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Two years later, Meta is making DMs on Threads official

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Jul 3

Two years later, Meta is making DMs on Threads official www.engadget.com/social-media...

Meta is rolling out direct messaging abilities to all Threads users after a brief test earlier this month.

www.engadget.com

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · May 30

Hasn't been for a long time ...

Instagram isn’t just for square photos anymore www.theverge.com/news/676549/...

Instagram isn’t just for square photos anymore

Post your 3:4 photos.

Instagram Teen Accounts still exposed to sexual content, investigation finds

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · May 21

Instagram Teen Accounts still exposed to sexual content, investigation finds mashable.com/article/inst...

The app's tighter controls are apparently not blocking explicit posts.

mashable.com

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Apr 23

The only time anyone accuses Mark Zuckerberg of having real human emotions is Systrom explaining why Zuck acted like a petulant child after buying Instagram and then starving it of resources for a period of time since it was growing faster than his own Facebook app!

www.theverge.com/news/646809/...

Zuckerberg had ‘real human’ emotions about Instagram’s growth.The Meta CEO’s reaction to Instagram’s growth, as Facebook’s growth plateaued, stirred complex feelings in him, Systrom says. “My experience of him is that he was always very happy to have Instagram in the family,” he testifies. “But also, I think as the founder of Facebook, he felt a lot of emotion around which one was better, meaning Instagram or Facebook, and I think there were real human emotional things going on there.”

Instagram will use AI to identify teens using adult accounts

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Apr 23

Instagram will use AI to identify teens using adult accounts mashable.com/article/inst...

When it comes to Instagram, many teens aren't truthful about their age.

mashable.com

Instagram launches its CapCut clone, Edits

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Apr 23

Instagram launches its CapCut clone, Edits www.theverge.com/news/653136/...

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Meta goes to trial to avoid a breakup of Instagram and WhatsApp

Reposted by Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures

Tama Leaver @tamaleaver.bsky.social · Apr 13

In the Trump era, could Meta really be forced to sell Instagram? We'll see...

"Meanwhile, in recent weeks, Zuckerberg has personally lobbied Trump to drop the FTC lawsuit. The agency’s chair, Andrew Ferguson, recently suggested that he would obey such an order from Trump."

www.theverge.com/pol...

Zuckerberg and Sandberg are expected to testify.

Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem

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Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Apr 13

ChatGPT beats Instagram, TikTok to become the world’s most downloaded app www.moneycontrol.com/technology/c...

www.moneycontrol.com

Reposted by Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures

Tama Leaver @tamaleaver.bsky.social · Apr 11

13 years ago #Instagram users were very angry that Facebook purchased Instagram, worrying it would destroy what was unique about the app and the visual culture it was building.

It turns out those concerns were very justified.

Collage of 2012 Instagram posts reacting negatively to Instagram's sale to Facebook.

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Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Apr 10

Instagram reportedly coming to iPad after long delay www.techinasia.com/news/instagr...

www.techinasia.com

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Apr 9

Expanding Teen Accounts to FB and Messenger is a welcome move, but there's still much to do.

And an uptake of 54million teen accounts when there's more than a billion Instagram accounts shows the uptake of teen accounts isn't huge as of yet!

about.fb.com/news/2025/04...

We’re Introducing New Built-In Restrictions for Instagram Teen Accounts, and Expanding to Facebook and Messenger | Meta

We're announcing additional protections and expanding Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger to give parents more peace of mind across Meta apps.

about.fb.com

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Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Apr 9

Instagram is beefing up its search to compete with TikTok techcrunch.com/2025/04/08/i...

Instagram is beefing up its search to compete with TikTok | TechCrunch

Instagram head Adam Mosseri says the company is looking to improve the app's search functionality, admitting this is an area where Instagram could do more

techcrunch.com

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Mar 27

One feature no one really liked or used retired after less than a year ...

No more ‘notes’ on Instagram posts. www.theverge.com/news/636727/...

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Mar 26

In the US, Instagram is rolling out specific support for middle & high schools in reporting & addressing (via resources) bullying & other issues that might be amplified by social media.

Instagram’s School Partnership Program – Prioritized Reporting to Help Students cyberbullying.org/instagram-sc...

Instagram’s School Partnership Program – Prioritized Reporting to Help Students - Cyberbullying Research Center

Schools can now have Instagram prioritize reports they make of student-involved incidents on the platform to receive a faster response and resolution. Here's how.

cyberbullying.org

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Feb 28

Things that feel inevitable when you reduce moderation on your platform ...

Instagram Reels flooded with violent videos before Meta says it fixed error www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Instagram Reels flooded with violent videos before Meta says it fixed error

Users complained of ‘not safe for work’ videos in feeds despite some having enabled setting to filter such content

www.theguardian.com

Instagram’s Reels may get its own app

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Feb 28

Coming full circle ...

Instagram’s Reels may get its own app www.theverge.com/news/620547/...

Planning ahead for TikTok’s potential demise in the US.

Instagram starts testing new button that might downrank comments

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Feb 16

A private signal that some comments/commenters should be less visible for that user makes sense (it's NOT a public dislike button).

Instagram starts testing new button that might downrank comments www.theverge.com/news/613143/...

The button is a downward-facing arrow.

Reposted by Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures

Tama Leaver @tamaleaver.bsky.social · Feb 12

It's worse that users have no way to opt out of their DMs being fed to MetaAI by others they're talking to.

Threads adds dedicated media tab to display photos and videos

Reposted by Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures

Tama Leaver @tamaleaver.bsky.social · Feb 12

It's poor form that end-to-end encryption on Instagram DMs (and presumably all Meta apps) is lost if anyone in the conversation mentions/uses Meta AI on relation to that msg (eg summarising it!).

Help centre text from Instagram showing sending text to meta ai undoes end to end encryption

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Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Feb 1

And Threads continues to turn into ... every other Meta product.

Threads adds dedicated media tab to display photos and videos www.socialsamosa.com/news-2/threa...

The update will allow users to view all photos and videos posted by an account in a separate section. This brings Threads in line with competitors such as X and Bluesky, which already offer similar fu...

www.socialsamosa.com

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Jan 30

Blocked: Facebook and Instagram users frustrated by account shutdowns www.choice.com.au/electronics-...

Facebook and Instagram users frustrated by account shutdowns | CHOICE

Customers whose accounts are suspended without explanation are angry with the social media giant, Meta, for failing to provide an explanation or respond to inquiries.

www.choice.com.au

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Jan 30

"Meta will pay $25 million ... $22 million of Meta’s payment will go toward a fund for Trump’s presidential library. The remainder will go toward “legal fees and the other plaintiffs who signed onto the case,” per the report."

variety.com/2025/digital...

Meta to Pay Trump $25 Million to Settle 2021 Lawsuit Over His Facebook and Instagram Ban

Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle Donald Trump's lawsuit over the company's 2021 suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts,

variety.com

Instagram: Visual Social Media Cultures @instagrambook.bsky.social · Jan 29

"Meta AI can now use your Facebook and Instagram data to personalize its responses" techcrunch.com/2025/01/27/m...

Meta AI can now use your Facebook and Instagram data to personalize its responses | TechCrunch

Meta says it is rolling out improvements to Meta AI, including the ability to tap profile data from Meta's various apps.

techcrunch.com