Samsung denies working on social network

Samsung Electronics has revealed it has no intention of launching a service that would rival that of social network giant Facebook. The South Korean company said such rumors are unfounded and “groundless.”

Samsung Electronics has revealed it has no intention of launching a service that would rival that of social network giant Facebook.

The South Korean company said such rumors are unfounded and "groundless."

"There have been inquiries and a few articles claiming that Samsung Electronics is going to offer a Facebook-like service, being developed under a code-name called 'Samsung Facebook.' However this is not true and the rumor is groundless," said Samsung in a statement on its official blog.

On June 12 Korean newspaper The Korea Times published an article which claimed Samsung would introduce "a social networking service it hopes could eventually compete with Facebook." The report was based on statements from officials at Samsung who said "Samsung Facebook" could be introduced as soon as the first quarter of 2013.

It is possible however, that the statements were "lost in translation." Samsung introduced its own social networking service, called Family Story, early this year. It includes a free BlackBerry Messenger-like messaging service called ChatON and cross-device sharing features for photos and videos.

"'Family Story' has been available since February 2012 on Samsung Smart TVs, Smartphones, Tablets and the web," said Samsung. "This service, like its name, is a family-oriented convergence service that focuses on sharing and storing families' special moments."

Samsung confirmed it plans to expand its Family Story platform in the future. The company said, "[i]t is true that we currently are working on upgrading 'Family Story' as we always thrive to provide consumers with enhanced experiences, but this is far from a "Samsung Faceboook" as some are claiming it to be."

Apple has hinted that it will shut down its little-used social network Ping later this year. The company announced that it had teamed up with Facebook (and will continue its existing relationship with Twitter) to extend its built-in sharing features on both its iOS and Mac OS platforms at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this past week.