Facebook Year in Review (Photo : http://cdn.socialmediaexaminer.com/http://cdn.socialmediaexaminer.com/)
Facebook apologized to a user for the grief its "Year in Review" app has caused. The app shows a series of pictures uploaded in 2014 based on an algorithm.
A Facebook user Eric Meyer was hurt by the "Year in Review" app's preview. It showed a picture of his dead daughter, who he lost to brain cancer on the child's sixth birthday.
Meyer, a writer and a web design consultant, wrote his disappointment in a blog post, saying that he is avoiding the app's preview, which automatically appears on his news feed without his consent.
However, Meyer does not blame Facebook directly, but the design flaw in the app.
According to Meyer, some Facebook users might not want "another look" at the past year.
In his blog post, Meyer writes a few suggestions to improve the app, including asking the user first if he/she wants to see a preview.
According to the Washington Post, the "Year in Review" app shows the design problem of algorithms and codes, which are not "intelligent."
Facebook responded through the app's product manager Jonathan Gheller. He said that he contacted Meyer to apologize for the emotional pain the app's preview has given Meyer.
Gheller told the Post that the app brought Meyer "grief rather than joy." He also added that the app's team is working on improvements and will consider Meyer's suggestions, but did not confirm whether Facebook would follow the specific suggestions.
According to Gheller, the app determines which photos are chosen based on the highest number of interactions the picture has.
