Acquired by Facebook in 2012 for what is now the bargain price of $1 billion, Instagram continues to be a flagship platform within the Meta portfolio and TechCrunch continues to cover its evolution. Instagram has recently shifted its focus toward Reels, its short-form video product that is strongly reminiscent of TikTok, and its latest offshoot platform Threads, which is the company’s X challenger that could also become the wider public’s introduction to the fediverse and federated social networks.
Alongside a bevy of creator updates, Instagram is adding a new feature that will allow users to create custom stickers for their Reels and Stories using AI. Driven by Meta’s…
Instagram’s Close Friends feature is expanding. Previously, users could share stories with a select group of people, rather than all of their followers, but now, users can also share main…
In response to user feedback, Instagram’s Threads will now let users turn off automatic sharing of their Threads posts to other apps, including Instagram and Facebook — a move that…
Meta may have abandoned its efforts around live shopping on Facebook and Instagram, but the social networking company still believes in its apps’ potential as a shopping platform. That leads…
Instagram is finally testing a feature that will let users turn off read receipts for Instagram DMs. This way, even if you have read someone’s message, they won’t see the…
When X’s Circles feature shut down this week, the app formerly known as Twitter turned its back on the best product it’s shipped since the Quote Tweet. Like an Instagram…
Instagram has been spotted developing an “AI friend” feature that users would be able to customize to their liking and then converse with, according to screenshots shared by app researcher…
Meta’s X rival, Instagram Threads, is copying a couple more X features today with the launch of support for polls and GIFs. The update comes in rapid succession to other…
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Why 42 states came together to sue Meta over kids’ mental health
Attorneys general from dozens of states sued Meta this week, accusing the company of deliberately designing its products to appeal to kids to the detriment of their mental health. In the lawsuit, filed in California federal court Tuesday, 33 states — including California, Colorado, New York, Arizona and Illinois —…
Instagram is testing a feed that will only display posts from Meta Verified and legacy verified users, according to Instagram head Adam Mosseri. The new toggle will appear under the…
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Meta has a moderation bias problem, not just a ‘bug,’ that’s suppressing Palestinian voices
Earlier this year, Palestinian-American filmmaker Khitam Jabr posted a handful of Reels about her family’s trip to the West Bank. In the short travel vlogs, Jabr shared snippets of Palestinian culture, from eating decadent meals to dancing at her niece’s wedding. “I hadn’t been in a decade, so it’s just…
Meta is rolling out new options to better manage your data related to its own platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. The company now has a single place in the…
Instagram head says Threads’ blocking of ‘covid’ and related terms is temporary, to lift in ‘weeks or months’
A week after Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the company’s new Threads app will not “amplify news,” saying it’s too risky for the young X competitor, the exec is now…
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Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses have ‘influencer’ written all over them
Somewhere between the Ray-Ban Meta and Meta Quest 3 sits an ideal mixed-reality headset. It’s slim, light, offers hand tracking and passthrough and livestreams video when the moment calls for it. It’s designed to be worn inconspicuously outdoors, until the time comes for content capture. The Meta Quest Ray-Ban is…
Days after TikTok announced a new developer-facing feature, Direct Post, that makes it easier for third-party apps to publish videos to its platform, Meta has announced that its own Sharing…
In an effort to better compete with X (formerly Twitter), Instagram’s Threads is preparing to launch a much-in-demand feature: Trends. A Threads user spotted the update in a screenshot posted…
After launching its text-based social network Threads in July, Meta faced criticism as there was no way for users to delete their Threads account without deleting their Instagram account. The…
A week after Instagram Threads announced it had begun testing a search feature in Australia and New Zealand, the feature is today expanding to “most” English and Spanish-speaking countries, according…
Instagram users have been complaining for a while about the impersonal nature of the social network largely due to its algorithmic feed. The company has been trying to launch more…
Meta is continuously experimenting with features to bump up engagement on Threads, which has fallen off after the initial rush of excitement and installs. In the latest test, the company…
Instagram Threads users had been clamoring for a fully functional web version of the Meta-owned Twitter alternative since the app’s July debut. But last week’s release of the anticipated web…
Instagram is experimenting with a new feature to let creators share notable fan comments to their Stories, such as comments on their posts or Reels. In a post on the…
The @jack handle on Instagram is back up for grabs. Today, Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, now Block CEO, announced he has deleted his Instagram account — the…
Does a photo still remain a photo when you add a music track to it? Hard to tell. Instagram said today that it will allow users to add music to…
It looks like Instagram may have considered copying another Twitter feature by elevating Verified users to a more prominent spot in the Instagram app, according to a new discovery in…
Despite declines in user retention numbers following its buzzy, record-breaking launch, Instagram’s Twitter (er, X) competitor Threads continues to ship new features. The company today announced a handful of updates…
Instagram is launching a new feature that is designed to better protect users from unwanted images and videos in DMs, the company announced on Thursday. The official launch comes a…
New research published Thursday offers an unprecedented dive into political behavior across Facebook and Instagram — two major online hubs where people express and engage with their political beliefs. The…
Meta’s text-based social network Threads is rolling out one of the most requested features after its launch — a Following feed. The company has also announced the ability to see…
Update 25/07/2023 10 AM IST: Instagram is working for users again after being down for more than an hour. While the world is captivated by the drama of Twitter rebranding…