Facebook offers Portal to the video world after privacy breach pressure

Facebook has unveiled the company’s first ever hardware product – a video calling device called Portal.

The new voice-controlled screen, which has the Amazon Alexa voice assistant builtin, can be used to make video calls to friends and family via the social media giant’s Messenger platform.

In an attempt to reassure users over the firm’s record around user privacy, Facebook said the device comes with a camera lens cover and the ability to disable both the camera and the microphone with a single tap. 0 CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended privacy breaches

The company has been at the centre of several data privacy incidents this year. Facebook chiefs also revealed details about the Portal’s privacy settings in a bid to reassure potential customers. “Facebook doesn’t listen to, view or keep the contents of your Portal video calls, the company said in a blog post. “Your Portal conversations stay between you and the people you’re calling.

In addition, video calls on Portal are encrypted, so your calls are always secure.”

Last month the company confirmed it had been the subject of a data breach affecting upto50millionusers,whichis now being investigated by the Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC), the lead supervising authority for Facebook in the EU.

Portal will go on sale first in the US next month.