Social

Upcoming Instagram update will let you turn off comments on a per-post basis & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 8, 2017

In its never-ending fight to curb abuse on its service, Instagram today said an upcoming new tool will let you completely turn off comments on individual posts.

As reported by The New York Times this morning and confirmed by Instagram itself, in addition to being able to turn off comments on individual posts users will be also permitted to remove followers on private accounts and like other people's comments as well.

Back in September, Instagram launched keyword-based comment moderation as another measure to fight spammers and abusers who have been harassing honest users with unwanted comments and marketing messages.

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You can now create your own Moments in the Twitter app

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 1, 2016
Twitter's bird logo set against a transparent background

Twitter launched Moments more than a year ago as a way of helping users discover trending stories and highlights representing “the best of Twitter”.

Well, it's now possible to create your own Moment from any tweet, whether your own or someone else's, right within Twitter's official mobile apps for iOS and Android. The feature first made its debut in the web interface at twitter.com before expanding in May 2016 to Twitter's desktop app for the Mac.

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Facebook is testing an upcoming Find Wi-Fi feature in the mobile app

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 22, 2016

Facebook appears to be testing a new location-based feature that permits some users to identify free Wi-Fi hotspots through the social network's mobile application for the iPhone and iPad.

As reported by The Next Web, some users, myself included, are now seeing a Find Wi-Fi option in the app's side menu, between the Nearby Places and Nearby Friends options. Tapping it puts up a prompt asking to grant Facebook access to your location so it can find public Wi-Fi hotspots around you.

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Twitter for iPhone and iPad gains support for rich notifications on iOS 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 18, 2016

Twitter for iPhone and iPad, a free download from the App Store, now supports rich notifications on iOS 10 that come complete with embedded images and the usual options for interacting with tweets without having to open the app.

Pressing a rich Twitter notification on the Lock screen or in the Notification Center with 3D Touch pulls up an expanded view of the tweet with an enlarged image thumbnail, along with the usual options such as Like and Retweet.

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How to mention someone in your Instagram story

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated March 19, 2021

If you’re an Instagram user and post often, then you probably enjoy the Story feature. You can use photos in your Instagram stories as well as capture short videos. So if you want to make another user a part of your story, you can “mention” them.

Here we’ll show you two easy ways to mention someone in your next Instagram story.

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Twitter unveils expanded Mute filter and a more direct way to report hateful conduct

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Twitter today announced it's starting to roll out an expanded Mute filter and a brand new reporting method in another effort to help users shield themselves from abusive or offensive tweets as the company steps up anti-abuse features of the service.

All of Twitter's support teams have been retrained on the new policies, including special sessions on cultural and historical contextualization of hateful conduct.

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Vine could potentially live on as Twitter reviews multiple offers from prospective suitors

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 10, 2017

Twitter is currently entertaining multiple purchase offers from potential Vine buyers, meaning the once very popular shortform video-sharing service could live on assuming Twitter manages to sell it, according to a new report from TechCrunch. As you know, Twitter last month announced plans to phase out the video-looping social networking app. After acquiring the startup behind the Vine app, Twitter released Vine on the App Store in January 2013.

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Facebook halts WhatsApp data collection in UK following privacy probe

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

As of late-August 2016, WhatsApp has been sharing account data with Facebook in what the firm framed as an effort to improve targeted advertising on the social network. Although users can easily opt out of the WhatsApp → Facebook data sharing with just a few taps, most novice users are unaware that their WhatsApp usage data is being shared with Facebook.

In the United Kingdom, the Information Commissioner Office head Elizabeth Denham said her office had launched a probe into WhatsApp's updated Terms of Service a few weeks ago.

The new terms previously drew ire from European privacy watchdogs who expressed “serious concerns” over the policy change. As a result of the UK government probe, WhatsApp has now suspended account data collection and sharing with Facebook.

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Facebook for iOS will soon introduce AI-powered live effects for photos and videos

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 8, 2016

According to Facebook's chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer, the company's mobile applications for the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android smartphones and tablets will soon bring out advanced Prism-like live filters and effects for your photos and videos.

Using artificial intelligence algorithms and high efficiency neural networks running directly on the device, these filters will let users turn their photos and videos into works of art, Schroepfer said.

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