Social

Snapchat on Wednesday received an updated Snap Map that brings a feature called Layers to superimpose content and information about different locations. The ultimate aim of bringing Layers to Snap Map is to enhance partnerships over Snapchat by showing partner content on the virtual map. But in the meantime, Snapchat parent Snap has introduced Explore

An app that allows users to create and share videos that blend elements of the physical and virtual worlds has been launched on Tuesday, with financing from James Murdoch and entertainment industry backers. Octi, which has been updated from an earlier version, seeks to capitalise on burgeoning consumer interest in augmented reality, a technology that

Instagram has apparently started using a new method for identity verification of its users. The social media platform is asking users to take a short video selfie ‘to help confirm that you’re a real person’. This feature has likely been introduced to reduce the number of fake or spam accounts on the platform. Instagram owner

WhatsApp has been spotted developing new apps for Windows and macOS users. The new apps are found to have user interface (UI) improvements over existing WhatsApp desktop versions. WhatsApp has separately started rolling out the ability to pause and resume voice message recordings for some iOS beta testers. People using a recent WhatsApp for iPhone

Twitter has released a new update which would prevent tweets from disappearing while users are reading them on the Web. The company’s new move comes after a barrage of complaints from Twitter users saying that tweets will sometimes disappear from view just when a user is partway through reading a Tweet. The timeline is said

Instagram is planning to bring a new feature that allows users to add a moderator to a live video. At present, only the user who has started the live on the social network can manage it. The upcoming feature for Instagram was first spotted by a notable developer on Twitter. According to him, the feature

Mastodon, the federated social networking service that allows users to create their own private networks, made it clear that it won’t be incorporating support for non-fungible tokens or NFTs on its platform. The platform has been vocal in its stance against microtransactions enabled by NFTs and in a reply to a Twitter user on the

Tesla CEO Elon Musk got into a spat with Bernie Sanders on Sunday after the US senator demanded the wealthy pay their “fair share” of taxes. “We must demand that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share. Period,” Sanders wrote on Twitter. Taking a jibe at the 80-year-old senator, Musk responded by saying “I keep

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, said on Wednesday it is integrating Workplace, the work-focused version of its social app, with Microsoft’s collaboration app Teams, so users can better share information between the two platforms. The changes will allow users to share content from Workplace’s newsfeed and from its groups into Microsoft’s Teams platform. Soon, it

Cuba’s foreign minister on Wednesday said the United States was behind protests over human and civil rights planned for November 15 in the communist-run country, and alleged US-based social media platform Facebook was helping to promote them. Dissidents on the island, organized under a Facebook group called Archipielago, in September requested permission to conduct the

Internet giants, including social media apps Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, joined several world leaders to issue a global call to better protect children online at a Paris summit on Thursday. The call, initiated by France and the UN child protection agency UNICEF, acknowledges that “in the digital environment, children can come across harmful and

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Wednesday said she was “extremely concerned” about the company’s plans to build a “metaverse” — a virtual reality version of the internet — because of privacy problems. Faced with a barrage of bad publicity due to Haugen’s revelations, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans late last month to create a

WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out “My Contacts Except…” privacy feature, allowing users to control who can see their information on WhatsApp. The instant messaging app is also releasing a new interface for Contact Info and Group Info for specific Android beta testers, as per a separate report. This interface was previously only available when viewing

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, for the first time on Tuesday disclosed the prevalence of bullying and harassment on its platform, saying such content was seen between 14 and 15 times per every 10,000 views on the site in the third quarter. The company, which recently changed its name to Meta, also said in its

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the US House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would require internet platforms like Meta’s Facebook and Alphabet’s Google to allow users to see content not chosen by algorithms. The legislation, introduced by Representatives Ken Buck, a Republican, and David Cicilline, a Democrat, and others, would require big

Britain’s Prince Harry said he warned the chief executive of Twitter ahead of the January 6 Capitol riots that the social media site was being used to stage political unrest in the US capital. Prince Harry made the comments Tuesday while he was taking part in an online panel on misinformation in California. He said

Twitter Blue is now rolling out to users in the United States and New Zealand, the company announced on Tuesday. The subscription service offered by the microblogging platform brings in a host of features such as the ability to undo tweets and reading some news articles without advertisements, among others. With Twitter Blue subscriptions, the

WhatsApp has been spotted integrating digital wallet Novi that would allow users to make payments and transfer money globally via the instant messaging app through a bank or card. Some recent WhatsApp for Android beta releases have suggested the update. The platform may also require users to submit their identity documents for verification. Although WhatsApp