Social Media Today

X gets rid of its popular night mode in-app setting According to Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, users will now need to change their device settings to activate the feature.

No more dark mode on X

Retail and grocery brands dominate ChatGPT ads Since OpenAI began running ads four weeks ago, data tracked by Sensor Tower showed more than 100 individual brand promotions.

The first insights on ChatGPT ads

Meta to let rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp in EU The company was pressured into this concession by the EU Commission and is allowing competitors access in an effort to prevent regulatory proceedings.

This will be a tough pill for Meta to swallow

TikTok ad campaigns drive movie ticket purchases Promotional performance in the app was significantly more effective than for traditional linear television advertising, according to new data from the company.

New insights from TikTok

Meta says its AI-optimized data centers support the U.S. economy The company touted an uptick in construction jobs and infrastructure support, while also committing to the White House’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge.

Meta says that it’s massive infrastructure projects won’t negatively impact local communities

Meta faces UK and US investigations over AI smart glasses According to multiple reports, the company’s contractors in Kenya are allegedly reviewing users’ private intimate content for training purposes.

Contractors have been assessing footage captured by Meta’s glasses

YouTube updates Payment Activity overview, provides more detailed data The platform’s new capabilities include more detailed earnings and payout data to help creators better manage their AdSense accounts.

Improved creator payout transparency from YouTube

xAI considers offering a free version of Grok Enterprise The potential rollout would be available to companies with at least 50 employees, with the move suggesting that a paid business plan is on the horizon.

A freemium version of Grok for business incoming?

Snapchat report positions the app as a B2B marketing tool New data released in partnership with GWI found that digitally native users are consuming business content outside of traditionally professional online environments.

Snapchat? For B2B marketing?

TikTok rules out using end-to-end message encryption The app told the BBC that using that level of security would impede police investigations and said stance sets it apart from rivals.

An interesting stance for TikTok to take

TikTok U.S. users impacted by another problem at Oracle Problems at a local data center in Ashburn, Virginia, led to more timeouts, errors and latency issues - and user speculation about government interference.

TikTok’s transition to US management has entirely gone smoothly

Snapchat research provides insight for movie marketing New data revealed the importance of in-app promotional tools such as influencer recommendations and artificial intelligence suggestions.

New insights from Snap

X invites users to beta test X Chat app The separate tool will function similarly to Meta’s Messenger and will be linked to users’ main accounts.

Also, a look at X Money

Meta updates Edits app with more creation tools The company’s development team added video effects and improved the Ideas tab while also bringing in new text elements.

New creative tools in Edits

X to take action against AI deepfakes of the Iran conflict Nikita Bier, the platform’s head of product, said users who don’t add AI disclosures will be suspended from Creator Revenue Sharing for at least 90 days.

X has reportedly been flooded with misinformation

Meta tests shopping AI chatbot in U.S. The feature would allow users to request product recommendations, per Bloomberg, and is similar to functions being tested by Google and OpenAI.

Shopping carousels could be coming to your Meta AI chats

X usage declined in the EU in the second half of 2025 The platform’s latest reporting showed a decline of nearly 15% since the first half of last year, though the company claims overall record numbers.

X’s EU user count dipped 15% in the second half of last year

Meta updates ad metrics to align with other platforms The changes include simplified link click attribution and new engagement metrics, which could impact how ad results are measured.

Changes to your Meta ad metrics

U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear AI copyright case The decision upheld a lower court ruling that artificial intelligence-generated content does not have the same legal protections as human-created work.

Reminder: You can’t own the rights to AI generated material

Concerns with third party partner could derail LinkedIn’s verification push The company has continued to add more identification checks and balances, but questions remain regarding its verification partner Persona.

LinkedIn’s verification push addresses a key vulnerability in its system

More teen social media bans are coming, but will they work? While the world attempts to limit underage access to apps, teenagers continue to find new ways to bypass rules and undermine systems.

More than 40 regions are considering new laws

Almost half of the U.S. consumers use TikTok as a search engine The app’s use as a discovery tool is rising as users turn to its short-form videos and personalized content to find information, according to research from Adobe.

TikTok continues to rise as a discovery platform

X launches paid partnership labels for sponsored content The new option is designed to provide additional transparency for brand partnerships and align the app with other social media platforms.

Paid partnership tags come to X

TikTok publishes latest EU usage, enforcement data The update provided insight into how the app dealt with information requests and moderation rules in the second half of 2025.

TikTok now has 178m active users in Europe

Pinterest releases best practices tipsheet for shopping templates The tips are designed to help social media marketers and brands make product pins stand out on the app.

Some pointers for your product pins

X tests experimental topic feed filter The For You tab feature is designed to allow users to access a more focused version of their timelines, centered around chosen subject matter.

So you can ensure you stay updated on breaking news events

Instagram opens up content scheduling to all users The feature was previously only available to Professional Mode users, but this update will allow anyone on the app to access the expanded creator tool.

Instagram has expanded access to some of its creator tools

Instagram introduces thumbnail post editing for grids The new feature allows users to choose how images and clips will be displayed, adding another element of profile customization.

Now you can edit your post thumbnails on your IG profile

Creators express frustration with Instagram’s latest AI experiment A shopping test in the Meta-owned app is being criticized for displaying products influencers don’t endorse and tags that could compete with pre-existing brand deals.

AI product matching could undermine creator partnerships

Google introduces next iteration of AI image generation model With Nano Banana 2, the company merged the capabilities of Nano Banana and Nano Banana Pro, combining all the tools into a single app.

Google’s latest AI visual generation tools look pretty good