Our favorite social platforms are shaking things up once again. From Instagram’s playful DM upgrades to TikTok’s new editing tools, here are five social media updates you won’t want to miss…
TikTok Takes a Page from Instagram’s Notes
We think we’ve seen this film before. TikTok is rolling out a new text-based feature that lets users share short thoughts in a speech bubble on their Stories bubble and profile image. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s almost identical to Instagram’s ‘Notes’ feature, which has been a big hit with younger users.
Ironically, TikTok can’t use the name ‘Notes’ for this feature, as they’ve already used the name for their photo-sharing app, but if we’re going off Instagram’s apparent success with the feature, it might just be a winner for TikTok too. Watch this space.
While users have long been able to customise their Stories and feed posts, Instagram DMs have been somewhat neglected – until now. With DM usage steadily increasing, Instagram has finally given this space some attention, introducing a range of fun new features like drawing options, stickers and even the ability to turn photo cut-outs into stickers for chats.
And that’s not all. To help avoid those awkward “forgotten birthday” moments, Instagram is introducing birthday reminders in the Notes bubble within DMs. Now, when it’s your friend’s special day, their profile picture will be marked with a cute birthday cake. Plus, when you click the note, a fun confetti animation will play – what’s not to love?
There’s a lot happening over at Instagram HQ right now. Lucky for you, we’ve covered everything you need to know in our other recent blog. Check it out here.
In his latest move toward building the ‘everything app,’ Elon Musk is working to separate X’s Direct Messaging (DM) functionality from the main platform. The goal? To make X DMs a primary communication tool, even for those who don’t actively use or post on X.
Although it’s technically possible to do this now, the decoupling means users won’t need to log into X or scroll through the feed to access their DMs. As part of this shift, users will have the option to block messages from another user while still seeing their posts in their feed.
The big question is: will people care enough to adopt the standalone DM feature, or will they stick with the integrated version? Time will tell.
We asked, and TikTok (kind of) listened. The platform is currently testing a new ‘delete and re-edit’ option that allows users to rework their in-app videos, even after they’ve been posted. Essentially, if you filmed and edited directly within TikTok—rather than using an external app like CapCut—this feature will let you strip away all your edits and start fresh.
It’s a handy tool if you’ve had a change of heart or come up with a better idea after uploading. However, it also raises transparency concerns, especially if changes can be made after the video has already received comments or engagement.
Another day, another social media platform copying a competitor. This time, it’s YouTube. The video sharing platform is rolling out an ‘Add Yours’ sticker for Shorts that’s pretty much identical to Instagram’s feature, which was, in fact, inspired by TikTok’s Duet feature. Keeping up?
Like its counterparts on Instagram and TikTok, YouTube’s ‘Add Yours’ sticker is designed to inspire viewers to create their own spin on Shorts clips. YouTube Shorts, itself a product of social media imitation, has exploded in popularity over the past year, now racking up more than 70 billion daily views. By encouraging even more user-generated content, YouTube aims to drive further engagement and participation, making this new feature a strategic move to keep the momentum going.
