Instagram adds Watch History so you can find Reels again
Instagram is borrowing an idea from TikTok, introducing a Watch History section that will be welcomed by many users.
While undeniably useful, pretty much the only thing that is surprising about this particular feature is that it has taken so long to appear in the app. It solves the problem of viewing a Reel within the app – and then never being able to find it again.
Instagram rolls out drawing and sticker options for DMs
Having someone sliding into your DMs on Instagram could be about to look a little different. The social media platform is rolling out the ability to adorn direct messages with stickers as well as freehand drawing.
As this has been in testing for a reasonable amount of time already, these options may already be familiar to subsets of Instagram users – but now they are rolling out to everyone. If you are yet to experience these new messaging tools, they may not be quite what you expect them to be.
Meta rolls out warnings to help protect older WhatsApp and Messenger users from scams
Online scams are nothing new, but there are now more channels through which they can be run. Among them are social platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger, and it is sad fact that older users are more likely to fall victim
This is precisely why Meta is rolling out a new system of warnings that appear in its messaging apps. The aim is to make users think twice about who they connect to and who they share information with as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Instagram lets teenage users choose a different app icon
Most of the talk about teenagers using social media centers around keeping them safe or restricting what they are able to do. In many regards Instagram is no different, but now younger users are being given something extra.
Instagram’s design team has proudly announced the users with Teen accounts will be able to choose between a number of “aesthetics” for the app. Not available to anyone with a non-Teen account, the new option allows teenagers to select a different icons for the app, designed by Carlos Oliveras Colom.
Meta is discontinuing Windows and Mac Messenger apps
Meta has confirmed that the Windows and Mac versions of its Messenger desktop app are to be discontinued. While no reason has been given for the deprecation, the company is probably trying to cut back on the number of products it has to develop and support.
There are just two months to go until the Messenger desktop apps cease to function, and users should start to see notifications to this effect when they log in.
Instagram adopts PG-13 system to protect younger users
Meta has announced major changes to Instagram that it will be hoping will keep regulators satisfied. Like all social media platforms, Instagram has long been under pressure to do more to protect younger users from seeing inappropriate content; with this in mind, Meta says Teen Accounts will be guided by the PG-13 movie rating.
What this means in practice is that teenagers should only be able to “see content that’s similar to what they’d see in a PG-13 movie, by default”. Acknowledging that this will not be enough to keep everyone happy, parents will also have the option of making controls stricter if they feel it necessary or preferable.
Can’t FB ATM, BB -- the social media acronyms that have us scratching our heads
The tech industry has always been fond of acronyms for various technologies, and the rise of social media has brought many more into everyday use. But how many of these have you shrugging your shoulders and saying IDK* what that means?
Website design agency ProfileTree has analyzed the monthly search volume for each acronym to see which are the most confusing and misunderstood.
Meta is changing Facebook’s algorithms to improve the surfacing of Reels
Meta has announced an update to Facebook algorithms which may achieve something quite rare – actually surfacing content that people genuinely want to see. The change affects Reels specifically, and users are being given far greater control over what they see in their feeds.
As well as making it easier to indicate a preference for a particular type of video – or, indeed, express a dislike for others – the update makes it possible to prioritize displaying new content. This is not the end of the story; there are also new “friend bubbles” which Meta hopes will encourage users to engage in conversations about content on the platform.
Only 11 percent of US consumers trust their first search result
According to a survey of over 1,000 US consumers conducted on behalf of brand visibility platform Yext, just 11 percent trust the first tool they use when searching online, meaning nearly nine out of 10 double-check or expand their results elsewhere.
The research suggests the age of one-stop search and shop is ending and Americans are increasingly blending traditional search engines with AI tools, social media, and review sites to make purchase decisions.
Meta could be forced to make massive changes to timelines in its social media apps
A ruling by a Dutch court could ultimately force Meta to make sweeping changes to timeline appearance in the likes of Facebook and Instagram. While it is possible to switch form an algorithm-controlled timeline to a chronological one, the court says that this should be made more accessible.
What could this mean? Right now, it is difficult to say for sure, but it could be the case that – in some jurisdictions, at least – Meta could be required to make a chronological timeline the default.
The social media apps harvesting your data for AI
We all know that data is a valuable commodity, whether it’s to build marketing profiles or target advertising. Increasingly it’s also being used to train AI models, but do you know what the sites you use are doing with your information?
Data privacy and removal company Incogni has released its Social Media Privacy Ranking 2025 report, which ranks major social media platforms on user privacy, compliance, and overall data protection practices.
Business leaders fear Gen Z employees may leak company secrets for likes and lols
PasswordManager.com has released a new survey looking at how business leaders view Gen Z employees (those born around the mid-to-late 1990s through the early 2010s), especially when it comes to the handling of sensitive company information.
The results reveal that many bosses are worried about the younger generation, with nearly half of respondents believing they could leak secrets for social media attention.
Mastodon to roll out post quoting with powerful protection options
Mastodon is to roll out the ability to quote other people’s posts in your own posts on the decentralized social platform. This is something that has been a very long time coming, with Mastodon having talked about it for months.
The reason it has taken so long for post quoting to become a reality is because of the protections that have been built-in. Specifically, users have controls over who is able to quote their posts in order to avoid “dunking” – the phenomenon that sees mass quoting used for negative purposes.
Private bookmarking lands on Bluesky
Bluesky was one of the social media platforms that enjoyed a surge of interest as people voted with their feet against Elon Musk. Still somewhat in its infancy, Bluesky continues to evolve and is slowly adding features that are common on many of its rivals.
The latest addition is bookmarking, or Saved Posts, a simple way to save a post so you can easily return to it at a later time. Unlike liking a post, bookmarking or saving is not public, so no other user will be aware of what you would like to look at again.
Facebook Pokes are back – and your guess is as good as ours
Anyone who was a Facebook user in the early days of the social platform (at least when it was a global platform, not just one limited to students) will remember Facebook Pokes. Poking someone on Facebook (oh, do grow up!) was a wordless – slightly creepy – way of interacting with another person.
A Soke did not really serve any purpose beyond reminding someone of your existence in a somewhat passive-aggressive way. Having experimented with reviving the Poke, Facebook is having another go at making the idea relevant in 2025. This is more than just the return of the Poke; this is the Poke on steroids.
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