Social media updates from January 2025
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Posted: Fri 14th Feb 2025
Social media platforms have been under more scrutiny than ever and there have been updates after updates. But don’t worry we’ve rounded up the top updates from the month and brought them together for easy reading!
Here’s a round-up of everything that happened last month!
TikTok
We’re starting with the most talked about platform, TikTok and its crisis!
In the December round-up, we talked about the possibility of TikTok being banned in the United States and on 19 January, TikTok went dark for US users. Despite that, it was back online some 12 hours later, following a 75-day extension by Donald Trump.
Don't panic, the ban in the US isn’t affecting UK users, and our government has said there are no plans to ban the platform. But it’s worth making sure that you’re repurposing content to other platforms just in case!
Meta
Meta has also been a major topic of discussion. The biggest and most important of those being the replacement of independent fact-checkers with community notes on all of Meta’s platforms.
Although this is currently limited to US platforms, it’s very important to stay aware of the potential spread of misinformation reaching beyond America.
What does that mean for the UK? We hope that any misinformation will be mitigated when the Online Safety Act comes into force across the UK this year. If you’re unsure what the Online Safety Act will do, it’s going to require tech companies to demonstrate that they are removing illegal content and that includes any government-backed misinformation.
Time to get platform-specific now.
Following the concerning announcements around fact-checking, users are beginning to leave Facebook. While it's not quite in the same numbers that left X back in November, it’s still having an impact.
Why are they leaving? Users are increasingly leaving Meta over concerns about its management and direction, particularly following Donald Trump’s election.
Next, Facebook is testing a new feature where you’ll be able to add a no-edit tag. This crucial update lets users indicate when raw images are used. This is a welcome change, especially as AI-generated images are now being clearly tagged.
There have been some pretty huge changes on Instagram last month. And we’re starting with a BIGGIE!
You may have noticed that the post sizes have changed! Insta has moved away from the original square format (a 1:1 ratio) to a vertical format (a 4:5 ratio). Sadly, for all the aesthetic grid lovers out there… your carefully curated layout has probably been affected!
Going forward the recommended size when uploading a photo is 1080px X 1350px.
We’ve already touched on the removal of fact-checking, but here are some other smaller, but still impactful, updates:
Reels have increased its length to three minutes. This has been a long time coming and it's also unsurprising as Instagram continues to try and position itself as the replacement for TikTok
Business chats now include transparency labels, making it clear when users are talking with a business
Adam Mosseri confirmed that the platform will push more political content. We can hear your groans already but don’t worry, it will be personalised, ensuring that users who want to see more will, while those who don’t, won’t!
Following a survey of a handful of users, Meta may be considering an option that would allow brands and creators to pay for views. This update feels like a way to increase Meta Verified users, focusing on those who may pay for an extra boost on their content
Edits has landed! Currently available for ‘pre-order,’ it will officially launch on 13 March 2025. Positioned as a strong competitor to CapCut, Edits could see even more traction if the TikTok ban moves forward
Even though it’s just arrived, Edits has teased a rollout of AI tools available in the app, for videos! And unlike CapCut these won’t be behind a paywall (yet!)
Want better rankings?
We're all striving for more views, especially on organic content, Instagram head, Adam Mosseri, has revealed the top three ranking signals for Reels. These signals are:
Average watch time
Likes per reach
Sends per reach
So, if you want to forge a connection with your current audience you should be aiming to get more likes. If you want to reach new people, then your content should focus on gaining more shares (sends).
Threads
Earlier this month it was announced it would be testing ads on Threads. Advertisers will be able to use Meta’s proven ad system and extend existing ads onto other platforms. It’s worth noting that this is only available in the US and Japan right now, but we’re sure it will move to other regions quickly.
As Threads continues to compete with X and BlueSky, there have been some other updates worth mentioning.
While it’s not a necessary update, Threads has added the ability to schedule content on the platform. Yes, this is a handy update but having spent some time on the app, the content feels very conversational and ad hoc so this isn’t something we’ll be utilising yet!
Viewing metrics for individual posts are now available to view within insights. This update is perfect for any analytics lovers out there!
Adding music to your posts is being trailed internally, which brings it in line with Facebook and Instagram. This social media news is great and could add extra depth and interest to posts, allowing them to stand out from the crowd
We did warn you that it was a jam-packed round-up! So, let’s take a wee breather with Pinterest, which has a couple of cool updates worth mentioning:
With Pinterest users ready to buy, we’re unsurprised that Pinterest is going all in on shoppable ad formats. This update will make it easier for users to shop on the platform and the latest updates for visual search and discovery were (of course) made with shopping in mind
Pinterest is also offering a limited-time, exclusive incentive for ad space on the platform. This is a great update, especially as marketers are thinking carefully about where they spend their money. These incentives include brand-specific bonus media and creative support to help people get started with advertising on the platform
X
Many more users are continuing to leave the platform (including us), a recent report released by X itself confirms the huge drop off in usage throughout 2024.
X also announced that there would be an algorithm change which is focused on pushing entertainment content. This is another unsurprising update, especially after Meta revealed that fun, entertaining content kept people on their platforms for longer. So, why wouldn’t X want that too?
The platform is also said to be considering the removal of time stamps. This doesn’t sound like much, but from a user experience point of view, it could make it harder to navigate content on the main feed and spot what’s happening now versus something that happened a month ago.
BlueSky
Hopping over to BlueSky. The tidal wave of growth is finally slowing down, with website and app visits up by only 9.6% in January.
The app is also becoming the centre of the growing campaign, ‘Free our Feeds’, which aims to ensure that digital spaces aren’t in the grasp of individuals like Elon Musk.
Here are a couple of other updates we wanted to include:
Video tabs have been added to BlueSky profiles which allow users to create video content on the app or share it from other platforms. However, not everyone is happy with this update with users asking if they can disable the feature
Flashes has also launched, providing an alternative to Instagram! As it’s still quite new, Flashes will only allow users to post four images (max) at any one time. If you’re thinking about the potential to repurpose your shortform video content, keep in mind that you can only share videos of up to one minute.
Flashes will be fully integrated into BlueSky, meaning it will take images and videos from BlueSky and put them on Flashes and vice versa. Very similar to how Threads and Instagram work.
Onto our penultimate platform now! And in more social media news, LinkedIn is facing a lawsuit from US LinkedIn Premium Members. The accusers say LinkedIn used private messages to train their AI last year and hid their tracks through a change in their privacy policy (updated last September).
LinkedIn has also realised a new campaign highlighting its advanced ad targeting tools. This campaign demonstrates its advanced AI audience reach tools, by showcasing how not to target ads!
The platform is also looking at regularly reviewing Top Voices. In case you’d forgotten, Top Voices was all the rage over in 2024, with users demonstrating their expertise by commenting on articles. We’ve already noticed a drop-off in users appearing in our feeds with their contributions, so a refresh is much needed.
Snapchat
Lastly, we're talking Snapchat! With a potential TikTok ban imminent Snapchat has launched a campaign targeting TikTok users. While the campaign is only in the US (as they’re the only ones affected by the ban), Snapchat is going all in to get users to switch platforms and create content there.
Change ahead
And breathe... You've made it to the end! Last month’s social media news has been A LOT, and as platforms continue to rise and fall in popularity, the news will just keep coming! So, as always, we’ll have more updates to bring you next time!
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