Social

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.