There have been a lot of small but noticeable updates to the platforms this month. Twitter is constantly updating their messaging, Instagram is adding a new Story features. Let’s take a look at this week’s changes.

1. Another update to Twitter’s Safety Mode allows auto blocking

Twitter is broadening the read of Safety Mode, a feature that auto blocks abusive/spammy replies. It isn’t available for everyone, but after months of testing this out they’ve made it more available.

2. Facebook is changing the name of the News Feed

This has no impact on anything at all, but last week Facebook changed the name of the News Feed to the Feed.

3. Instagram Stories now allow Likes

There’s a lower touch way to engage with Instagram Stories now! Unlike sending a message, a Like is a way to let people know you appreciate the content without going directly to their inbox.
The hearts will not be public, but will show up in the view list.

4. Twitter is allowing you to pin DM chats

In the theme of increasing their messaging capabilities, Twitter is now allowing users to pin DMs to keep track of conversations.

5. Twitter is testing long form articles

Twitter has been exploring longer form content since 2016. They doubled the length of their tweets, they’ve added extra features, but this could change things a lot.

From Social Media Today:

How exactly that would work is unclear, but it is definitely something Twitter is developing – as a spokesperson explained to SMT:

“We’re always looking into new ways to help people start and engage in conversations on Twitter. We’ll share more about our work here soon.”