Social Platform Updates: August 2019
Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash
August was an eventful month in social media! We saw significant changes to privacy, safety, and experience on several platforms. Here is everything you need to know:
AUGUST 2019
IG and IGTV now have desktop publishing access through Facebook’s Creator Studio. It is no longer necessary to use third-party apps to schedule posts via desktop.
Instagram has been rebranded as “Instagram from Facebook,” although the change will only appear in fine print. They have also similarly rebranded WhatsApp as “WhatsApp from Facebook.”
Instagram added an option to report false information on the app.
Instagram purged several large meme accounts for violating their terms of service. Following backlash, they are in the process of setting up a partnerships manager for meme accounts who will be tasked with facilitating relationships with meme accounts.
Facebook has removed the option to start a new chat from within a Facebook group. This feature has only been available since October 2018.
Facebook has removed the option to start a new chat from within a Facebook group. This feature has only been available since October 2018.
The Mobile News Feed has been updated and simplified to reflect the new Facebook design from earlier this year. Specific changes include:
Only three lines of primary text will be displayed on ads and posts before views will be prompted to click “See More” for additional text.
Maximum height for both photos and videos have been reduced to 4:5
Facebook’s 360-degree photos option has been expanded to Android.
YouTube
YouTube Music is now integrated with Waze. YouTube Premium and Music Premium subscribers can listen to music directly through the Waze app while they are driving.
Twitter is testing a new content filtering system for DMs, designed to keep potentially abusive messages out of view. Such messages would be sent to a separate section, which you can opt not to view them.
They have also updated their permissions to clarify which 3rd-party apps can be used for DMing. Only apps with “Read/Write and DM” permissions will be able to do so.
In an eIn what they say is an effort to promote free and healthy discourse, Twitter has banned any state-controlled media agencies from advertising.
TikTok
TikTok celebrated its one year anniversary of launching in the US on August 2nd.
TikTok has partnered with GIPHY to allow users to add GIPHY stickers to their videos. Just click the GIPHY button on the app. Popular videos can also be converted into GIFs and posted to other platforms.