting Facebook reviews?

Check the detailed blog post covering 5 ways to get Facebook reviews for your business, or download the Facebook reviews guide:

How to display your Facebook reviews on your website?

One of the best ways to collect more reviews is to promote your existing recommendations across your website and add the relevant CTA buttons for review collection. Additionally, the ability to embed Facebook reviews on your website boosts trust and provides real-time evidence of the experiences shared by your real customers.

The Facebook reviews widget has a direct API integration with Facebook, and with just one click enables users to aggregate all their Facebook page reviews and display on their website with an embeddable code:

Here is an example:

The best part? The widget allows you to combine reviews from all popular social media platforms and review sources like Facebook, Yelp, and Google , into one stunning widget. Moreover, you can import third-party reviews and craft custom testimonials.

Check below the various widget layouts, including sliders, grids, and rating badges and pick one to signup and create yours.

Facebook Reviews Feed

Embed Facebook reviews in a slider.

Facebook Reviews Table

Show reviews in a full-page feed.

Facebook Reviews Popup

Display Facebook reviews in a popover widget.

Facebook Reviews Slider

Show Facebook reviews in a modern slider.

Want more cool stuff? Explore early products

Step-by-step guide on collecting Facebook reviews . Related article

In case you are using a web builder to build your website, the code works with the most popular CMS and website builders, so click on your specific website builder to proceed:

• Facebook Reviews for WordPress
• Facebook Reviews for Squarespace
• Facebook Reviews for PageCloud
• Facebook Reviews for Weebly
• Facebook Reviews for Wix
• Facebook Reviews for Shopify
• Facebook Reviews for Webflow

What are the benefits of Facebook reviews?

Every serious business must collect Facebook reviews/recommendations nowadays as they come with several advantages, including but not limited to the following:

1. They increase your organic reach

Positive reviews and recommendations can help your business gain more visibility on Facebook, as they may appear in the Facebook Feeds of the reviewer’s friends or when someone asks for recommendations. This increased exposure can attract more potential customers.

How? When a customer recommends your bakery on Facebook, their friends might see the recommendation in their Feed, thus sparking interest in your products and driving more foot traffic to your bakery.

2. They boost your brand credibility

A collection of positive reviews and recommendations serves as  social proof , demonstrating that your business is reliable, trustworthy, and offers great experiences, which can influence potential customers to choose your products or services over your competitors.

How? A new user visiting your digital marketing agency’s Facebook page sees numerous glowing reviews from satisfied clients. This positive feedback instills confidence in the user, making them more likely to engage with your agency.

3. They improve your search engine ranking

Positive reviews can improve your search engine ranking, as search engines also consider  user-generated content about a certain business in their ranking algorithms.

How? Your restaurant has numerous positive reviews on Facebook. When someone searches for restaurants in your area, your restaurant is more likely to appear higher in the search results due to the positive feedback.

4. They help you gain your visitors’ trust

When potential customers see a high volume of positive reviews, they are more likely to trust your business and feel confident in their decision to engage with your products or services.

How? A potential client is considering hiring your home cleaning service. Upon seeing the numerous positive reviews on your Facebook page, they feel reassured that your service is reliable and trustworthy, making them more likely to hire you.

Hopefully, our guide on Facebook business reviews gives you specific directions on improving your  online reputation management  and leveling up your digital marketing strategy.

Remember, getting more reviews on Facebook (and other social media sites) can take a little effort, but it’s an investment that pays off in the long run. We promise!

FAQs about Facebook reviews

Yes, Facebook reviews still exist, but they have evolved into a new format called ‘ Facebook Recommendations ‘, which no longer uses the previous star-based system. Users now recommend (or not) a certain business or product and leave a text-based review. They also have the option to add various tags and relevant images. This new format allows for more context and encourages users to provide more valuable feedback for potential customers.

To see the reviews of your or other businesses, you will have to navigate to the official page and click on the ‘Reviews’ tab underneath the profile image. If the tab is not there, the ‘Reviews’ feature has to be activated through the page’s ‘Privacy’ section.

No, Facebook reviews are not private. When a user leaves a review on a business Page, it is publicly visible to anyone visiting said Page. This allows potential customers to read about the experiences of others, which can influence their decision to engage with the business.

As a business owner, you cannot directly delete Facebook Reviews left by users. However, you can report a review if it violates Facebook’s Community Standards or contains spam. Then, if Facebook determines the review is inappropriate, they may remove it. Alternatively, you can disable the ‘Reviews’ tab on your business Page, which will hide all reviews from your Page, but this will make it harder for potential customers to learn more about your business.

While you cannot directly remove a bad review on Facebook, you can take steps to address it. First, respond to the review professionally and empathetically, offering to address the issue and rectify the situation. If that doesn’t work and you believe the review is from a fake account, spam, or violates Facebook’s Community Standards, you can report it to Facebook for review.

• Pew Research Center report
• 2020 eMarketer report

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Co-Founder of EmbedSocial and Head of Growth. A previous owner of a Facebook Partner Company and a digital marketing agency. Marketing API geek and a Call of Duty fan.

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Review: Facebook Portal Go

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more . Please also consider subscribing to WIRED

I’ve been using Facebook’s new portable videophone, the Portal Go, for more than a week. My 4-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter use it to talk to my parents across the country. It’s been going pretty well. It’s an entertaining, immersive experience, although it's honestly not much different from previous iterations , including the Portal TV .

But last night my 4-year-old threw an inexplicable tantrum while we were on a call. Before I could say or do anything, my daughter impatiently grabbed the Portal Go and left the living room. When my son had calmed down, I walked off to find her. She was upstairs, comfortably snuggled in her bed with her grandparents on the device reading books to her.

If you’re not a parent, it is really hard to explain just how much your kids have lost in the past two years—even if your kids, like mine, are still a little too young to fully comprehend it. There’s so much I haven't been able to give them, but I can give them this. So far, the Portal Go is the best way I’ve found to bring long-distance family members closer together.

When Facebook went dark earlier this year, I quickly learned which of the people I know have friends and family overseas and which do not. More than 3.5 billion people around the world use Facebook and its apps, especially in countries like the Philippines, where my family is from and where Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa is fighting against misinformation rampant on Facebook.

At this point, arguing about whether to use Facebook is like arguing about whether to have access to the grid. A company can have extremely questionable business practices and still provide critical infrastructure. In many places, Facebook is the internet. All of this is a long way to say that I use Facebook as circumspectly as I can, but I do use it, and that has helped the Portal Go integrate itself seamlessly into my life. 

It looks and feels like a slimmer, taller Amazon Echo Show , with a gray, cloth-colored body that conceals two 5-watt speakers and a 20-watt woofer. It has a rechargeable battery with a tiny, annoying charging port in the base. The battery is arguably the most frustrating part of this device.  An hour-long Portal call with interactive stories and some YouTube drained the battery about 20 percent. A day on my desk playing music, attending multiple Zoom meetings, and checking different apps drained it completely. It really doesn't last that long, and worse yet, it takes a while to recharge (about two hours for it to charge to full from 40 percent). 

The Portal started as a dedicated videophone/ digital picture frame , but Facebook has gradually expanded its uses. In addition to Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Zoom, you can add your Spotify, Deezer, or Pandora account; upload your calendars to a dedicated app; or search a browser. It also has built-in Alexa, although you can talk directly to the Portal with voice commands.

I am generally suspicious of smart speakers , so I used to keep the original Portal unplugged in a drawer until it was time to make a call. However, the Portal Go is much more useful. I can keep it on my desk and check the forecast, tap on the calendar to see my day, and quickly log into Zoom, where the Portal’s smart cameras help me look comfortable and great. It works as a digital picture frame, reminding me of all those vacations past, and my parents halfway across the country can read the kids a few books while I cook dinner.

If you don't already have a camera with smart panning, it's hard to overstate just how much more relaxed you can be when you're not worried about accidentally giving yourself a double chin, lighting yourself poorly, or falling out of frame. It's so comfortable that in a recent meeting, my coworker surreptitiously asked me if I'd fallen asleep. No! I was ... well. Hmmm.

The Portal Go retains most of the smart features that made it so appealing to me before. The smart camera pans and widens to pick up everyone in the frame, although the fact that it’s easier to move than ever has made that less necessary. Smart Sound picks up voices and downgrades background noise, which means my parents can still understand everyone who's talking, even when it’s otherwise absolute chaos—the fan running in the kitchen as my husband cooks, our dog barking, the kids shouting to be heard over each other.

The AR masks are just as fun, and Facebook has added new books to the Story Time app. But one of my biggest complaints is the lack of fresh material in Story Time. My kids love books and reading aloud and can easily go through three stories in one sitting. Facebook adds new stories regularly, but my personal opinion is that it needs a dedicated team adding a half-dozen stories per week. It would be nice to have much more new material. 

You can turn the camera and mic off with a physical button or a manual shutter. Since it has Alexa built-in, your kids can call emergency services with the Portal if you become incapacitated, a handy perk. There’s also a Watch Together feature that lets you watch a movie or show with someone else miles away at the same time, but this might be more useful if you have a bigger screen, like a Portal TV. 

If you plan to have the Portal in a public space in your house, you can create a Household profile that will keep your private calendar and other apps locked. This is useful if your kids frequently make calls to your family unsupervised, so they won't accidentally start a Zoom with your boss. I didn’t need to use this because I kept the Go on my desk in my office. 

Facebook knows what it’s doing. Whether it's turning Snaps into Instagram Stories or making smart glasses that are dangerously easy to wear , its gear is generally attractive and usable. The company also released a new and larger desktop version, the Portal Plus, but the image of my daughter sharing an intimate moment with her grandparents thousands of miles away will stick with me. The billions of people around the world who use Facebook aren't doing it out of ignorance. We use it because—as questionable the company is—it makes our lives better.

Review: The many unseemly faces of Facebook

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Trump’s swf size envy not grounded in reality.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump lamented on Thursday in a speech at The Economic Club of New York that the United States does not have a sovereign wealth fund unlike other nations. So he proposed creating the “greatest” one of all, which would approach, or exceed, a $2 trillion pot. At the center of this idea, however, is half-baked goo.

Facebook Portal review (2nd gen)

The second-generation facebook portal smart display is an improvement in every way..

Tom's Guide Verdict

Despite our ongoing concerns about privacy, the Facebook Portal is excellent when it comes to video calls via Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

Excellent at video calls through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp

Innovative camera-tracking feature

Nice design

Works with Alexa

Facebook voice assistant not as good as Alexa

Ongoing privacy issues with Facebook

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

• Price and availability
• Video call quality
• Audio quality
• Voice control

We didn’t think much of the original Facebook Portal. Aside from our trust issues with Facebook, the first Portal just wasn’t a very good smart display, especially compared to the Amazon Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub. 

The second-generation Facebook Portal is a much better device, letting you make video calls not just to Facebook friends but those on WhatsApp, too. It also looks nicer than the original, and can do more stuff, especially when you’re using Alexa on the Portal. Yes, we still have concerns about what Facebook is doing with our data, but the Portal is the best smart display if you want to make calls with Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. Read the rest of our Facebook Portal review to see if its benefits outweigh its issues.

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Display : 10 inches (1280 x 900 pixels) Camera : 13 MP, 114-degree field of view Speakers : 10-watt stereo, subwoofer Microphones : 4 Wi-Fi : 2.4/5GHz Size : 10.2 x 7 x 0.8 inches (excluding stand)

Facebook Portal: Price and availability

Facebook offers the Portal in three versions. The Portal Mini is $109, originally $129 on Amazon, and has an 8-inch display; the Portal at $145, (originally $179), we tested has a 10-inch display; and the Portal+ ($229) has a massive 15.6-inch display that can rotate from portrait to landscape mode. 

Both of the smaller Portals have 13MP cameras with a 114-degree field of view, while the Portal+ has a 12.5MP camera with a wider 140-degree view. In addition, the Portal+ has two 2-inch tweeters and one four-inch woofer, while the smaller models have less powerful stereo speakers.

Facebook also makes the Portal TV ($149), which is essentially a webcam you stick on top of your television.

• How to set up the Facebook Portal

Facebook Portal: Design

Unlike a lot of smart home gadgets — including the original Portal — the second-generation Facebook Portal doesn’t look like some wacky device from the future. In fact, it looks more like a digital picture frame than anything else, and acts as such when you’re not using it for video calls. 

In keeping with its aesthetic, the 10-inch touchscreen is surrounded by an ersatz matte border — the thing that costs so much when you go to get a picture framed. Surrounding this is a small gap between the border and the exterior of the frame, which not only serves as a nice design element, but also allows audio through, while hiding its actual speakers.

In the upper left corner of the Portal’s front is the camera, and the top edge above this is a slider that physically blocks the Portal’s camera and shuts off its microphone. You can slide the button to turn off just the camera, but leave the microphone on, too. It’s a lot more sophisticated than the cheap plastic clip that served a similar function on the original Portal.

Along the left edge are volume controls. The back of the Portal is flat and white except for the center, where a fabric woofer domes out slightly. 

With the exception of its “foot,” which extends about four inches out the back right corner, the Portal is only 0.8 inches thick, and measures 10.2 inches wide by 7 inches tall. Cleverly, if you turn the Portal so that it’s either in landscape or portrait mode, the screen automatically reorients itself.

Facebook Portal: Video call quality

Give credit where it’s due: With the original Portal, Facebook figured out a problem when making video calls from a smart display. Because you can’t carry a display around as you would a phone or tablet, you’re usually stuck in one spot, and the person on the other end of the line won’t be able to see you if you move. 

The Portal solves that issue by tracking your face and digitally panning and zooming its camera so that you remain in the center of the frame as much as possible. This way, if you have the Portal set up in your kitchen, you can walk around and prepare a meal, and the person you’re chatting with can still see you clearly. To date, the only other smart display that can do this is the Google Nest Hub Max .

Being the monolithic social networking platform that it is, the Portal lets you make calls not just to Facebook Messenger contacts, but also to people on WhatsApp, which Facebook owns. Those two services collectively account for roughly 40 percent of the world’s population, so there’s a good chance you’ll find someone you know.

As I have accounts with both services, I made calls via Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, and both came through sharp and clear. Despite my being in a somewhat dark room, the Portal’s camera produced a bright, colorful image. While the Portal’s camera-tracking can be a bit sluggish — there’s a delay of about a second from the time you move to the time the camera shifts — it was neat to watch it lock on to me, eventually. 

One fun aspect of video calls via the Portal are all the filters you can apply not just to yourself, but to the other people on the call. My wife and I spent a few minutes gawking at the virtual cats on our heads. 

As of October 2020, Facebook has also added Zoom, and expects to add more web-conferencing apps (BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, WebEx) to the Portal at some point. 

Facebook Portal: Audio quality

With its two speakers and rear-facing subwoofer, the Portal turned out pretty good audio for its size. The Beatles’ I Want to Hold You Hand streamed from Spotify was reproduced accurately with a strong bass. However, t higher tones, such as Ringo’s cymbal work, felt a little compressed. 

Audio during video calls was equally strong. Thanks to the Portal’s four microphones, callers were able to hear us easily, even if we were ten feet away from the display.

Facebook Portal: Apps

You can add functionality to the Portal by installing apps and websites; currently, there are only 12 apps available, including Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, FB Gaming, ABC News Live, Food Network, Story Time, and a web browser. 

The Portal comes with 18 bookmarked webpages, which include Yelp, ESPN, Twitch , Instagram, Google, YouTube , and, of course, Facebook. In this way, you can view your Facebook feed, but it’s not nearly as easy to navigate as it is on a laptop or through a dedicated mobile app. The same goes for other sites such as YouTube and ESPN. 

The Portal’s browser is an ok workaround — it even has an incognito mode — and something you don’t get on other smart displays, but the experience isn’t the best. However, you can expand YouTube videos to full screen. 

The Photo Booth app lets you take both stills and video, and apply the same filters as you would during a video call. However, you can’t save the photos or video, only send them via Facebook Messenger. 

Facebook Portal: Voice control

The Portal comes with two voice assistants: Facebook’s “Hey Portal” and Amazon’s Alexa. But unless Facebook makes drastic improvements to its assistant, there’s very little reason to use it in favor of Alexa. 

Let’s start with Alexa. You can pretty much do everything with Alexa on the Portal as you can on any other Amazon device: Control smart home products, play music, play games, and control the volume of the Portal’s speakers. 

More importantly, Alexa visual skills are now available on the Portal, so if you want to turn on your smart lights, a slider will appear on-screen, letting you adjust their brightness. You can even look up recipes and have them show up on-screen, so you can follow them step by step. The one thing you can’t do is make voice or video calls using Alexa, but given that Facebook wants you to use its services, is an understandable limitation.

The “Hey Portal” command can be used to start and end video calls, play music, set timers, and get the weather, but it’s not as functional, nor as accurate, as Alexa. 

“Hey Portal, play WBGO” was continually misinterpreted, as was my ask to stream 97.5 the Fanatic. When I asked the same of Alexa, Amazon’s assistant interpreted my requests accurately. 

While you can use the Hey Portal command to open the 18 web pages that come pre-bookmarked, you can’t open any other websites by asking the Portal. 

Facebook Portal: Privacy

Yes, Facebook’s myriad privacy issues have still not been adequately resolved. However, if you’re already on Facebook, you’ve likely already made this calculus in your head. And, by using the Portal, you’re not giving up any more information than you would have otherwise. 

Now, you can view everything that the Portal heard, and delete each recording individually, or all at once. You can also opt not to have the Portal save any recordings whatsoever. Selecting this option is the best course of action, for this or any other device that records what you say. 

Facebook Portal Review: Verdict

Does Facebook’s privacy issues still concern me? Yes. Is the second-generation Portal a much better device than the original? Yes. Not only has the design of the device improved — it’s much more subtle, and has a physical switch for the microphone and camera — but its functionality is much closer to that of the best smart displays. 

The Nest Hub Max is more of a well-rounded smart display: It provides you news and weather at a glance, has an equally impressive camera, and lets you stream movies and the like via Chromecast. 

But the Facebook Portal does one thing exceptionally well: Video calls using Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. If you’re on either of those platforms — and there’s a good chance you are — then the Portal is a smart display worth considering. 

Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.

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Facebook just revealed its new name: Meta

The company announced the rebranding during facebook connect.

By Kim Lyons

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Thursday at his company’s Connect event that its new name will be Meta. “We are a company that builds technology to connect,” Zuckerberg said. “Together, we can finally put people at the center of our technology. And together, we can unlock a massively bigger creator economy.”

“To reflect who we are and what we hope to build,” he added. He said the name Facebook doesn’t fully encompass everything the company does now, and is still closely linked to one product. “But over time, I hope we are seen as a metaverse company.”

• Mark Zuckerberg on why Facebook is rebranding to Meta

Zuckerberg owns the Twitter handle @meta (whose tweets are protected as of this writing) and meta.com , which now redirects to a welcome page on Facebook outlining the changes. The site previously redirected to meta.org , a biomedical research discovery tool that was a project of the Chan Zuckerberg Science Initiative. That’s part of the philanthropic arm Zuckerberg co-founded with his physician wife, Priscilla Chan, in 2015. In a Medium post on Thursday , the group says it’s sunsetting Meta.org on March 31st, 2022.

As The Verge first reported on October 19th , the rebrand is part of the company’s efforts to shift gears away from being known as just a social media company and focus on Zuckerberg’s plans for building the metaverse. In July,  he told  The Verge  that over the next several years, Facebook would “effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company.”

Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post Thursday that the company’s corporate structure would not be changing, but how it reports financial results will. “Starting with our results for the fourth quarter of 2021, we plan to report on two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs” he explained. “We also intend to start trading under the new stock ticker we have reserved, MVRS, on December 1. Today’s announcement does not affect how we use or share data.”

• What is the metaverse, and do I have to care?

Facebook has been under intense scrutiny over the past several weeks, after revelations based on damning internal documents provided to the Wall Street Journal by whistleblower Frances Haugen showed, among other things, that Facebook’s Instagram platform had become a toxic place for teenagers, especially girls. And antitrust regulators are pushing for the company to be broken up, as public trust in the social media platform is flagging .

• Eight things we learned from the Facebook Papers

On Monday, multiple news outlets published further details of the internal documents disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission and provided to Congress in redacted form. They showed the deep concern among Facebook’s researchers that its user base was aging, and the platform was losing traction among younger generations. The documents also showed Facebook had a tiered system to prioritize which countries would receive enhanced protections around elections.

Early speculation focused on a change similar to Google’s 2015 rebrand when it announced it would become one of several companies under the umbrella of a larger holding company called Alphabet. For Facebook, the original “blue” app would join Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus under a parent company.

Oculus, however, got a refresh of its own following Thursday’s event, as CTO Andrew Bosworth announced Meta was phasing out the Oculus branding. The Oculus Quest product line will become the Meta Quest line, and the Oculus App will be called the Meta Quest App. Those changes will begin to take effect in early 2022, Bosworth said.

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More from this stream Facebook Connect: all the news about ‘Meta’ and Mark Zuckerberg’s VR dream

Amid the fluff, meta showed an impressive demo of its codec avatars, with facebook’s change to meta, what’s the new big tech acronym, facebook’s oculus quest will soon be called the meta quest, facebook’s famous thumbs-up hq sign has been replaced with meta.

Facebook reviews: your ultimate guide (all Qs answered)

Discover how to set up and start getting Facebook reviews for your business (everything you need to know).

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Table of Contents

Checking out Facebook reviews, scrolling through Instagram and generally interacting on social media is the first thing many people do in the morning and the last thing at night.

With over 1.9 billion daily active users, Facebook makes it easy to access information, discuss politics (a lot), share stories and experiences, join business networking groups, run Facebook ads and connect your product catalog , learn from industry experts and you guessed it, check out reviews (social proof).

More than ever, customers are turning to social platforms like Facebook to fully engage with businesses.

Facebook is fast becoming one of the first points of contact you have with your online customers, so, as a business, if you're not taking advantage of Facebook reviews, you could be missing out. It might seem like a minefield of information, but people do truly care about what others are saying about your business, so proactively driving positive reviews is absolutely worth your time and effort.

Why are Facebook reviews so important for businesses?

Consider this. You're in the market for a new dentist after moving cities. You've had bad experiences before, so choosing the right dentist is a big deal . What's the first thing you do? Ask your family and friends for a recommendation or search online for the best local dental surgery.

Believe it or not, this process happens millions of times every day for local businesses. When you finally do find that dentist and notice they have hundreds of glowing online reviews from existing patients (many of whom address the same concerns you have), you feel a sense of relief and a sense of trust. When we are unsure about something, we look to others for validation . Facebook reviews provide the endorsement that we are not alone; other people have done this before, and we can feel confident in looking to their experiences. Encouraging your customers to leave a review on your business will result in your future customers also feeling this sense of trust.

Besides Facebook reviews, you might have a myriad of other review sites that customers review you on (like Google or TripAdvisor ). Some great tools on the market, such as Cloutly , can help you aggregate and manage all of your reviews in one place. Cloutly’s platform will help you effortlessly drive 2-3x times more customer reviews, whilst bringing all your feedback - from Google, Facebook, Trustpilot etc - into one place, rather than all over the place.

Whilst Facebook reviews allow you to build a better business and understand the customer experience, they also provide you with an asset that delivers compounding interest: your reputation.

The most important review factors

When it comes to building trust, here's what consumers are saying matters most to them (i.e. factors that are most persuasive) when looking at business reviews on review platforms like Google as well as Facebook.

• Star-rating (between 4.5 and 4.9 stars is the sweet spot).
• Authenticity (are the reviews balanced? thousands of 5-star reviews alone set off alarms).
• Recentness (consistent feedback proves your level of service is constant; old reviews don't hold much weight).
• Response (how does the business respond? what does it say about them?)
• Volume (number of reviews).

Setting up your page for Facebook page reviews

Whether you already have an established business page or you need to create one, the benefits of Facebook reviews are irrefutable. Facebook is a powerful platform that will help you connect with your audience, acquire new customers, drive purchases and improve word-of-mouth referrals.

First of all, you'll need to set up a new Facebook business page if you haven't got one (or you've previously deleted your page ). You can do this from your personal Facebook account. Follow these five easy steps:

Step 1 - Create a Facebook page (if you don't have one) Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/create Enter all of your business information in the panel on the left; you'll see real-time updates as you proceed. Use your business name where possible (or the name that people are likely to search by default). Use the 'category' section wisely and choose the relevant suggestions. Next, complete a short description – Facebook gives you 255 characters to play with.

Then, when you're done, hit the Create Page button down the bottom left.

Step 2 - Add some pictures Next, add your profile picture and cover photo. These will always be on display, so ensure you choose something eye-catching. If you are a public figure, use a portrait photograph; if you have a small business, use your logo, or, in lieu of a logo, you could also consider using a product image. The most important thing is that the image is recognisable.

Step 3 - Connect your Facebook page with WhatsApp (optional) If you wish, connect your business page to WhatsApp, so that customers can reach you here from your pages, or from any ads you plan to run, or, if you'd prefer to skip this bit, you can continue to the next page.

Step 4 - Choose a username Create your username, which will tell people where to find you ( and tag you ) on Facebook when they search above their news feed. Your username can be up to 50 characters, but use them wisely – ensure that your username is easy to remember. Facebook will give you a green tick if the username is available.

Step 5 - Add business information Facebook has a simple step-by-step guide to follow. When all of the details are complete, carefully consider the right call to action (CTA). This is what the public will see on your page, and may encourage visitors to shop, download your app, book an appointment or even just learn more about your business.

How to enable the Reviews tab on your page

Once you've done all this, you're ready to enable the Facebook review tab!

• Log in and navigate to your Facebook business page.
• Click on 'Settings' and then choose 'Templates and Tabs'.
• Find the Reviews tab and activate it.

How to get more Facebook reviews

Now it's time to get some glowing reviews on your business page. How do you do it? Quite simply, ask your customers ! The good news is, it's easy to request a review on Facebook. Here are a few ways you can do this:

• Reach out to your loyal customers and ask them to provide you with an honest review on your business Facebook page. You'll be impressed with the number of people that want to help.
• Use Cloutly to add your customers to automated review campaigns, which help you drive 2-3x more reviews on the review sites you've connected.
• If you have a website, you can embed your Facebook reviews so that with one click, you can redirect customers directly to Facebook. Cloutly has a range of website widgets you can use to showcase not only your Facebook reviews but your reviews from 40+ review sites.
• Ask your customers to check-in. If they do this, Facebook will remind them to leave a review on your business listing.

You rely on customer reviews to grow your business, but asking for them... sucks. Review requests are awkward, boring, and nobody wants another email asking them to complete a survey. That's why we built Cloutly. The fastest way to get your customers talking about you. pic.twitter.com/CvrciH2lCa — Cloutly (@cloutlyco) December 14, 2021

Whether you ask for a review in person, by email or by Facebook, remember to be genuine.  It is essential to ask your customer in the right way so they don't find you inauthentic about their experience and appear to be just seeking a review. If they have had a great experience, feel free to explain that reviews really help other prospective customers make comfortable decisions.

How to embed Facebook reviews

Note that you'll need to be the admin of a business page in order to to embed Facebook reviews. If you don't have one, discover how to create or delete a business Facebook account as quickly as possible.

Step 1 - Go to the Facebook reviews section Log in to the Facebook account associated with your Facebook business page and go to the business page. You will see a few tabs including Home, Services, Reviews, Shop, and others. Click on Reviews. Depending on your customization, the Reviews section might be positioned elsewhere. But it is generally found in the tabs section.

Step 2 - Filter and select the reviews to embed Once you've clicked on the Reviews tab, your business' reviews should appear. Above the Reviews section, you'll see a dropdown menu that allows you to categorize them into 'Star Rating', 'Most Helpful', 'Most Recent', and others. Select the one you would like. After sorting them, find the review you'd like to embed and click on the three horizontal dots at the top right-hand side of the display box.

Step 3 - Embedding your review When you click on the three horizontal dots, a few options will appear. If Embed is among them, click on it. If it isn't among the options, try clicking 'More Options' first.

Step 4 - Copy the Facebook embed code When you click Embed, a window containing the embed code pops up with two options: JavaScript SDK and iFrame. Choose the one that best fits your use case (though for most people, iFrame will work fine). This embed code is what you'll need to paste into your website's HTML in order to get your reviews to embed. Select the code and copy it.

Step 5 - Paste the Embed Code into Your Website With the code snippet in hand, you have one question and two options: firstly, where should I place my widget?! Secondly: you could choose to sprinkle the best reviews here and there across your website, or alternatively, create a dedicated page for your glowing testimonials where all your reviews live. Once you've got a game plan, head over to your website and paste your embed code into a HTML block (this process may be different, depending on your website builder/CMS).

How to respond to Facebook reviews

You should make an effort to respond to as many of your customer reviews as possible (the good and the bad), regardless of the platform. Your customers have taken the time to leave you a review, so it's nice to thank them for their time at the very least.

Always use their name, tell them that you appreciate their review and be specific in your reply by using keywords and addressing key points from their review. Where possible, you can use responses as marketing opportunities to announce a new promotion that might benefit them (or the 5000 other people who read your reply).

Transparency is key. If appropriate, ask them to spread the word to their friends and family.

If the review is negative, thank and reassure them that their feedback is valued. Try and take communications offline and take their best contact details. Indicate in your response that you are committed to resolving their issues.

Whatever the platform (Facebook, Google, TripAdvisor etc), it's important to have a procedure in place to respond to negative reviews. Check out our best response templates here .

How Facebook reviews affect your page rating

Facebook rates each business page on a number of metrics, such as reviews and recommendations (reviews are now synonymous with Facebook recommendations, to avoid confusion).

Various criteria form your overall rating, and only business owners who allow recommendations will be able to see this.

You can see your business’ rating by going to your page and clicking on the Reviews tab in the menu, at the top of your page.

Can I hide, report or remove Facebook page reviews?

Yes and no.

• Yes, you can hide or remove the reviews tab from your Facebook business page entirely.
• No, you can't remove individual reviews (unless they're fraudulent, and you can prove it).

Firstly, consider the content of the review and if a reply would be sufficient. Don’t forget that negative reviews can be just as powerful as 5-star reviews if you play your cards right.

All businesses make mistakes, and it is how you respond and deal with the situation that can count in your favour. Also, customers may be suspicious if you only have all glowing reviews (it doesn’t look natural).

If you receive a review that you deem fake, involves hate speech, is excessively negative or is in breach of Facebook's community standards, you can report it to Facebook and make a case for your business.

We've written a guide about removing negative reviews on Google , which is virtually the same process as on FB.

If you'd prefer, you can hide the review section on your page altogether, which will stop you from worrying about any fake or bad reviews/recommendations people might see. Be aware that this section relates to all reviews, including any new reviews, plus the five-star ratings you have already worked so hard for.

To do this, head to your Page Settings (edit page) , choose Templates and Tabs , find the Reviews tab and switch the toggle off.

As with other platforms like Google, you cannot remove reviews (unless they are against Facebook’s guidelines) from your Facebook page, even if they're malicious.

Review systems are grounded in transparency and honesty, therefore deleting and editing reviews would counteract this. The only way you can delete Facebook reviews is if you report them and Facebook confirms that it goes against their guidelines.

How to report a fake review on Facebook

If someone has posted a review that violates the platform's community standards , then you can report it. Facebook will remove the review if it includes bullying, misrepresentation, hate speech or insensitivity.

Flagging a Facebook review is simple. Here are the steps:

• Log in to your Facebook account and head over to your Facebook page on the right-hand side
• Navigate to the Reviews tab at the top and click it
• Navigate to the three dots beside the review in question (on your right). Then select Find support or report recommendation
• A pop-up window will appear. Click on the most appropriate word that describes the review

Then cross your fingers and wait for the Facebook jury to deliver their final judgement. Overly offensive and ingenuine reviews may warrant removal straight away.

Why can’t I see all my Facebook reviews?

Reviews disappeared? Can't find out where to see them? This one is usually a quick fix. Firstly, make sure that you've enabled your Reviews tab inside Page Settings (see above). Then, take a look at your page again. If you still can't see the Reviews tab, take a look under the More dropdown menu.

If it's there, you may want to re-arrange your tabs back in Page Settings and place Reviews further up the list. If it's still not there, go to the About tab and make sure you've selected a business category that Facebook recognises.

Some businesses have reported that their older reviews (star ratings) have just vanished.

If this has happened to you, you're not alone.

Since merging Reviews with Recommendations, Facebook has massively simplified the way in which people can sort through a business' feedback. Now, you only have the choice of sorting reviews by Most Helpful, or Most Recent.

While your reviews are unlikely actually gone, the limitations of this filtering system may cause them to appear like they're gone. Our advice: don't fret, they're probably still there. If you find a direct link to any of your old reviews, that will give you a definitive answer.

How to leave a review on Facebook

As most people have Facebook, it should be easy for them to leave a review for your Facebook Business Page. But, in case you have a Facebook novice wondering how to leave you a positive review, you can direct them to this guide.

• Head to the Facebook Business Page of the business you want to review
• Click Reviews from the drop down menu under the business's name and logo
• You'll see a question, Do you recommend * business name *? Then click Yes or No (but hopefully Yes )
• You can then write a review of at least 25 characters long
• Then, in the Sharing section you can select who you want to see your review. Just friends or everyone,
• Then, hit Post

Final thoughts

You're now armed with all the tools and support you need to start scoring Facebook reviews.

If you think about how many times you look at other businesses' reviews before you dine, shop or shake hands, you'll realise how important it is to continue building your reputation as an asset class.

The more reviews you get (even the bad ones), the more trust you earn, and this helps future customers make real buying decisions about you.

Which dentist would you trust: the one with a 3-star rating from two patients, or the one with a 4.8-star rating from three hundred patients?

Using a tool like Cloutly makes driving reviews easy, predictable and scalable. Instead of awkwardly asking your customers (one by one) for a review, Cloutly's review campaigns put the process on autopilot: driving 2-3x more reviews on the sites you choose, including Google and Facebook.

If word-of-mouth is important to your business, try Cloutly free for 14 days .

Lachlan Fea Twitter

👋 Co-Founder of Cloutly. Technical marketer interested in startups, SaaS, SEO, sales and UX. Passionate about bringing teams of brilliant people together and letting them do their thing.

Katie Hollamby

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Subscribe now, everything you need to know about facebook reviews.

Facebook reviews — officially called Facebook Recommendations — on local business Pages can help you build your company’s online reputation, expand your search visibility, and attract more customers to your business locations.

According to research:

• Facebook holds 19% of all customer reviews . The social media platform also ranks fourth just behind Google, Yelp, and Tripadvisor on the list of review sites people check before visiting a business. ( Online Reviews Statistics )
• 18.3% of U.S. adults made a purchase through Facebook in the last year. ( eMarketer )
• 2 out of 3 Facebook users visit a local business Page at least once a week. ( Hootsuite )
• 55% consider the social network as the most common place to learn about new brands and products. Meanwhile, 66% are likely to share their thoughts, experiences, and opinions on their purchases on Facebook. ( Facebook Reputation Management guide)

One thing to note: If you haven’t done so already, we suggest taking the time to learn how to claim a Facebook business page . 

Doing so ensures that you have an official place on Facebook where people can leave online reviews . For brands with multiple locations, we suggest you also check out our guide on how to manage multiple Facebook Pages with Facebook Business Manager .

What are Facebook Reviews / Recommendations?

For years, Facebook business Pages featured traditional online reviews and ratings. This changed in 2018, when the social network rolled out a series of visual changes and features that included “Facebook Recommendations.”

With the update, Facebook followed the trends set by Netflix and YouTube by ditching the 5-star rating system in favor of Yes/No options. Now, a query field appears on a business Page’s “Recommendations and Reviews” section with the question: “Do you recommend (business name)?”

Users can answer by pressing the “Yes” or “No” button and can add further context to their recommendations with tags, photos, and more text.

As a local business Page owner, you will no longer see any star-based reviews coming into your Page. Customers will rate your business simply by choosing whether or not they recommend it. 

How Do I See Facebook Reviews and Recommendations?

If you’re wondering how to see reviews on your Facebook business Page, simply go to your Page and click the Recommendations or Reviews tab found under your profile picture. (If you’re using Facebook Business Manager , you can follow the same procedures for Pages to which you have access.) 

If you previously enabled online reviews on your Page, Recommendations have been automatically turned on. To make it easier to find specific Recommendations, you can apply a “most helpful” or “most recent” filter to sort all your Recommendations and ratings.

Are Facebook Recommendations Public? 

All Facebook reviews and Recommendations are publicly displayed on your Page’s Reviews or Recommendations tab. They cannot be set to private.

What Happened to My Ratings?

If your business managed to compile a fair amount of Facebook reviews with high rating scores before Recommendations were rolled out, don’t worry: your ratings did not go away. 

They are still taken into account for your overall rating, which is also still displayed on your Page. As for how Facebook calculates this, it’s a mixture of reviews based on the past 5-star rating system and the current Yes / No Recommendations. 

How to Set Up Facebook Reviews

By default, Facebook reviews are activated when you create a Page. If, for some reason, it isn’t available when the Page is created, you can turn it on manually via the Manage Page section on the left side of the screen. To turn on Facebook reviews:

• Go to your brand page.
• Click on the “Settings” button on the Manage Page section.
• A new window should appear. Click on the “Templates and Tabs” section.
• Toggle the “Reviews” option to ON.

To make it easier for people to leave unsolicited feedback , you should make sure that people see the Reviews section on your page. You can change the order of the sections in this area through the “Templates and Tabs” section in the Page’s settings. Drag the dotted icon next to the section name to change the order.

How Do I Respond to Facebook Reviews?

Facebook reviews and Recommendations appear like traditional posts in the Reviews section. This means you can respond to any review on a Page by commenting on it. You can also “like” or “love” a Recommendation.

Before you do so, make sure you’re responding using your brand’s Facebook account and not your personal profile.

Before typing a response, it’s important to learn how to respond to negative reviews as well as positive feedback. 

According to research, 44.6% of consumers are more likely to visit a business if it responds to negative reviews. But don’t wait too long before typing out a response: 53.3% expect a response from a company within seven days.

The way your brand handles criticism or praise goes a long way towards brand success. Choosing the right words and taking feedback to heart can put your brand above the competition.

Can I Delete Facebook Reviews?

Currently, you can’t delete individual Facebook reviews and Recommendations from your page. If you don’t want reviews, the only option is to disable the entire feature. To do so:

• Go to the “Settings” section of the Manage Pages tab.
• Click on the “Templates and Tabs” button.
• Next to the “Reviews” section, toggle the switch from On to Off.

Turning this off might not be the best idea because it removes all reviews, including the positive reviews your brand might have accumulated throughout the years. In many ways, a page with reviews is better off than one without any reviews at all. That feedback serves as valuable social proof for consumers, and they’ll be quick to dismiss a brand if it doesn’t contain any consumer feedback.

If you believe a Facebook review contains spammy content or doesn’t meet the terms of use and content guidelines, you can send a report to Facebook .

What Companies Should Know About Facebook Recommendations

Recommendations and reviews are geared towards making your brand more discoverable and trustworthy on Facebook. 

According to the social network, having great Recommendations “may make your Page easier to find in Facebook search” — similar to how Google reviews can impact your local SEO performance. 

Recommendations are also useful for understanding the customer experience. The updated interface encourages your customers to provide richer, more detailed feedback about their experiences.

After users make the choice of recommending your business or not, they will be asked to provide additional details using tags, text, and photos. Selecting a tag will allow common themes to emerge, making it easier for potential customers to see your business’s highlights.

How To Get Facebook Reviews

Asking for reviews for your Facebook Page doesn’t have to be difficult (or awkward). 

If you have your customers’ contact information, you can send personalized SMS messages or emails asking for their feedback. (Make sure you get their permission to send messages to them before doing so). 

For those physically visiting your locations, you can give them physical reminders like cards or use stickers and posters in high-traffic areas to make customers aware of your Facebook page.

Based on our own research, the best time to start asking for reviews is around 2-3 p.m. or 6-7 p.m. 

Regardless of when you ask for feedback, the important thing is to keep it short, sweet, and uncomplicated. Quickly tell people why you want their feedback and provide a short link that doesn’t require people to jump through multiple hoops before they can leave a Facebook review. 

The Importance of Facebook Reviews

Facebook reviews, along with reviews on other business review sites , are important marketing assets for any brand. 92.4% of consumers use these reviews to guide their purchasing decisions. People need social proof to know if a product or service is worth the time, and more importantly, the investment.

On a popular site such as Facebook, reviews carry plenty of weight, and you need to use it to your advantage to improve the experience, attract more customers, and beat the competition.

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How customer experience analysis improves customer retention and drives business growth.

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Facebook Portal+ (2021) review: Quirky traits hinder an otherwise excellent experience

Android Central Verdict

Bottom line: Top to bottom, the Facebook Portal+ (2021) is a quality piece of hardware. It not only looks great but performs equally as well. The inclusion of Alexa adds extra functionality to the device to enhance the video calling features. However, a few software missteps hold back the overall experience from total greatness.

First-rate hardware

Impressive sound quality

The camera and its features work well

Multiple video calling platforms are available

Works as an Alexa smart speaker

Very limited photo display options

Dueling voice assistants can be frustrating

Can't customize the home screen

Have to trust Facebook

Why you can trust Android Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

• Price and availability
• What's good
• What's not good
• The competition
• Should you buy?

The use of video calling apps has grown a lot in the past couple of years. Not only has the use of these services expanded, so have the hardware options that take advantage of them. The most common way to use apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp is through one of the best Android phones , but when possible, using a larger screen can lead to a better experience. That's what the new Facebook Portal+ (2021) aims to offer consumers.

Facebook announced two devices, the Portal Go and Portal+ , to provide a better experience when video calling as well as flexibility for where those calls happen. The Portal Go brings a lower price and benefit of portability thanks to its built-in battery and smaller display. The Portal+ is the flagship version of the two offerings sporting a large 14-inch QHD display and some nifty camera tricks.

I've been using the Plus model for a few weeks and putting it through some tests while staying in touch with friends and family during the holidays. The Facebook Portal+ also doubles as an Alexa smart speaker, so that feature put some work in as well.

Does this device have more to offer or provide a better experience than something like the Nest Hub Max or Echo Show 10 ? Well, it's complicated. Let me explain.

Facebook Portal+: Price and availability

Announced in September 2021, the Facebook Portal+ later went on sale in October 2021. At launch, the Portal+ retailed for $349.99 but recently sold at multiple retailers for $299.99, including Amazon and Best Buy. The device is available in a single color option for the fabric surrounding the base: light gray.

Facebook Portal+: What's good

Out of the box, I was immediately impressed with the quality of the hardware for the Portal+. It feels solid and well put together. The hinge that allows the large 14-inch QHD display to tilt is smooth and holds the screen precisely where you leave it. At the bottom of the light grey fabric-covered base is a small aluminum foot that extends to help balance the device.

The Portal+ uses a proprietary plug located below a USB-C port for power. While it would be nice to use the far more ubiquitous port as power input, it is only available as an output source to charge your phone.

When looking at the display, you'll find the physical volume buttons on the backside of the display in the bottom right corner. Resting atop the display is the camera, three of the four microphones, and a button to disable both the camera and microphones. There is a physical slider to cover the camera as an added level of privacy.

Plugging in the Facebook Portal+ plus revealed that not only does the hardware for the screen feel nice, but the actual display quality is also equally good. The colors look great on it, the text is crisp, and the auto-brightness and color tuning sensors work very well. Swiping on the touchscreen is fluid with responsive actions to taps.

After logging into my Facebook account and choosing which contacts I wanted to show up in the favorites bar along the top of the homepage, I also logged into my Amazon account. This is because, alongside Facebook's Hey Portal voice assistant, the Portal+ is also an Alexa device. All of the features you'd expect from an Alexa-enabled smart speaker are here, though there are some quirks I'll cover later.

The sound quality from the Portal+ was impressive both for calls and listening to music.

Starting a voice call can be done in two ways: tapping on a contact you'd like to talk with, or using Facebook's digital assistant. Saying "Hey Portal, call Mom" will fire up a Facebook Messenger call to your contact Mom. You can change the default calling app to WhatsApp if you choose. This assistant can also pull up the Spotify, Pandora, or iHeartRadio music apps and to answer calls.

Source: Chris Wedel / Android Central

The Facebook Portal+ has 26 apps available like Contacts, Facebook Watch, Story Time, and more. You'll also have 19 website bookmarks that include Facebook, AllRecipes, CNBC, Amazon, Google, and more available to download for quick access from the Apps button. Yes, there is a full Chrome browser on this device, and you can add any website as a shortcut within the Apps page.

Tapping on one of those bookmarks opens up the Chrome browser, which displays the mobile version of the website by default. So while Netflix isn't technically available on the Portal+, you can go it in the browser. Unfortunately, it throws an error when starting a video and won't play. However, Disney+ works just fine in a browser tab on the device.

In terms of the video calling features, the Portal+ will use Facebook Messenger when calling by default. But you can also access some of the most popular video calling apps like Zoom, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, and more.

The camera quality is really good on the Portal+, as was the audio on both ends of the call. The callers I spoke with said my voice was clear and easy to understand, and the video looked good too. The wide-angle, 131° FOV camera is great when multiple people are trying to fit into the frame, and there's some software trickery that takes advantage of the camera hardware.

There are plenty of fun virtual background options to pick, ranging from nature images from National Geographic to offices, Harry Potter-themed to Toy Story, and many more. The Portal+ also has silly voice effects and fun AR effects like a dragon mask, jewelry, and many more to pick from. There's even an animated cloud that reacts to your facial expressions. Smile, and the cloud looks cheerful with a bright tinted filter forming over your face. But if you look less than happy, the cloud is sad, and it rains on you.

Perhaps the most useful, even if it isn't the most fun, feature the camera offers is the ability to keep you in the frame without physically moving the Facebook Portal+, via the Smart Frame option. There are three other framing features: Spotlight, Manual, and Close Up. Features like these are great when you want to move around while on a video call but still be visible to the person you're walking with.

The Facebook Portal+ is a video calling device first — which it executes quite well, and many of the features needed to accomplish this feat translate to being a good smart speaker. The company refined the Portal+ in 2021 to work great and look great sitting on a counter or desk. But, for all it does well, there are still some instances where we can find areas for improvement.

Facebook Portal+: What's not good

Though I do have many video calls in a typical week, generally they happen through Google Meet , which isn't supported. That doesn't mean I haven't found plenty of good use for this Alexa-enabled video-calling device. But I've also come across some things that put a damper on the Portal+ party.

One such issue I have is the dueling voice assistants. The Portal+ tries to straddle two worlds — one as a Facebook smart speaker and the other as an Alexa device. Both options work well through the Portal+, but remembering which you have to use for the task you want can be frustrating. Hey Portal can only play music from Spotify, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. However, if you prefer Amazon Music, it's available, but you'll need to call upon Alexa.

The split duties between the two onboard voice assistants can be a frustrating experience.

Speaking of calling upon Alexa, the hot word cannot be changed. So, if you have an Amazon smart speaker household but have moved away from calling "Alexa" to use those devices, you will be stuck remembering two different hot words for specific rooms.

Another issue surrounding the Alexa integration is the inability to use your Amazon Photos on the display of the Portal+. Facebook has locked down this feature to use photos in your Facebook albums, Instagram posts, and photos on your phone that require the mostly useless Portal app. This might be fine for some folks, but this seems like a silly restriction. There's no way to show off your pictures from Amazon Photos, Google Photos, or iCloud on the fantastic display on the Portal+.

Another area that is a letdown in terms of the display for the Portal+ isn't in the quality department. It's in the customization. Again, this comes down to Facebook's simple video focus on its Portal devices. But considering the Amazon Alexa connection, it would be great to see the ability to treat the home screen more like the Amazon Echo Show 15 .

On Amazon's official smart display's like the Show 15, there are widget options to display your smaller versions of apps like a shopping list, notes, weathers, calendar — which is something that is on the Portal+ but not as a widget — and more. These little bits of glanceable information on the large display that this device offers are very helpful and can only enhance the user's experience.

There is a lot of useful screen real estate that unfortunately can't be customized for better utilization.

On the Portal+ home screen, there are two permanent fixtures — favorite contacts and a widget with a shortcut to your three most recently used apps. As you use the device and different apps, if those apps have a widget, you'll see it show up under the permanent options. So, if you use Spotify, a widget for that app will show up with playback controls. These widgets can be swiped away if you don't want to see them.

One other potentially big sticking point for some would be that to use the Portal+, you have to use Facebook. Despite the name change to Meta, the company still has a history of data leaks , privacy issues , and antitrust violations that haven't gone away. This means you'll need to come to terms with how you personally feel about the company before considering the Portal+.

The physical camera cover is a nice bit of privacy solace for users. But what about when in a call? Well, there is the option to enable end-to-end encryption for your communications. However, it isn't on by default and must be turned on per contact. Though it is a hassle and would be better if calls were secure from the start, there is at least a way to improve that situation in the contact call settings.

Facebook Portal+: Competition

If you want to get a device that can take care of both video calls and do a better job completing the smart display circle, there are plenty of options out there. The previously mentioned Nest Hub Max matches up very well with the Facebook Portal+ in several ways. While it doesn't offer Messenger as a calling option, you will get Zoom and Google's own Duo. You also get the helpful framing feature found on the Portal+ to keep you in the frame while on calls.

Instead of Alexa, Google Assistant is the Nest Hub Max's option for your voice commands. It also means you'll have access to YouTube Music, Spotify, YouTube, official Netflix, and more. Though the display isn't as large as the Portal+ has, it allows you to display your Google Photos when it's in photo frame mode.

Should you prefer the world of Alexa and want to stay with it, a fantastic option is the Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) . It provides the same voice assistant performance as the Portal+ but without the restrictive quirks. That means you can change the Alexa hot word, use Amazon Photos for the display, and customize the home screen with useful widgets. No, the display isn't as big as the Portal+'s, nor does it have software to keep you in the frame while in calls — it has a different feature for that.

The Echo Show 10 uses hardware to keep you in the frame instead. Yep, the display which houses the camera physically rotates around the speaker base to follow you as you move around to ensure you are always in view of your caller. This feature also works great when in the kitchen. It will rotate to make the screen visible, making following a recipe that much easier. However, like with the Nest Hub Max, if you want to use Facebook Messenger for your calls, you won't find it here.

Facebook Portal+: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if...

• You use Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp regularly.
• You want a good-looking dedicated device for video calling.
• You want an Alexa smart speaker with solid camera features and great audio

You shouldn't buy this if...

• You don't trust Facebook.
• You want to be able to customize the home screen layout.
• You want to use one voice assistant for all functions of the Portal+.

When used as its primary intention — a video calling device — the Facebook Portal+ is fantastic. The camera quality and the helpful, fun software features available to use in calls work great. Facebook put a fantastic display on it, and the ability to tilt it is wonderful.

When approaching the Portal+ as a smart display, the story begins to get muddled. It's not to say the experience is bad, but it needs some refinement. If all of that can be understood and accepted, you'll have to wrestle with where you stand on Facebook's privacy policies.

3.5 out of 5

In many ways, the Facebook Portal+ is a win. From its excellent build quality to the impressive audio chops, it definitely fulfills its functionality as a video calling device. Facebook has improved on its first-generation Portal devices in the software experience too. The interface is clean and easy to understand. The hardware compliments it with snappy performance to boot.

Better integration with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant into the device is also a nice option to have alongside Facebook's own Hey Portal. However, it can be annoying at times to remember which functions the assistant can perform, paired with the quirky features missing from the Alexa experience. Despite that, using the Portal+ was an overall pleasant experience. Especially since my wife and I could each have our profiles for making voice calls, even if doing so meant giving Facebook more data for its archives.

In the end, if you want a fine-looking piece of hardware with excellent video calling features and can ignore the idiosyncrasies of the Alexa integration — oh, and you also don't mind it being a Facebook product — I think you'll be quite happy with the Portal+.

Facebook Portal+

Bottom line: Great camera features combined with excellent overall hardware make the Portal+ the perfect dedicated video calling device. The Alexa integration is welcome, even if it is slightly incomplete.

• $299 at Amazon
• $300 at Best Buy

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Facebook just changed how it reviews employee performance, and it could be a sign the social-media giant is maturing

• Facebook is revamping its annual performance reviews, Insider has learned.
• It's a sign the social-media giant is maturing, one insider said.
• The company, founded in 2004, employed more than 58,000 people at the end of last year.

Facebook is changing the structure of its performance reviews, Insider has learned, and a company employee said it could be a sign that the social-media giant is maturing and attracting different kinds of employees.

"Performance Summary Cycle" (PSC) reviews typically happen at the company in January and July. Now they will take place once a year, although employees can still pitch for promotions every six months.

"This change won't affect anyone until 2022, but we're sharing the news early to give everyone space to prepare," a Facebook spokesman, Tracy Clayton, said in a statement. "We are making this change to better reflect the direction of the company with remote work in mind and guided by our principles of fairness, simplicity and building for the long term."

The change was announced last week during a staff meeting, a Facebook employee said. (They asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to talk about internal company matters.)

This year, employees will still have to complete the PSC in July, then once again in January, after which it will switch to an annual review. Employees will still be eligible for promotions in July moving forward.

A former senior Facebook employee, who asked not to be named to protect their career opportunities, told Insider this is a sign of a maturing company.

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"More than the process or logistics, it's what people want," the person said, adding that when you're a large company, you attract different kinds of employees who seek stability.

"When you're a startup, you attract people who want to quickly course correct and change. Waiting a full year is great for average people."

Facebook's human-resources chief, Lori Goler, told Insider a few years ago that the company does performance reviews twice annually because "the business moves very quickly and our product moves very quickly, and if you wait a whole year, a lot of things have changed."

Facebook had more than 58,000 employees at the end of last year , up from about 12,000 in 2016, when Goler made those comments.

Do you work at a big tech company or have insight to share? Contact reporter Ashley Stewart via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email ([email protected]).

Watch: Early Facebook investor said his first awkward meeting with Mark Zuckerberg was 'unlike any I've ever been in'

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What you need to know about the Facebook data leak

The data trove, uncovered by security researcher Alon Gal, includes phone numbers, email addresses, hometowns, full names, and birth dates.

• Charlotte Jee archive page

The news:  The personal data of 533 million Facebook users in more than 106 countries was found to be freely available online last weekend. The data trove, uncovered by security researcher  Alon Gal , includes phone numbers, email addresses, hometowns, full names, and birth dates. Initially, Facebook claimed that the data leak was previously reported on in 2019 and that it had patched the vulnerability that caused it that August. But in fact, it appears that Facebook did not properly disclose the breach at the time. The company finally acknowledged it on Tuesday, April 6, in a  blog post  by product management director Mike Clark. How it happened:  In the blog post, Clark said that Facebook believes the data was scraped from people’s profiles by “malicious actors” using its contact importer tool, which uses people’s contact lists to help them find friends on Facebook. It isn’t clear exactly when the data was scraped, but Facebook says it was “prior to September 2019.” One complicating factor is that it is very common for cyber criminals to combine different data sets and sell them off in different chunks, and Facebook has had  many  different  data breaches  over the years (most famously the  Cambridge Analytica  scandal).

Why the timing matters:  The General Data Protection Regulation came into force in European Union countries in May 2018. If this breach happened after that, Facebook could be liable for fines and enforcement action because it failed to disclose the breach to the relevant regulators within 72 hours, as the GDPR stipulates. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission is investigating the breach. In the US, Facebook  signed a deal two years ago  that gave it immunity from Federal Trade Commission fines for breaches before June 2019, so if the data was stolen after that, it could face action there too.

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