Rumor: Facebook wants to make apps for listening to podcasts and creating newsletters

Facebook is developing apps for listening to podcasts and producing newsletters. That’s what The New York Times claims. The apps would come from the company’s New Product Experimentation Team.

It’s still unknown if the apps ever make it public, and what they would add to the current landscape of apps in that area, The New York Times reports. With the apps, Facebook wants to try out as many things as possible to see how the company can remain an important part of the daily lives of users in the coming decades.

The paper lists four areas the team is exploring: podcasts, travel, work environment and producing newsletters. It is unknown why Facebook wants to experiment with that. The apps do not have to be profitable in the first place and a link with Facebook logins is also not mandatory.

The travel app would let users plan a trip. The combination with Facebook would lie in finding the best places for photos on Instagram. In addition, there would be a concept for a ‘fake news checker’ to determine whether a message is real.

Apps have already been released from the NPE Team, including a dating app for students. Facebook announced the NPE Team in July this year. At the time, the company remained vague about exactly what apps would be coming.