Facebook drops out of top three social platforms for teens
According to a recent study by Pew Research Center, Facebook has dropped out of the top three social networks for teens in the US with “only 51% of teenagers ages 13-17 in the US still use the social platform”. YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat now rank in the coveted top three places, as a “whopping 85% of teenagers report using YouTube”. However, the survey did not take into account other apps such as Musical.ly, Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. Read the full story here for a full breakdown of the report’s findings.
Facebook calls time on its Trending feature
First introduced in 2014, Facebook’s long running Trending feature will soon become a thing of the past as the social network has announced plans to remove the feature from this week – as it “has become less useful to users over time”. Part of the reason for the changes comes as the platforms faces scrutiny of the errors it has seen since switching the feature from human editors to an algorithm-based system of monitoring back in 2017. To potentially replace the feature however, the social network as announced the testing of a new ‘breaking news’ section for US users – which will enable publishers to: pin articles tagged as breaking news; access a dedicated breaking local news section, and allow users to watch live coverage and weekly reports.
Facebook pulls temporary reaction buttons
Since releasing its expanded like button reactions (like, angry, love, sad, wow and laugh) back in 2016, Facebook has experimented with a number of temporary alternatives to mark various occasions throughout the year – such as the rainbow flag to signify Pride, or its set of StarWars inspired reations. However, this year a company spokesperson has confirmed that the platform will no longer offer “custom reactions for major holidays or moments in culture”, as it begins “rolling out other ways to commemorate Pride month”.
Snapchat looks to open it AR camera to third-party developers The multimedia messaging app is looking to launch a developer platform, SnapKit, which the first time ever would provide third-party app developers access to Snapchat’s login system, AR camera features and Bitmoji avatars. The launch is part of a bigger shift for the famously closed-off social network, as it reconsiders the way it works with outside developers, and could open up the platform’s AR capabilities to make it “the one third-party app developers turn to for quick and lightweight selfie animations or other camera tricks”.
Snapchat releases its first Lens which responds to sound
Perviously, Snapchat’s famous Lenses have only been able to respond to facial movements it recognises on the camera (such as opening your mouth) but now, the social network has released its first Lens which can react to sound. The current incarnation of the Lens places a heart nose, whiskers and glowing ears on the user and when the user speaks, the ears expand. The Lens also alters the user’s voice to make it higher-pitched. More Lenses are expected to roll out from this week, onwards.
Twitter bans users who signed up before 13, under new regulations
While the platform has always had a age restriction on those under the age of 13 using the social network, a new regulation under GDPR has meant that Twitter has had to ban some users who signed up at 13 (and provided their date of birth) as it is no longer allowed to host content they posted before they became of legal age. While the users may no longer be under 13, the platform says it is not able to separate the content they published before and after their 13th birthday – leading to bans on a number of accounts.
