Elon Musk quietly kills encrypted DMs on X and you should be furious
X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, just yanked one of its most important privacy features. In a quiet and deeply troubling move, the company announced it is pausing end-to-end encrypted direct messages. Worst of all, there is no clear timeline or meaningful explanation.
According to a post from the official engineering account, encrypted DMs are being temporarily suspended while the team works on improvements. But here’s the kicker: users can still send and receive DMs, they just won’t be encrypted anymore. In other words, your messages are now visible to anyone at X with the right level of access. Hell, this potentially makes them more accessible to hackers too!
There is, at long, long last, a native WhatsApp app for iPad
Using WhatsApp on an iPad has long meant making a compromise or two. The reason is that there has simply not been a version of WhatsApp designed for Apple's tablet, forcing users to turn to WhatsApp Web in Safari.
After an incredibly long period of development, Meta has finally produced an iPad version of WhatsApp. So how does the iPadOS port of WhatsApp look?
WhatsApp makes Voice Chats available to groups of any size
WhatsApp has announced the expansion of its Voice Chat feature for groups. The live audio feature is something that was well-received when it first appeared in the chat app, so the wider rollout makes a lot of sense. There is a twist, however.
While the feature is now available to more users than before, the expansion is not like most feature expansions.
You can now get a verified account on Bluesky
A few weeks after announcing plans for a different approach to account verification, X rival Bluesky has quietly launched the feature.
The decentralized social media platform has now started to open up verification to users. While any individuals or organizations can apply for verification or, indeed, to become a Trusted Verifier, it is certainly not the case that all applications will be successful.
X uses ‘robustness update’ to improve its flawed Community Notes system
Under a great deal of political pressure to do so, many social media platforms have opted to move away from using fact checking services. X and Facebook are among those to have adopted a “community notes” system that relies on crowd sourcing rather than third party companies.
Such systems have faced criticism because of the potential for manipulation, but these risks have been downplayed by social media firms. But now X has decided to take steps to improve its own Community Notes system to help detect suspicious activity that could be indicative of manipulation attempts.
How social media is changing workplace communication
Time was when office colleagues would exchange information, ideas and gossip around the water cooler or coffee machine.
That's changing because of technology though, new research reveals that platforms like TikTok and Instagram are directly influencing how 83 percent of people communicate professionally, fueling conflict and misunderstanding among an increasingly intergenerational workforce.
Social media platforms are not safe places for queer users according to GLAAD’s latest Social Media Safety Index
GLAAD has published the 2025 edition of its Social Media Safety Index, and it shows that the six biggest social media platforms are doing nowhere near enough to keep LGBTQIA+ users safe.
The report looks at the policies and protections of TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and X, ranking them with a score out of 100. X comes in last place with a score of just 30, and with the highest score being a mere 56 out of 100, it’s clear there is a lot of work to do.
Meta expands its advertising options across its social platforms, including video ads on Threads
For all of the talk about establishing and maintaining connections, for the companies behind them social media platforms are about making money. Advertising plays a massive role in this, and Meta is looking for new ways to grab users’ attention.
The company has announced it is testing video ads on Threads as it explores expanding its portfolio of ad formats. There are also new ad options for creators and brands on Facebook and Instagram, as well as the slightly unusual sounding “trending ads” feature.
Spoiler alert! Meta has some great new features for Threads
Meta has announced some interesting new features for its Threads social platform, and there are other unannounced ones that have been spotted as well.
In the name of transparency, Account Status is starting to roll out so users can find out more about violations they have been committed and if any posts have been demoted.
Trump kicks the TikTok ban can down the road yet again
President Trump has made much of wanting to ban TikTok from operating in the US. In fact, he’s talked about it so much, and -- initially, at least -- with such passion, that you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was one of his top priorities.
But having already delayed the implementation of a ban twice, Trump has now indicated that he’d be willing to do so again. And the reason for doing so is just hilarious.
Meta is promoting Threads by pestering users to cross-post to Instagram
Remember Threads? Meta’s most recent foray into social media caused something of a splash when it first emerged, but it quickly became just another platform. Seemingly worried that not enough people are using it, Meta is now using Instagram as a way of pushing Threads usage.
While Meta has said nothing about it in any form of announcement, existing Threads users have started to notice that they are being prompted to cross-post content to Instagram. The hope, presumably, is that Instagram users yet to try out Threads will be tempted into doing so.
Meta is taking steps to reduce ‘spammy content on Facebook’ by hitting those responsible in the wallet
Facebook is so far removed from the platform it first started as, it is hardly the same product. Many users would say it is not even the same platform it was a couple of years ago, and one of the biggest changes -- and irritants -- is the sheer volume of worthless content.
By this, we mean spam-like rubbish rather than stuff you’re just not interested in, and Meta has announced that it is finally taking action that it hopes will effectively reduce and discourage “spammy content”.
Bluesky’s newly unveiled verification system is a unique and interesting approach
Social media has managed to make everyone more connected and informed than ever before, but it has also created a confusing mix of fact and misinformation. Part of the problem is knowing whether to trust that an individual on a particular platform is who they say they are.
Becoming verified on Twitter used to be a goal -- a dream, even -- for many people, but this changed when Twitter morphed into X and verification became a paid-for label available to anyone. Now rival platform Bluesky has unveiled a new component to its existing system of verification. It is an approach that others may learn from.
Meta finally updates Messenger to allow sharing larger files
Despite the popularity of WhatsApp and other messaging apps, Meta’s Messenger (or Facebook Messenger) maintains an incredibly healthy userbase. Millions of people continue to use this stalwart of social messaging even though it has various limitations when compared to its rivals.
But Meta has just addressed an issue that has irked users for a long time: the size of file attachments. For far too long, a file size limit of 10MB has been in place -- a limit that is way out of line with modern file sizes (although it was higher for some users). Now it has been increased.
Meta brings teen accounts to Facebook and Messenger, and bolsters Instagram restrictions
Teen use of social media platforms is something that is concerning for many parents and has become the subject of political and legal debates. Having introduced Instagram Teen Accounts, last year, Meta has now done the same for both Facebook and Messenger.
Just as with Instagram, Teen Accounts on the social and messaging platforms have built-in protections and restrictions. At the same time, the company is also introducing additional controls and restrictions for teenage users on Instagram.
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