The pace of social media updates never really stops. The top platforms are constantly making changes to upgrade the brand and user experience, and it can be tough to keep up with it all. That's why we're creating this spot we're going to update regularly – Bookmark it! – with the latest changes that could impact your customers and your strategy.
You'll be able to follow along below with all the changes labeled with the month they were made, starting with the most recent:
Social media updates
November
Threads is updating their feeds view - “We’re rolling out an updated Threads design that keeps your feeds visible on the home screen - this will go live on Android today and on iOS over the coming days. Following is now just a swipe away, and you can easily swipe between any of your custom feeds. This may look like a small change, but it should make navigating the app much simpler. As always, please keep the feedback coming.”
“We’re testing changes to Insights on Threads, starting with metrics for individual posts. Now that your posts will be shown to more people who follow you, it’s especially important to understand what’s resonating with your existing audience. If you’re in the test, let me know how this helps you reach your community — appreciate the feedback”
TikTok
TikTok Statement on DC Circuit Court of Appeals Decision (https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-statement-on-dc-circuit-court-of-appeals-decision)
TikTok launches 'Share to TikTok' feature - https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktok-launches-share-to-tiktok
Pinterest has their top 20 trends: https://newsroom.pinterest.com/news/pinterest-predicts-20-bold-trends-for-2025/
New features coming to instagram DMs
WhatsApp introducing voice message transcripts
YouTube Analytics
Business Manager simplifies your experience marketing on LinkedIn by grouping your organization’s different Ad Accounts, Pages, and people together under a single umbrella.
Invoicing is easier: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/business-manager
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https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/product-updates?selectedFilter=all%2Fall-quarters
As of last week, Bluesky had grown to 20 million users. That’s a miniscule fraction of any of the major social media platforms, but it’s attracting a highly engaged, highly influential group of people. Journalists in particular are enamored with the platform – and users seem to appreciate their presence. Bluesky differentiates itself from other platforms by not throttling the reach of links. Matt Karolian, VP of platforms and research & development at the Boston Globe, said that traffic from Bluesky is three times that of Threads and generating conversions from readers to subscribers at a rate 4.5 times higher.
Shopping performance data for Shopify now available in YouTube Studio: Starting in November 2024, creators who have connected their Shopify stores to YouTube Shopping can now conveniently view their performance data directly in YouTube Analytics. Creators can find information around total sales, numbers of orders, and more on the Revenue tab. Learn more.
All that from a userbase that’s less than one-tenth the size of Threads.
Elsewhere in the Meta family, Instagram is making a number of tweaks. In particular, IG continues to invest heavily into the DM experience, which is becoming a vital part of the app as a great deal of interaction moves from public to private. This week, they’ve rolled out 17 new sticker packs for use in DMs, as well as the ability to favorite stickers shared with you. You can now also change usernames within DMs (and only within DMs) to various nicknames. Users will be able to control who can change their nickname in a chat and change it back, if they so choose.
Instagram has also implemented a new, limited duration location sharing among DMs and group chats to better facilitate in-person meetups. Off by default, users who opt in can share their location with either 1:1 DMs or group chats for one hour. Sharing will expire at the end of that hour. Users can choose to stop sharing before the offer expires.
Australia
Australia isn’t a social network, but it is undergoing arguably the biggest, governmental-led shift to social networks since the EU’s Digital Services Act.
All Australian users under the age of 16 will be banned from using social apps including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and more. “Messaging apps,” “online gaming services” and “services with the primary purpose of supporting the health and education of end-users” would not be part of the ban, nor would services like YouTube, that do not require sign ups to use the platform.
Expect the definitions of “messaging apps” and “online gaming services” to get a bit squishy as companies look to flout the law.
While there are no penalties for children or parents who may use VPNs or good old-fashioned lying to evade the bans, social media companies must take “reasonable steps” to keep kids off the platforms or face a $50 million fine – which might just seem like a slap on the wrist for the biggest players in the social space.
While Australia is a relatively small country (only about 5.7 million people in the country are under the age of 18), it could serve as precedent for other nations looking to crack down on the harmful effects of social media on developing brains. The law won’t kick in for another year, and certainly a lot can change in that time. But for anyone who holds minors as a key audience, take the opportunity now to begin finding other avenues for communications.
Threads
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram and Threads, confirmed that the Meta-owned Threads is indeed reacting to Bluesky.
“We certainly pulled forward a number of things that were already in the works – including shipping a few things with backtests instead of testing first – and then of course we did add a few things as well,” he said in response to a post accusing Threads of directly copying Bluesky.
Among those new features that seem, ahem, inspired by Bluesky are allowing users to swipe between various feeds – including custom curated lists, those you follow as well as Threads’ algorithmically driven feed – directly from their home screen. This is a key component of the Bluesky experience.
Threads is also testing – though has not yet rolled out – what seems to be its own take on Bluesky’s Starter Packs. These user-curated lists allow people to quickly build a feed around their interests without having to seek out people individually. In a platform that relies less on an algorithm to drive content, finding people to authentically follow is a gamechanger for filling out a feed.
October
TikTok is launching a new automation option for ads. Smart+ automates the performance advertising process across targeting, bidding, and creative to deliver the right ad to the right person to offer the best performance. Advertisers simply input their assets, budget, and targeting goals and Smart+ automatically creates or selects the best creative asset - utilizing TikTok Symphony, chooses the right audience, and puts the best ad in front of the right customer at the right time.
Facebook is testing a new Local tab which brings together content from Reels, Events, Group, and Marketplace and “Explore” tab, showcasing accounts you don’t currently follow but may be interested in.
Facebook is making it easier for users to find Reels and other videos on Facebook by introducing an updated, full-screen Video tab that gives Reels a more prominent home on Facebook.
Facebook made an update to its events page. They added a new feature that allows you to invite your Instagram followers to events you’ve created on Facebook. You can also send SMS and email invites to guests, meaning anyone can view and RSVP to an event, whether they are on Facebook or not.
Facebook is testing a new groups AI to help members of groups find answers to questions, especially questions that have previously been asked. When a group admin decides to enable this feature, members can open a chat with the group’s AI, which can answer questions and link to relevant Groups posts. This test just started rolling out in the US and Canada to a small number of groups.
WhatsApp has updated its Chat Filters option, which it launched back in April, and evolved it into a new function that it’s now calling “Lists” instead. With Lists, you can now filter your chats with custom categories of your choice.
WhatsApp made changes to their pricing. Starting November 1, 2024, service conversations were made free for all businesses (free-tier conversations are now unlimited instead of capped at 1,000).
In Meta’s Q3 2024 earnings call, Mark Zuckerburg announced Threads has now reached 275 million users.
YouTube has updated its YouTube Studio app to include more format types, like videos, shorts, and live.
X (Twitter) is making changes to how you manage Communities. Community admins are now able to edit themes, banners, rules, and whether the Community is open or invite-only.
On X (Twitter), when new Tweets come in on timelines, they’ll be grouped behind a new Tweets bar. This helps maintain your position while scrolling and allows you to view new content when you’re ready.
X (Twitter) is making changes to its “block” feature. The company announced that users you’ve blocked will still be able to see your posts, they simply won't be able to interact with them. X said this change is to combat accounts that “share and hide harmful or private information about those they’ve blocked.”
X (Twitter) is updating their terms of service. Starting November 15, the new terms require users to agree that X has the “right to analyze text and other information you provide and to otherwise provide, promote, and improve the Services, including, for example, for use with and training of our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or another type.”
Snapchat is allowing users to open their camera directly from the iPhone lock screen on iOS 18.
YouTube changed the length of Shorts. Creators can now upload Shorts up to three minutes in length. Shorts longer than one minute that have an active Content ID claim will be blocked, regardless of policy.
Pinterest is introducing Pinterest Performance+, a new type of campaigns that help manage their campaigns from targeting to bidding.
September
YouTube will soon expand its "auto-dubbing" feature, enabling creators to share their content in additional languages and reach a broader audience.
Just in time for the holiday season, Meta introduced enhanced ad features, including more prominent discount codes, refreshed site link options, improved reminder ads, and other updates.
Instagram is setting new restrictions on teen accounts (for users under 16), limiting the content they can access, who they can interact with, and prompting them to take breaks after 60 minutes of daily use.
Instagram has introduced a suite of creative tools, featuring updated fonts, new animations, effects, and the ability to add text and stickers to photos and carousels.
TikTok is experimenting with a "delete and re-edit" function for uploaded clips, allowing users to restart their in-app video edits.
YouTube introduced "Communities," a feature that lets creators build channel-based groups for deeper engagement.
TikTok's new "Manage Topics" feature empowers users to refine their For You page content and personalize their algorithm experience.
