Social

Meta Platforms will make it easier for brands to run three-dimensional ads on Facebook and Instagram through a new partnership with an e-commerce technology firm. The integration with VNTANA will allow brands to upload the 3D models of their products to the social media platforms and easily convert them into ads, VNTANA said Thursday in

WhatsApp has released a new beta version for iPhone users that brings a darker theme to better support iOS 15. The change comes a couple of months after WhatsApp introduced support for iOS 15 notifications, with Focus mode and displaying group and profile photos on the Notification Centre. Separately, WhatsApp has brought a new desktop

Zoom has unveiled a new Avatars feature that lets users to replaces their appearance on virtual meetings and webinars with virtual characters. The latest feature will allow creating a cartoon-like version of yourself on the video calling platform. The character will mimic the head movements and facial expressions of the user to engage the meeting

Instagram has reportedly rolled out the product-tagging feature to all users in the US. The option was previously exclusive for the creator and business accounts on Instagram. The feature is expected to see a wider rollout over the next few months. Last week, Instagram had introduced a feature that allowed users to add a moderator

WhatsApp is reportedly releasing message reactions feature for Android users on beta. The new feature currently offers six emoji reactions. As per the report, the ability to react to messages is limited to select users but everyone should be able to see the emoji reactions. Emoji reactions have been available on other Meta-owned platforms like

Australia’s media regulator will be able to force internet companies to provide internal data about how they have handled misinformation and disinformation, the latest measure by the country’s government to crack down on Big Tech. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will also be able to enforce an Internet industry code on uncooperative platforms,

Tech bosses face criminal prosecution if they fail to comply with proposed British rules aimed at ensuring people are safe online, the UK government said Thursday as it unveiled the draft legislation in Parliament. The ambitious but controversial online safety bill would give regulators wide-ranging powers to crack down on digital and social media companies

A justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered the shutdown of messaging app Telegram nationwide, arguing it has not cooperated with authorities. The move is a blow to President Jair Bolsonaro, who has more than 1 million followers on the platform and defends it as a key tool for his re-election bid in October. Justice

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new yearly reminder for the app’s Terms of Service. The Meta-owned messaging platform is said to be working on an entry in the app’s settings menu, discovered on the latest Android beta version by WABetaInfo. WhatsApp is yet to reveal any details or plans to add such a reminder

Clubhouse is adding a new feature to increase user interactions on the platform. The audio-chat app has started testing a new ‘Wave Bar’ feature that will show connections available online and allows users to start a social room with them just by sending a wave. With the latest functionality, friends of speakers can also join

Snapchat on Wednesday announced the expansion of its augmented reality (AR) focused feature Landmarkers that will now be available to all as Custom Landmarkers through Lens Studio. Custom Landmakers will allow creators on the platform to develop AR filters — known as Lenses —that can be anchored to local places and allow Snapchatters to create

Twitter has rolled back on its decision to use a twin-tab layout on the microblogging platform and has switched back to the original layout that shows the latest tweets on the top. The twin-tab layout — which started rolling out last week — was designed to push users to an algorithmically served timeline instead of

Instagram is bringing a new feature that allows users to add a moderator to a live video. With the much-awaited functionality, creators can assign moderators during their streams. An Instagram live stream moderator will be able to report comments and remove viewers from live. They can also turn off comments for a viewer. Previously, only

Russian regulators said Friday that the country’s internet users will be blocked from accessing Instagram, saying it’s being used to call for violence against Russian soldiers. In Moscow’s latest move to restrict access to foreign social media platforms, communications, and media regulator Roskomnadzor said in a statement that it’s restricting national access to Instagram. It

Facebook owner Meta said Friday that a temporary change in its content policy, only for Ukraine, was needed to let users voice opposition to Russia’s attack, as Russia opened a criminal case after the company said it would allow posts such as “death to the Russian invaders.” Russian prosecutors asked a court to designate the

Twitter has started rolling out an update to essentially make it harder to switch to the reverse-chronological feed and push users more prominently towards an algorithmically-served timeline. The change, which is initially live for iOS users and will soon be available to Android as well as Web versions of the microblogging network, brings distinct ‘Home’

WhatsApp on Friday introduced a Web browser extension called Code Verify that lets users check whether the WhatsApp Web version they are using on their system is authenticated. The Web extension automatically verifies the authenticity of the WhatsApp Web code being served to the users and confirms that their messaging experience is secure and not

Two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, an account on the Telegram messaging platform posing as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his armed forces to surrender. The message was not authentic, with the real Zelensky soon denying the claim on his official Telegram channel, but the incident highlighted a major problem: disinformation quickly spreads unchecked on the