No joke — Facebook wants to make bug reporting as easy as shaking the phone. The social network literally wants users to be able to give it a heads-up on bugs by shaking their phone and filing a report through a popup menu that will appear on the screen. No more going through hoops — just shake.
Facebook Rolls Out Shake To Report Feature
This isn't the first time this feature has appeared, though. The "shake to report" method was previously available as an opt-in feature on iOS, but soon it will be a default setting on both iOS and Android.
It will still be possible to report bugs via Facebook's Help & Support menu, as Engadget notes, but Facebook says it hopes this new method will be much easier to use.
Giving Feedback
In addition to reporting bugs, the company also wants users to send a report when they can't figure out how to do something, such as how to delete a story. However, it's not clear if — when a user shakes their phone to give Facebook feedback about an action they don't know how to perform — the company will show them the appropriate instructions. However, it could be used as a more intuitive feedback tool, and if enough users report on the same thing, Facebook could make changes to improve those problematic areas.
Facebook is rolling out this feature to a small percentage of users around the world, but it should be available to everyone within the next two weeks.
It's hard to say whether this feature will increase the number of feedback and bug reports Facebook gets, but it sure does make the process a whole lot easier, especially for those who don't want to be bothered with going through the company's Help & Support menu and writing a report there.
It's unclear if it'll be turned off by default once rolled out, but that's likely the case. Also unclear is whether there'll be an opt-out feature for those who'd much rather have the shake to report turned off for some reason. In any case, make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more about Facebook's plans.
Thoughts on this shake to report feature? Do you think it'll help Facebook receive more bug reports? As always, if you have anything to share, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!
