9 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Social media giants must face child safety lawsuits, judge rulesSocial media giants must face child safety lawsuits, judge rules
Instagram’s close friends feature now applies to posts and Reels, tooInstagram’s close friends feature now applies to posts and Reels, too
Threads users can keep their posts off Instagram and Facebook nowThreads users can keep their posts off Instagram and Facebook now
Ad-free Instagram and Facebook is here — and it’s expensiveAd-free Instagram and Facebook is here — and it’s expensive
Meta to require political advertisers disclose AI-generated contentMeta to require political advertisers disclose AI-generated content
Instagram will finally let you disable read receipts in DMsInstagram will finally let you disable read receipts in DMs
Instagram’s paid creator subscriptions are still a tiny businessInstagram’s paid creator subscriptions are still a tiny business
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Mark Zuckerberg is not fighting anyone any time soon.

Meta’s CEO posted this picture to Instagram Friday night, saying, “Tore my ACL sparring and just got out of surgery.”

He was apparently training for his next competitive MMA match. Recovery from this type of injury takes up to a year for professional athletes, so an executive closing in on 40 could be out of action for a while. On the plus side, maybe this will keep Elon Musk from randomly threatening to show up at Zuckerberg’s house for a brawl.

Threads posts don’t have to show up on Instagram and FacebookThreads posts don’t have to show up on Instagram and Facebook
Facebook and Instagram launch a paid ad-free subscriptionFacebook and Instagram launch a paid ad-free subscription
Instagram tests collaborative carousels your friends can add toInstagram tests collaborative carousels your friends can add to
Zuckerberg says Threads has almost 100 million monthly usersZuckerberg says Threads has almost 100 million monthly users
Dozens of states sue Meta over youth mental health crisisDozens of states sue Meta over youth mental health crisis
Instagram tests a verified-only feedInstagram tests a verified-only feed
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Instagram’s latest AI feature test is a way to make stickers from photos.

Spotted by Engadget, Meta’s newest sticker feature is a lot like the one built into the iPhone Messages app in iOS 17 — Instagram detects and cuts out an object from a photo so you can place it over another.

According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who shared the test on his IG Updates broadcast channel, when the feature rolls out, you can make stickers from your own images or “eligible images” from others. Sounds like a fun new way for me to annoy The Verge’s Alex Cranz.

Three screenshots showing the sticker feature in action.
Creating stickers from photos on Instagram.
Screenshot: Wes Davis / The Verge
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Instagram is testing polls in comments.

It’s a “small” test, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said on his Instagram broadcast channel, which included the below picture. In his own post on his own broadcast channel, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the polls will be rolling out to everyone “soon.”

A screenshot of a poll in an Instagram comment.
Image: Meta
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Threads is temporarily blocking searches for “covid,” Instagram CEO says.

In response to a post on Threads by The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri says the blocking of “covid” searches is only temporary and that the platform is “working on it:”

I don’t have an ETA to give you unfortunately, but it is temporary and we are working on it. We’re just getting pulled in a lot of directions at once right now. The biggest safety focus right now is managing content responsibly given the war in Israel in Gaza.

Shortly after Threads rolled out its search feature, Lorenz reported that Threads is blocking searches related to “covid” and “long covid.” Mosseri has previously said that Threads is “not going to do anything to encourage” politics or “hard news.”

Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) on Threads

[Threads]

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
So is Threads into news or not?

Meta’s incomplete answers about news on Threads are coming up again due to recent events and how things are (increasingly not) working on the platform formerly known as Twitter. In a response to The Verge’s Mia Sato today after that edit button-adding update, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said it “won’t proactively recommend news content to people who don’t seek it out.”

Threads is getting an edit button — and you don’t have to pay for itThreads is getting an edit button — and you don’t have to pay for it
EU gives Meta 24 hours to respond to pro-Hamas contentEU gives Meta 24 hours to respond to pro-Hamas content
Chris Welch
Chris Welch
Sorry, Instagram (still) isn’t working on an iPad app.

During his weekly AMA today, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri again reiterated that his team is not presently developing an iPad version of the app.

“Not working on it right now,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing to do at some point. But we have only so many people working at Instagram, so we’ve got to pick the most important things to do to improve Instagram at any given moment. And right now, it’s not quite making the cut.”

That’s my best guess as to what he said over some loud airplane cabin noise, at least. (Might I recommend buying some wired EarPods for these situations, Adam?)

Seeing as how much work there is to do on Threads, I can’t imagine the iPad app will become a reality anytime soon.

A screenshot of Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri.
The facial expression really tells you how often Mosseri gets this question.
Artifact will let you generate images with AI for your postsArtifact will let you generate images with AI for your posts
Facebook’s new AI-generated stickers are lewd, rude, and occasionally nudeFacebook’s new AI-generated stickers are lewd, rude, and occasionally nude
Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Would you pay $14/mth for ad-free Facebook or Instagram?

Or nearly $17/mth to use both. That’s what Meta is reportedly pitching EU regulators who want Zuck and Co to stop using personal data to target ads at European citizens without their consent. The bloc’s users could have three options by the end of this month: pay up, use for free but agree to personalized ads, or quit, with the latter looking very tempting.

WSJ News Exclusive | Meta Floats Charging $14 a Month for Ad-Free Instagram or Facebook

[The Wall Street Journal]

Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
Jay Powell influencer arc?

Well, this video is weirdly hypnotic. I think I watched it four times in a row? Anyway, uh, the Fed’s on Instagram and Threads.

Jacob Kastrenakes
Jacob Kastrenakes
Instagram’s current leader asks a question of its co-founder.

Adam Mosseri asked about Artifact supporting publishers in a post on Threads — so my colleague Alex Heath asked him in an audience question.

“We’ve tried to come at this from a publisher friendly perspective,” Mike Krieger said. Artifact thrives if the publisher ecosystem “is healthy and thriving,” so that approach is a long-term play.

“It’s about recognizing what needs to exist several years from now for you to have a viable product,” Krieger said

Facebook and Instagram will soon get a slew of AI-powered creator toolsFacebook and Instagram will soon get a slew of AI-powered creator tools
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Meta says Threads account deletion is coming this year.

Soon after Meta’s Instagram-based Twitter competitor launched, some of the millions of people who activated Threads noticed a small issue. Once you create an account on Threads, the only way to delete it is to delete your Instagram account, too.

However, Meta chief privacy officer Michel Protti said during the TechCrunch Disrupt event that Meta will launch individual deletion for Threads accounts by December. Another situation it’s working on handling is fediverse support for situations like “what happens when a Threads post goes to another server and is then deleted by the author.”

Meta says separate account deletion for Threads will roll out by December

[TechCrunch]

Threads is struggling to retain users — but it could still catch up to XThreads is struggling to retain users — but it could still catch up to X
Meta’s AI chatbot plan includes a ‘sassy robot’ for younger usersMeta’s AI chatbot plan includes a ‘sassy robot’ for younger users
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Threads on the web now has a notification dot.

Sometime Wednesday morning, Threads on the web started showing a little red dot over the notifications tab. The notification dot had been a big omission to the web experience, so I’m glad Meta added it in.

A screenshot showing the Threads navigation bar on the web.
Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge
Meta is expanding its paid verification badge to business accountsMeta is expanding its paid verification badge to business accounts
X continues to throttle links to competitorsX continues to throttle links to competitors
Threads now lets you quote posts on the webThreads now lets you quote posts on the web
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Threads on the web might be getting quote posts soon.

Adam Mosseri says he tested the feature out on Wednesday for a quote post. Quote posts are one of the biggest omissions from the Threads web experience, so I’m really hoping it launches soon.

Now we just need Threads to not default to the “For You” feed every time I open it up.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Instagram might be getting generative AI... panoramas?

The feature was apparently spotted in Monday’s Instagram update on iOS. Instagram has been experimenting with a handful of generative AI-related features, including labels for AI-generated content, so it’s not too surprising that AI-created panoramas might be part of Instagram’s feature lineup.

We’ve asked Instagram if it can share more details about this.

Meta sets GPT-4 as the bar for its next AI model, says a new reportMeta sets GPT-4 as the bar for its next AI model, says a new report
This one setting could be making your Instagram posts look worse — maybeThis one setting could be making your Instagram posts look worse — maybe
Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
Be careful on Instagram if your name is Taylor and you aren’t Taylor Swift.

Apparently a bunch of Taylors are being badly moderated by Instagram:

“This afternoon, hundreds of people named Taylor (myself included) had their Instagram accounts disabled for a violation of community guidelines- simply because our profiles had our names listed,” one affected Taylor, Taylor Camp, told Bloomberg via email. Even some accounts that added the phrase “Taylor’s version” to their Instagram handle — a reference to her re-recorded tracks — had their accounts restricted.

Instagram confirmed it had disabled some accounts “in error.”

Instagram's Customer Service is Better for Taylor Swift

[Bloomberg]

Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
The return of the chat room.

Sorry, the “group chat.”

In an era where a lot of frequent social-media users are sick of being “perceived” and having hundreds, or even thousands, of eyes on them, many are retreating to the days of tighter connections and communities.

What’s old is new again, I guess. See you all on IRC!

It's not just you — no one is posting on social media anymore

[Insider]

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