Social Media Buzz Weekly: Roundup of Social Media Updates
- ClickInsights
- 11 hours ago
- 7 min read
Welcome to Social Media Buzz Weekly, your weekly bulletin of the latest social media updates. With the social media landscape evolving with each passing day, it can be challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments. Well, not anymore, as we have taken it upon ourselves to keep you abreast of every happening in the social media space.
So, without any further ado, let’s look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. Meta Adds Warnings To Protect Older Users From Common Scams
Meta is adding new warnings on WhatsApp and Messenger that will alert users to common scams.
On WhatsApp, Meta is adding warnings about screen sharing, and the potential vulnerabilities of enabling such, while on Messenger, it’s testing more advanced scam detection in chats. Meta has also outlined some common scams that older users tend to go for, to help raise awareness of what to watch.
2. Facebook Wants To Help Find Photos To Share From Camera Rolls
A Facebook feature that gives Meta AI the ability to suggest edits to photos stored on your phone’s camera roll but haven’t yet been shared is now rolling out to all users in the U.S. and Canada.
The company has announced that users can choose to opt in to receive these sharing suggestions, which will then prompt them to post photos to their Facebook Feed and Stories with the AI edits. First launched as a test over the summer, Facebook’s app pops up a permission dialog box requesting access to “allow cloud processing” so users can get “creative ideas made for you from your camera roll.”
3. TikTok Announces Creator and Advertiser Awards for UK and Ireland
TikTok has announced the second annual TikTok Awards for the U.K. and Ireland, which will celebrate some of the top creators in the app.
The event, sponsored by Sky, will be held on the 13th of November in London, and will be hosted by broadcaster AJ Odudu, with a live performance from British hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks. The awards aim to recognize creators from a broad range of categories, including food, books and entertainment, and other in-app trends. Over 70 creators have been nominated for this year’s awards, with TikTok users now able to vote for their winners in the app.
4. Instagram Implements Tougher Content Restrictions for Teen Accounts
Instagram has announced an update to its teen accounts, which will implement more stringent restrictions on content, which it says are more in line with what’s acceptable in a PG-13 rated movie.
This means that teens will see content on Instagram that’s similar to what they’d see in a PG-13 movie. Teens under 18 will be automatically placed into an updated 13+ setting, and they won’t be able to opt out without a parent’s permission. The idea with this is that it will offer more assurance to parents through improved context as to what its teen content restrictions mean.
5. Edits Adds Halloween Effects, Updated Voiceover Recording Options
Edits is getting a range of Halloween font options, so you can ensure your audience is prepared for whatever frightening footage you’ve captured.
Edits is also rolling out updated voiceover recording options, which will make it easier to retake voiceover clips. Edits is making it easier to re-record and place your voiceovers in-stream, while you also now have the option of using a countdown to ensure you get your timing right. That could make it easier to improve your voiceover content, and ensure your audio elements align with the on-screen footage.
6. Instagram Adds New App Icons for Teen Users
Instagram has rolled out a new feature for Teen Accounts that lets users change the look of the app icon.
According to Instagram, the update introduces six different visual styles, including fire, floral, chrome, cosmic, slime, and more. These are designed in collaboration with illustrator Carlos Oliveras Colom and Instagram’s own design team. The rollout has started globally and is expected to reach all Teen Accounts over the coming weeks.
7. Snapchat Announces a Range of AR Advancements at Lens Fest 2025
Snapchat is adding a range of new AR creation options in Lens Studio, which will provide more ways for creators to build AR experiences in the app.
It’s also added new 3D generation tools for selfies, so you can create depictions of actual people in digital form, and “AI Clips” which will enable creators to produce their own image-to-video Lenses. Moreover, it is rolling out a new “Lens Studio AI” bot, which will enable anybody to build an AR project through conversational prompts.
8. Pinterest Adds Controls To Reduce AI Content in Feeds
Pinterest is rolling out some new options that will give users more control over the AI-generated Pins they see in-stream, as it looks to combat the influx of AI content, which some users say has become overwhelming, and has negatively impacted their in-app experience.
Pinterest is adding a new “GenAI interests” element to its recommendation settings, which will enable users to indicate that they don’t want to see generative AI pins in specific categories. So if you’re sick of seeing clearly AI images in your home décor searches, now, you’ll be able to switch them off, or at least, remove them from view when Pinterest’s system can determine that they’ve been AI-generated.
9. X’s Algorithm Is Shifting to a Grok-Powered AI Model
X’s algorithm will soon be fully powered by xAI’s Grok system, which should improve the quality of the posts that are highlighted to users in the app.
Elon says that the updated xAI algorithm should help to address X’s new user and/or small account problem, where you post something great, but nobody sees it. Elon’s been talking about these coming changes for a while. So, X’s recommendations could be about to get a whole lot better, based on AI understanding.
10. X Is Testing a New Way To Handle Links in Posts
X is looking to update the way it handles links in posts, in order to incentivize more topical discussion, and provide more opportunities for publishers in the app.
X head of product Nikita Bier has previewed an update to the way that X handles links in posts, in order to ensure that all content on the platform has equal visibility on timeline. Following up on this, Bier has confirmed that X is now testing out a new in-app browser to display links when clicked within the app. The new in-app browser will open links within X itself, so that users are no longer being referred off to other platforms. Instead, they’ll be able to view the link within X itself, which will also maintain the X engagement options along the bottom of the display.
11. X Announces Handles Marketplace To Sell Dormant Usernames
X has announced its new “Handles Marketplace,” which will enable X Premium subscribers to purchase dormant usernames.
X’s Handles Marketplace, which it previewed as part of its updated business subscription package, which it released earlier this month, will give Premium+ the capacity to acquire any vacated X handle, for free in some instances, or for a yet-to-be-determined price in others. The marketplace itself is not active as yet, but it does now have a welcome screen, and an option to sign-up for the waitlist (screenshot above). X has also provided an overview of how the process will work, with usernames divided into “Rare” and “Priority” handles.
12. X Updates API Pricing To Boost Developer Appeal
X is trying to win back developers, with a new pricing structure for its X API access, which should make it more accessible for smaller developers and projects once again.
X’s revised API access pricing will give developers a more flexible approach to X data, with charges based on actual usage, as opposed to a monthly flat fee. There’ll also be fewer rate limits, and scaled pricing, based on access. X has created a new interactive dashboard to get a cost estimate for your specific data access through this new program, so you can see what it’ll cost you to utilize its API.
13. LinkedIn’s Gaming Leaderboards for Connections Are Now Live
LinkedIn has now launched its new connection leaderboard feature for LinkedIn games, which displays how well users are performing in its daily puzzle games in comparison to their peers, colleagues, friends, etc.
The new games leaderboard will show you how you’re doing in each LinkedIn game versus connections who are also regularly playing the same. LinkedIn currently offers six games that you can play in the app, with each offering a new challenge daily.
14. OpenAI Releases Browser in Attempt to Rival Google
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has unveiled an artificial intelligence-powered web browser to challenge competitors like Google, which operates Chrome, the most popular browser in the world.
ChatGPT Atlas does away with the address bar that is a key feature in search, with boss Sam Altman saying it was "built around ChatGPT" as the company made the new browser available on Apple's MacOS operating system. The arrival of Atlas comes as OpenAI seeks new ways to monetise its massive bet on artificial intelligence (AI) and capitalise on its growing user base. OpenAI said Atlas would also offer a paid agent mode that conducts searches on its own for users of its popular chatbot.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next week with more news and updates for you from the social media world. Till then, stay tuned!
If you want to read more on the latest developments taking place in the social media space, take a look at ClickInsights’ Social Media Buzz, wherein we bring to you monthly reports on everything going on in social media, ranging from platform updates to policy changes that influence the way we market.
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