Meta Changes How Instagram and Threads Handle Political Content

 Meta is changing the way Instagram and Threads show political content. The company wants to avoid making Threads like Twitter, where political debates can get very heated. Now, Instagram and Threads won't "proactively" show users political posts. This is similar to what Meta already does on Facebook. It has cut down on political content in different places like the News Feed and video suggestions.

Image: Digital Information World

Meta plans to bring these changes to Instagram and Threads as the 2024 U.S. elections get closer. This means less political content in Instagram Reels and the Explore section, as well as in the main feed of both Instagram and Threads.

Threads is trying to be different from Twitter, avoiding news and political debates. Even though Threads delayed adding a trends feature, Meta doesn't want to push news content there.

Meta's new rules affect how Instagram suggests posts to users. But, if someone follows an account that shares political content, they will still see those posts in their feed and stories. It just means those posts won't be suggested to people who don't follow the account. Instagram will let professional accounts check if they can be suggested and change their content if they want to be.

Users who like political content can choose to see it in their settings on Instagram and Threads. Facebook will have a similar option later.

Meta is making these changes slowly. They want to be careful after facing criticism for spreading hate and misinformation in the past. This could also help with lawmakers who are thinking about how to handle big tech companies.

Meta’s Instagram Is Full Of Fake Profiles That Are Catfishing Users But The Company Could Care Less

 Seeing scammers and imposters arise on social media is now a norm in the online world.

But you’d expect tech giants like Meta to do more to help safeguard its users online by getting rid of fake profiles. However, the reality seems to be far from that as many noticed the number of fake profiles surging across the Instagram app.

In the past year, we’ve seen the issue go from bad to worse and the app’s parent firm is really falling behind in terms of finding a solution to the matter, despite there being many signs that a certain profile is making use of another’s identity or image.

An investigation was also carried out by tech media outlet Bleeping Computer on this front and they noticed how a large number of reports were filed against such scam accounts featuring fake IDs and they were impersonating internet personalities or other public figures but ended up getting dismissed by the admin. Clearly, it’s a huge issue and no appeal made a difference, not to mention how the profiles continue to function on the app as we speak.

Conceptual image created with AIgen

After seeing all of this, it would not be wrong to mention that Instagram has transformed into a giant safe haven where scammers are working at large. People are interacting with others based on what they appear like on the outside or what their profile says, only to find out later on that it’s all a scam and nothing is real.

their profile says, only to find out later on that it’s all a scam and nothing is real.

Authenticity on social media is rare as it is and now that fake profiles are going unnoticed by Meta’s Instagram we’re seeing a major issue arise here. To pretend like you are someone other than your true identity is concerning and a major sign of catfishing. Anyone can produce two identities for several reasons. One of the main ones is to separate their real or personal endeavors from their professional world. But you need to be honest at least, right?

A growing number of users are speaking about how they keep on generating complaints on this front and seeing Meta dismiss them and leave those fake ID accounts as it is has them wondering what’s going on and if any safeguards were really in place. All they give as a part of the justification is linked to how they are following Community Guidelines and using both human and tech for reviewing purposes. And yes, no appeals work either so what is a person supposed to do, right?

When leading media outlets ask Meta to shed light on what’s going on, they are yet to hear back from any of the company’s reps. And that again is another red flag worth a mention.

Could this be the latest ploy from the tech giant in terms of selling blue ticks?

We don’t think such acts are a mere coincidence. They are becoming far too normal on the platform and something needs to be done before it’s too late.

Plenty of imposters seem to be targeting real profiles of leading public figures, influencers, law enforcement officers, and creators involved in producing adult content. They then start following the followers located on the actual account. And their hope is to attain followers back to ensure they are getting the tag of being authentic. They then block the profile that they are copying and this ensures no contact is made with the real user in question.

Those who are suffering are the real ones who fear their identities are being used for catfishing purposes and they cannot do anything about it because Meta takes on a silent stance. So what could the reason be?

Well, the news is that Meta is forcing users to purchase blue ticks to try and ensure they attain greater protection perhaps they wish to increase their user numbers by not labeling these kinds of content as spam or a fake profile.

Today, the subscription is priced between $12 to $15 and it’s not cheap to get Meta Verified, not to mention an added business for the company with these staggering monthly earnings.

Meta's Facebook and Instagram Are the Most Data Hungry Apps According to This Study

 Surfshark recently did a deep dive into the top 100 most popular apps on the App Store, and they found that 20% of the data they are collecting is for tracking purposes with all things having been considered and taken into account. These apps were ranked based on 32 data points that they are currently in the process of collecting, all of which are defined by Apple’s privacy policy.

Facebook and Instagram were found to be the least privacy conscious apps of all. They collect all 32 data points, all of which are tied to the identity of the user in question, and 7 of which are used specifically for tracking purposes. These include data points such as names, home addresses as well as phone numbers, which seems to suggest that these apps offer far less privacy than users would ideally prefer.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that X, formerly known as Twitter, was also a major offender in this regard. It collected fewer data points than Facebook and Instagram, or 22 to be precise, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, it used 11 of them to track users.

On the other end of the spectrum, Signal was found to be the most privacy conscious app of all, at least in terms of social media and instant messaging. It collects a single data point, namely the user’s phone number, and it doesn’t link it to the identity of the user nor does it utilize it for any tracking purposes whatsoever on third party platforms.

Interestingly, WhatsApp was also surprisingly privacy conscious despite coming under the Meta umbrella just like Facebook and Instagram. It didn’t use any of its collected data for tracking, making it, Signal and Telegram the only three apps to avoid this practice.

Users need to be educated about which apps are tracking them, otherwise they might not know when their privacy at risk. This study shows that some apps are continuing to find a way to track users despite Apple’s privacy policy.

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Meta Unveils New ‘Nighttime Nudges’ For Instagram So Teens Log Off During Late Hours

 It’s no surprise that tech giant Meta has been scrutinized in the past and continues to face major criticism for its apps in terms of the safety they offer to minors.

Plenty of research and bombshell documents have called out Facebook’s parent firm and how it needs to be doing more than rolling out a limited set of tools to combat the issue.

Keeping this in mind, Meta has just unveiled a new feature for Instagram users that prevents teens from using the app excessively at late-night timings.

The rollout comprises a feature called nudges where teens would be prompted to log off when they hit curfew hours. And what better source of reminder or alert than this, right?

The alert will be displayed whenever a minor uses the app for more than ten minutes in a particular area like Instagram Reels or Instagram DMs during odd times at night.

The company mentioned through a newsroom post how the goal was to generate a tool because nothing is more important than sleep, especially when it comes to the younger generation.

Image: Meta

The alerts are rolled out during the night hours and present as the newest offering by Meta’s parental control suite. So we first heard about this last year in June and how it was rolling out such features to assist parents in terms of managing kids’ screen times as well as the activity carried out on the apps. Moreover, the firm has also been seen slowly rolling out a host of other tools in the past couple of months.

The tech giant mentioned last week how the goal was to keep better tabs on what was being shown to minors on Facebook as well as the Instagram platform. Such settings ensure there will be a decreased level of sensitive content that children are exposed to through the platform.

• Also read: Alarming New Study Exposes Facebook’s Intrusive Monitoring Of Users’ Online Activities

The leading tech giant has been facing a lot of criticism in the recent past over how its offerings keep affecting the minds of youngsters. It was slammed with all sorts of lawsuits from a host of state attorneys in general and the overall lack of safeguards in place for youngsters.

Meanwhile, one bipartisan group featuring 33 attorney generals mentioned how the goal was to sue the firm when it proved that the company was targeting minors by marketing addictive offerings. The lawsuit arising in December spoke about New Mexico springing into action when its regulators showed how the apps were breeding grounds for abuse of young minds and that was totally unacceptable.

In the past, Meta has tried long and hard in terms of showing how hard it has worked to curb such issues through the launch of nearly 30 tools and a host of different resources to provide support for both children and parents. The goal was to make sure only safe experiences were taking place on these apps.

Instagram Is Keen On Maximizing Revenue As It Experiments With Innovative Ad Options

 The holiday season is upon us all and Instagram is making sure it doesn’t lose out on any chance coming soon.

The platform has recently spoken about a series of innovative ad options that are designed keeping in mind maximal revenue generation. This is also said to give more brands an array of opportunities. However, we don’t feel it can be a very popular addition in terms of users. After all, who loves ads in the first place?

For starters, the app says it is adding some new features to its Explore Tab. This page now has its own unit for ads that may be seen across content feeds. The example of the ad put forward by the company is quite big and we’ve got zero confirmation if all the advertisements will be just as mighty as this.

Whatever the case may be, it’s a huge opportunity to reach out to the audience on the app during the early stage of their discovery, especially in terms of content that they love.

We do see this as a great consideration to have some businesses’ products getting featured across the main feed on the app. In the same way, we’re seeing Instagram test out more ads in its profile.

This is the type of feed experience that users can get accustomed to after they visit a certain profile or tap on a particular post. Hence, the next time you like a post on a follower’s account, be prepared to receive ads within your area of interest.

• Also read: Only 6% of Adults Buy From Livestreams, Does That Mean It Can’t Work?

The platform is also searching for ways to make this option a form of monetization for all of the app’s creators. Remember, all of the activities are linked to a particular profile so that makes sense.

Instagram says it’s also experimenting with a new feature called ‘multi-advertiser ads’. This displays a lot more promotions via similar entities, right after engagements with an ad are complete.

Whenever a person is seen expressing a form of commercial intent through direct engagement with ads, similar ads are delivered in greater quantities from other firms. The subject is of interest, thanks to the AI- tools of machine learning.

All in all, the app is looking forward to adding more forms of related business. And if that means adding more ads on users, then so be it. For now, we aren’t quite sure how effective this might turn out to be. But it might end up getting your brand in the driver’s seat of users showing interest in the niche, depending on if they’ve engaged in it in the past.

Last but not least, Instagram is getting started for a test of AR ads. These can be found on Instagram’s Feed and the app’s Stories section.

Designed in the app’s Spark AR platform, these types of AR ads will invite people to engage with ads more. This can include the likes of placing virtual paintings in your drawing room or even test driving some vehicle.

Meta says by giving a brand the right tools to develop a more immersive experience, they’re really keen on driving performances and helping them prepare for the ongoing metaverse taking place.

Although the worlds of AR and VR are worlds apart, creating three-dimensional objects is a key feature for the next stage. This will ultimately assist in advancing to the next stage with ad measures.

We won’t lie, the considerations here are quite interesting. But we also feel we might be seeing more marketing take place on your feed through the app. And that’s not the best news for viewers.

Most Instagram Reels Users Don’t Receive Any Engagement At All, Says New Internal Report

 For a while now, Instagram spoke about how keen it was on competing with its fellow archrival TikTok. And they planned on doing just that through the introduction of short video content such as Reels.

But a new internal report that has been critiqued by WSJ says Reels isn't standing where the tech giant had envisioned it to be. To put it simply, it’s just lagging far behind all forms of competition.

The document went on to detail how most Reels' users on the app are failing to get any engagement. Seeing the news of the platform falling flat on the ground is generally concerning for Meta and the experts feel it’s got a long way to go if it plans on affecting TikTok’s share of the competitive market.

On average, the document went on to prove how out of 11 million content creators that use the app, only 21% are involved in putting up Reels on a monthly basis. And out of those, there has been zero to no engagement at all.

The report that is titled Creators x Reels State of the Union, also proved how TikTok users as a whole tend to spend 197.8 million hours witnessing content on the app daily. On the other hand, users on Instagram are spending nearly one-tenth of that amount, which is about 17 million hours daily.

But seeing this report published really had Meta in a bad mood. The company’s spokesperson was quick to call the report an outdated feature that not only featured incorrect information but also was designed to paint a fake narrative of what the progress for Reels has turned out to be.

Although Meta did admit that it’s got plenty of work to do still on its Reels, it was happy with the progress so far. They also elaborated how promising results are up for grabs while monetization across the platform is also seeing new growth at a faster pace.

Meta concluded by highlighting how more and more people are connecting, watching, and engaging with Reels than what the firm saw previously.

But the reports say otherwise. It claims that the biggest reason why the Reel content is failing on the platform has to do with how there is so much non-original content. Moreover, stats proved how most videos seen have been posted on other apps and then shared on Instagram too. And that causes a general loss of interest from the users’ point of view. After all, who wants to see repetitive content?

One way that the report says you can find recycled videos is by searching for a watermark that can be spotted immediately. And while the firm does try its best to downrank such repetitive content on the app, they do somehow pass the barriers and make its way forward.

The Meta spokesperson says that recycled videos are also not recommended on the app because so many viewers have told them that they’re not a fan of seeing old Reels. Instead, they would much rather prefer to see new and unique content that’s solely designed for the platform. And it makes sense because it’s just so much more inspiring and even entertaining.

The timing of this report is rather unique. It arises shortly after one of the app’s attempts to display more video content on the platform failed miserably.

A lot of celebs and the majority of users on the app protested against the idea of testing full-screen displays of Instagram. Similarly, they weren’t in favor of Facebook’s algorithm being like TikTok’s.

So as you can see, Instagram has been through a lot in recent times and this report isn’t comforting either.