Instagram

Instagram finally launched an iPad app last fall, over 15 years after the iPad debuted. But the iPad version of Instagram differed from its iPhone app in key ways. Now, after a new update, Instagram for iPad has been redesigned to what it always should have been.

Meta’s latest attempt to comply with age verification requirements in Europe, Brazil and the US is to roll out AI-powered tech to analyse the faces of teenage users of Facebook and Instagram.

The company says AI analysis will be used to estimate the ages of faces but that it does not amount to face recognition. Update: It doesn’t appear to be working too well – a 12yo kid fooled it by using an eyebrow pencil to draw a fake mustache …

Anecdotally, I’ve been hearing for a very long time that Facebook and Instagram users are growing ever more dissatisfied with their social media feeds, and there now appears to be some hard data to support this.

Meta has admitted that its daily active users declined by 20 million this quarter, and the company is taking steps to try to improve the quality of both Facebook and Instagram feeds …

Meta revealed in January that it plans to test paid versions of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Now, in select markets, the first of those premium services is available.

A court ruling with potentially massive implications has found that social media apps are intentionally designed to be addictive, and are harmful to teenage mental health.

A now 20-year-old woman sued Meta and YouTube owner Google for damaging her mental health as a child, with a jury awarding her $6 million in damages – and this is likely to be only the start …

Instagram is rolling out a long-requested feature that lets you reorder photos and videos in a carousel after a post is already live. Here’s how it works.

Meta claimed for years that it was technically challenging to implement end-to-end encryption across Facebook Messenger and Instagram DMs, but back in 2023 said that it had resolved those issues.

Unfortunately, the company has now made a U-turn on Instagram direct messages, and that’s bad news for all of us …

Apple has just started a new @helloapple account on Instagram, joining its existing @apple account. Here are the details.

Instagram has said that it will begin notifying parents if their teenage child “repeatedly” searches for content related to self-harm or suicide.

The announcement follows Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying in court in response to claims that Instagram content had led to self-harm by children …

Meta has revealed that it plans to test paid subscriptions to Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook – with multiple options apparently on the cards.

The company has so far only provided specifics on the paywalled features for Instagram, with no details yet available about its other services …

If you’ve received an Instagram password reset email, claiming that you requested it, you should ignore it.

Malwarebytes reports that cybercriminals stole Instagram account details for 17.5 million users, but the social network claims that there was no security breach …

Instagram long-form videos have previously been a possibility the company has ruled out, but its head Adam Mosseri now says that it might be that the platform needs it.

One thing he is promising is a way to allow users to “proactively shape content in their feeds,” although you shouldn’t hold your breath for this …

A commonly expressed frustration with algorithmically-driven apps like Instagram is that users have no control over their feeds. They are instead shown what the app thinks they want to see, which is often wildly inaccurate.

Meta is promising to provide at least a partial solution to the problem with a new feature called Your Algorithm …

The European Union has found that both Meta and TikTok failed to properly protect children, including making it difficult to report the presence of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in their apps.

Separately, Meta has faced a setback in its defense of lawsuits filed by multiple US states, accusing the company of deliberately making its apps addictive despite knowing they were harmful to teenagers …

TikTok has long offered a way to revisit old videos you’ve seen, but until now Instagram offered no such feature. Fortunately, that missing feature is finally here: Reels now come with a dedicated watch history inside the Instagram app.