Facebook's "Year in Review" app became controversial this week as many users have been reminded of sad and painful memories in 2014.
The "Year in Review" app automatically generates a "highlight" picture of a Facebook user in 2014 based on the photo's comments and likes.
Some Facebook users have not been happy with the app as it caused them to feel bad about the year, instead of making it positively memorable as Facebook wanted.
Eric Meyer, a web design consultant and a blog writer, was reminded of his dead daughter by the Facebook app' preview. The preview featured his dead daughter's picture when he logged into his account.
Aside from Meyer, other users also shared their disappointment with Facebook's app.
Julieanne Smolinski, a writer, posted a photo on Twitter showing the preview generated for her ex-boyfriend, which highlighted her ex's burning apartment.
Another Twitter user Sarah Jane (@isloveSJ) posted a tweet saying that the "Year in Review" app highlighted an image of her dead dog and made her want to "sob uncontrollably" during Christmas eve.
Other users have also shared similar stories regarding the failure of the social network giant's algorithm in picking out the users' pictures, including photos of dead friends, dogs and even cremated remains.
According to The Washington Post, the product manager for the app, Jonathan Gheller, personally gave an apology to Meyer for the sadness the "Year in Review" app gave him. In a statement, Gheller said that they "can do better."
The Facebook app's default message is now changed to "See you next year!" in a more neutral tone, The Guardian reported.