Articles about Social Media

Instagram has a handful of updates to explore – some available to everyone, others in testing with a smaller group. First up there are updates to the handling of DMs, something Instagram is billing as being aimed at creators.

While creators’ inboxes are likely to be busier than the average person, everyone can use the new DM tools which provide new ways to sort and filter messages. Another exciting development sees the testing of picture-in-picture video mode for viewing Reels.

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WhatsApp beta testers have access to a new option that allows them to link to a verified Instagram profile, complete with a special icon that others should recognize.

This ability is not necessarily something that will appeal to or interest all WhatsApp users, but it is certainly something that has value for some types of user. Creators are among those who are likely to welcome this addition, as are companies and brands looking to build trust and drive engagement.

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Instagram recently added a number of new features, including sharing your location. While some additions – such as reposting – were welcome, location sharing sparked concerns.

The new Instagram map feature allows the people you are connected to on the social media platform to see your location – and you can see theirs. Instagram has pitched this as being useful to parents, but many users are worried about the privacy implications of location sharing.

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Whichever social media platform you prefer, the range of features is pretty similar across all of them. Instagram, however, has only just added the option to repost content.

Instagram has been testing the reposting of reels and posts for some time, but it has only just officially launched to all users. But this is not all. Reposting is just one of a trio of new features to hit Instagram.

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Just as with the internet in general, concerns have been voiced about the safety of social media platforms. To help address these concerns, TikTok has unveiled a series of tools and features designed to help keep users safe and informed.

There are various new options which cater to different types of user. Some are for creators, others for parents who are worried about how their offspring are using TikTok. There are also features with a broader audience, notably Well-being Missions.

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There is some disappointing news for WhatsApp users who like to work with the desktop app. In what appears to be part of a streamlining process, Meta is dropping the UWP app in favor of a web wrapper.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this, but few people who have compared the native Windows app with the web-based version off WhatsApp can have failed to notice the performance difference. The WhatsApp UWP app has always been snappier, more responsive, and used fewer resources, so in some ways it feels like a backwards step to switch to a web wrapper.

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WhatsApp is not only one of the most popular communication apps out there, but also one of the most dynamic and frequently updated. The beta releases for WhatsApp are exciting places to hang out and a great way to try, or at least glimpse, new features.

The latest update does not buck the trend. In the most recent beta release for Android, we see developers working a new way to make use of status updates. These are already highly versatile but soon will provide a way to pose questions.

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A study into harmful personal finance trends on TikTok has found that the hashtag “side hustle” is the most common trending term. #sidehustle was found attached to millions of posts on a daily basis, with many providing misleading, incorrect or costly advice.

There has long been concern about the negative impact of social media influencers, and a key area of alarm is financial guidance. A particular worry is that Gen Z is increasingly turning to social media platforms such as TikTok for financial advice, or ideas about how to make money quickly.

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Facebook posts take many forms – images, videos, links, reels, and text. The company has tweaked and added to the posting options over the years and has now just announced a neat new option for text-based posts.

Just as is possible on other social media platforms, Facebook users are being given the chance to embellish their text posts with background music. Working in a similar way to adding background music toa video post, there is a limit library of tracks to choose from.

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We first heard about Trial Reels last year, and Instagram launched the feature to a limited number of creators back in December. Now the social media giant is giving more people access to the feature which is designed to help grow a following.

There is not yet free access to Trial Reels for everyone and anyone; there are entry requirements. The promotion tool is aimed at creators, and a following of at least 1,000 is needed to get started. You will also need to have an account that is set to public. So, if you meet these criteria, what does Trial Reels mean for you?

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Linda Yaccarin has made the surprise announcement that she is stepping down from her position as CEO of X.

Having been the head of Elon Musk’s social media platform for two years, Yaccarin has not given any reason for her decision to leave. However, her announcement comes after xAI’s Grok chatbot spewed out a series of antisemitic content.

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X has announced the latest addition to Community Notes as the social platform seeks ways to replace third-party fact checkers. The company is giving developers the option of building AI bots that can write notes that provide further details, clarity and context for posts.

The AI Note Writers are not being allowed to run completely free, however. X says that the aim of the AI Note Writer API is to help humans rather than replace them, pointing out that the bots “must earn the ability to write notes, and can gain and lose capabilities over time”.

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Looking to compete with the likes of Signal, Elon Musk is ready to rollout XChat to all users of his X social platform. Rather than being a separate app for chatting, however, XChat is essentially just direct messaging within X -- so who is it for, and what does it have to offer?

Taking inspiration from numerous sources, Musk says that in addition to text-based messaging, there is also video and audio calling. Other features include vanishing messages, the option to “send any kind of file”, and an undetailed encryption system.

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Post an image to Instagram and it will almost certainly be automatically cropped. The reason for this is that, until now, the platform has supported 4:5 aspect ratio images, as well as the Instagram staple -- the square format.

But this is not in line with how most people shoot photographs, and the platform is finally taking this into account. There is now support for a new (new to Instagram, at least), aspect ratio.

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While WhatsApp is, ostensibly, a messaging, chat and video calling platform, it is more than that; it is also a pseudo social media platform. The Status section of WhatsApp has gradually evolved over the years to become a way to not only indicate your availability, but to express much more.

And now Status has received another massive upgrade. It is now possible to display a collage of multiple photos, share music, and much more. A plethora of new options are rolling out globally; here's what you have to look forward to.

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