Instagram just made it easier to keep tabs on your friends by letting you share your live location via DMs—for up to an hour. It’s a nod to rivals like Snapchat’s Snap Map, though the feature is more of a quick check-in than a constant tracker. Spotted in testing earlier this year, it aims to allow users to coordinate meet-ups or navigate crowded spots.
Bluesky and X look to clearly label parody accounts
The influx of new users to Bluesky has brought with it an impersonation problem, so the platform is out a “more aggressive” policy on parody accounts that aren’t clearly labeled. This comes amid rumours that X will soon begin adding labels to parody accounts. Forcing parody accounts to apply the label to their profiles is a difficult challenge, but with competition intensifying, all platforms are looking to clean up their content and user experience.
Talking of competition… Threads has continued to develop its own take on Bluesky’s Starter Packs – or hand-curated lists of suggested users that help newcomers find people to follow. Threads is also introducing another Bluesky-like feature, with various feeds now set to remain visible on the home screen, so you can switch across to your “Following” or “For You” streams.
Kai Cenat has reclaimed the Twitch subscriber record for a single stream, amassing an astounding 727,694 subscribers during a 30-day marathon stream featuring guests like Snoop Dogg, Serena Williams, and Bill Nye. This more than doubles the previous record of 326,252, set by IronMouse, and surpasses Kai’s own 2023 milestone. Final numbers await Twitch confirmation.
🤳 Instagram is testing out a new Collage mode for Stories, allowing users to share multiple photos with customisation options. It’s also testing two-column layouts for Reels.
💚 TikTokers are being blamed for a matcha shortage in Japan after the tea spiked in popularity on the platform.
