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A Lot of People Are Searching for How to Delete Facebook and Instagram, and We Would Like Their Clicks

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There is an exodus of users who are ditching Meta platforms following the decision to end fact checking.

Apparently not everyone is ready to live in a post-truth world. In the wake of Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Meta platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads will ditch professional fact-checkers in favour of a Community Notes-style crowdsourcing approach to accountability, searches for deleting Meta accounts have spiked significantly.

Searches for “how to delete Facebook” and “how to delete Instagram” peaked in the days following the announcement that accuracy is no longer a priority for posting on the platforms, according to Google Trends data. Related searches like “how to quit Facebook,” “how to delete threads account,” and “how to delete Instagram account without logging in” have also achieved breakout trend status, meaning they have seen 5,000% increases or higher in interest, as TechCrunch pointed out.

A screenshot of trend data from Google Trends showing the growing number of searches for how to delete Facebook and Instagram
© Screenshot via Google Trends

Fittingly, Facebook competitors are also seeing a spike in interest. Bluesky saw a nearly 1,000% increase in searches during the same period that saw people looking to exit the Meta-verse of social apps. Zuckerberg accused people leaving his company’s platforms of “virtue signalling,” presumably because he assumes everyone is as deeply unscrupulous and malleable as he is and wouldn’t do anything simply out of principle.

Alas, for those looking for a landing spot, there aren’t a lot of suitable replacements for platforms like Instagram—or Facebook, for that matter—for folks looking to leave the platforms behind as they turn into post-fact AI slop factories.

Zuckerberg has successfully cornered major parts of the social web, and escaping his grasp is difficult—especially when it requires convincing the people you want to stay connected with to follow suit. Facebook has successfully amassed more than three billion monthly active users globally and Instagram has two billion. Want to chat with your friends? Meta-owned WhatsApp has nearly three billion active chatters and Messenger has more than one billion of its own. Even if you delete your accounts or never made one to begin with, Meta retains data about you and continues to track your activity across the web for its massive digital advertising business.

Of course, that should not stop you from trying to limit your exposure to the tentacles of the monster that is Meta. And just statistically speaking, since you likely landed here by searching something along the lines of “how to delete facebook,” the least we can do is give you what you’re looking for. You get your guide, we get some clicks, and everyone leaves happy.

How to Delete Your Facebook Account

A quick preface here: Facebook, through what could probably best be described as a wilfully inefficient user interface, has created a labyrinthian maze of menus that you have to navigate in order to find the option to delete your account—and that maze will be different depending on what operating system, platform, and version of the Facebook that you are accessing.

That said, if you are on an iPhone or Android device:

  1. Click the three-bar “Menu” button on the bottom right of the Facebook app
  2. Tap the “Settings & privacy” header
  3. If “Accounts Center” appears in this menu, tap it. If it doesn’t, tap “Settings” and the app should redirect you to “Accounts Center” following a popup explaining its function
  4. Tap “Personal details”
  5. Tap “Account ownership and control”
  6. Tap “Deactivation or deletion”
  7. Choose the account or profile you want to delete
  8. Tap “Delete account”
  9. Tap “Continue” and follow the instructions on screen to confirm

If Accounts Center appears for you, you should be able to delete your Facebook and Instagram accounts at the same time, assuming they are linked together.

If you are viewing Facebook on a desktop, the same steps apply, except your first step is to click your profile picture in the top right. From here, find “Settings & privacy” and follow the same steps as above.

Regardless if you are on desktop or mobile apps, if the Accounts Center doesn’t appear for you, do the following:

  1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above
  2. Once in “Settings & privacy,” tap “Profile Access and Control”
  3. Tap “Deactivation and Deletion”
  4. Choose “Delete Account” and tap “Continue to Account Deletion”
  5. Follow the instructions on screen to confirm

How to Delete Your Instagram Account

If your Instagram account is not linked to your Facebook account, you can delete it separately in the iOS and Android app by doing the following:

  1. Tap “profile” or your profile picture in the bottom right
  2. Tap  the three-bar “More” menu on the top right
  3. Tap “Accounts Center”
  4. Tap “Personal details”
  5. Tap “Account ownership and control”
  6. Tap “Deactivation or deletion”
  7. Tap the account you’d like to delete
  8. Tap “Delete account” 
  9. Tap “Continue” and follow the steps on screen to confirm

If you’re visiting Instagram on desktop, your first step will be to Click “More” on the bottom left of the screen, then click Settings. From there, follow steps 3 through 9 above.

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Sourced from Gizmodo

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I’m quitting Instagram. You should too.

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By Lennon Torres

Mark Zuckerberg’s horrible changes for Instagram — and Facebook — have become untenable, writes Lennon Torres.

Mark Zuckerberg stood up in the Senate hearing room on Capitol Hill, turned around, and began to speak. It was hard to hear him over the camera clicks. I felt the room lift behind me as bereaved parents held up photos of their dead kids, lost to suicide or exploitation following exposure to Zuckerberg’s online platforms. I realized I was standing by the time I could make out any of his words. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” he said.

That was January 31, 2024 and less than a year later, Zuckerberg announced Meta would be abandoning fact-checkers and implementing similar policies to Elon Musk’s X.

This deeply craven and dangerous reversal, ostensibly to reduce “censorship” from Meta platforms, will make Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp even more unsafe for LGBTQ+ users. That’s why, after 13 years on Instagram, amassing 80,000 followers, and having monetarily benefited from being an influencer, I am finally leaving Instagram.

I initially joined Instagram because it was what all of my friends were doing. As a young dancer featured on television shows, it was a place to build and maintain connections and community. It was also a business, a place where I could earn money for more dance training and raise awareness about causes and issues I cared deeply about. But over time, due to policy and content moderation decisions made — or not made — by Meta, it went from something fun and engaging to something that fuelled anxiety, took over my childhood, and ultimately caused harm to me and people I love.

At the end of the day, social media is a product of its environment, and the environment is getting worse. The rise in hate speech on social media has become a significant concern in recent years. Meta’s decision to end its fact-checking program and ease content moderation will only add to the increase in harmful behaviours, including harassment and hate speech, especially if Zuckerberg implements something similar to X’s community notes. Giving anyone with a valid phone number and six months of a clean record on the platform the status of “approved moderator,” a status kept anonymous, is not enough to keep harmful disinformation and hate speech from spreading.

That doesn’t mean members of the LGBTQ+ community should lose hope entirely. There are people fighting to hold technology companies accountable and to make online spaces better. It’s important that young LGBTQ+ people know that there are people, like my colleagues at Heat Initiative, fighting for Big Tech to clean up their act, so that isolated members of the LGBTQ+ community aren’t forced to turn to dangerous online experiences when their in-person community fails them. The unfortunate reality is that, right now, the LGBTQ+ community is harmed disproportionally more on these platforms than their peers. Zuckerberg’s actions will only accelerate the risks that young LGBTQ+ people face on Meta’s platforms.

Lennon Torres protesting an an Apple store for the Heat Initiative.
Lennon Torres protesting an an Apple store for the Heat Initiative. Credit: Photo by Johnny Makes

Ironically, Meta’s new policies seem likely to hurt their business too. In his announcement, Zuckerberg parroted language that has been used by Musk to justify the elimination of safety measures on X, but those decisions have proven to be terrible for X’s business. When Twitter became X and it immediately shifted away from a place people could connect and keep up to date to a cesspool of illegal and harmful content, users and advertisers fled. Zuckerberg should take note, especially since he said himself that it’s likely we will see a similar uptick in harmful content on Meta’s platforms.

But no one in the LGBTQ+ community should be under the illusion that social media or the newest technology will inherently increase connection or belonging. At least not without thorough protections. After I saw that even Apple CEO Tim Cook, a so-called LGBTQ+ advocate, donated $1 million dollars to the Trump Inauguration and sat directly behind the now president as he took the presidential oath, I was reminded again that technology CEOs are focused only on protecting their power. That unsettling realization and Zuckerberg’s announcement left me asking myself if I will keep using these platforms. Our LGBTQ+ community must come to terms with the fact that tech tycoons like Zuckerberg, Musk and Cook don’t have our best interests at heart. Ever.

Ultimately, we have to reckon with the fact that Meta’s new policies are just the latest in a long line of decisions that have put LGBTQ+ users at risk on their platforms. To know they have a ton of hate speech on their platforms, are building algorithms meant to addict young users to their products for life, and are actively moving to ensure less content safety, I can’t sit idly by and use their platforms. Zuckerberg is taking the company in a fundamentally dangerous direction.

It is so clear to me that the young and wild toxic relationship of my youth was not with a romantic partner or friend, but with Mark Zuckerberg and the products he has built to imprison and profit off of our attention. And like many exes do, he sticks around uninvited — and I am certainly done giving him a pass.

Feature Image Credit: Rob Dobi for Getty Images

By Lennon Torres

Lennon Torres is an LGBTQ+ advocate who grew up in the public eye, gaining national recognition as a young dancer on television shows. With a deep passion for storytelling, advocacy, and politics, Lennon now works to center the lived experience of herself and others as she crafts her professional career in online child safety at Heat Initiative, aiming to bridge the gap between online safety and LGBTQ+ representation through intentionally inclusive strategies. Lennon’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennon-torres-325b791b4/

Sourced from Mashable

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How to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

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By Rebecca Bellan

In the wake of Meta’s decision to remove its third-party fact-checking system and loosen content moderation policies, Google searches on how to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have been on the rise.

People who are angry with the decision accuse Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of cosying up to the Trump administration at the expense of turning the company’s social media platforms into more of a hotbed for misinformation and polarizing speech than they already are. Zuckerberg’s remarks that the company’s third-party fact checkers were “too politically biased” for his vision of “free expression” probably didn’t help matters.

Since Meta’s announcement, many users have called out inconsistencies with Zuckerberg’s newfound commitment to free speech. Meta admitted in mid-January that it blocked links to Pixelfed, an Instagram competitor. And just days after Zuckerberg took a front row seat in President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony, Instagram blocked searches related to a number of political hashtags, including #democrats and #jan6th.

People outside the U.S. might be considering their options, too. Meta says it will keep fact-checkers in markets outside the U.S. “for now,” but things could change.

So if you, like countless others, have had it with Meta’s algorithms whipping you into a frenzy over [insert cultural or political issue here] and are tired of the company slurping up your data to train its AI or send you targeted advertising and political messaging, then read on.

How to download your Facebook archive

Image Credits:Meta

If you’re really set on deleting (and not just deactivating) your Facebook account, you should download your personal information from the Facebook archives, which includes photos, active sessions, chat history, IP addresses, facial recognition data, and ads you clicked on.

Note that these instructions require a computer and a web browser, not a mobile phone.

Here’s what to do:

  • Click the down arrow under your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
  • Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
  • Scroll down on the left-hand column till you get to Your information, and click Download your information.
  • You will be prompted to visit the Accounts Centre. Click Continue.
  • When the pop-up appears, click Download or transfer information.
  • You can choose information from which accounts, including your Facebook, Instagram, and Meta Horizon accounts, to download. Click Next.
  • Choose how much information you want to download, and click Next. Note from FB: “If you select Specific types of information, you will be able to choose which kinds of information you want to download, including data logs.”
  • Decide if you want to download your info to a device or directly transfer your info to a destination and click Next.
    • If you select Transfer to destination, you can choose the destination and schedule future transfers. Once you make your selection, click Start transfer and enter your Facebook profile password.
    • If you select Download to device, choose your file options. There will be a list that lets you create a date range, and you can download in HTML or JSON, and choose between high, medium, or low media quality.
  • Click Submit request.

How to delete your Facebook account

Image Credits:Meta

Note: If you do delete your account, you cannot regain access to it. Facebook delays deletion for a few days after it’s requested and will cancel your deletion request if you log back into Facebook during this time.

Also worth noting, some information like messaging history isn’t stored in your account, so your friends might still have access to messages you sent after your account is deleted.

With that in mind, here’s how to do it:

  • Click your profile picture in the top right corner.
  • Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
  • Click Accounts Centre at the top left of the screen.
  • Click Personal details, under Account Settings.
  • Click Account ownership and control.
  • Click Deactivation or deletion.
  • Choose the account or profile you want to deactivate.
  • Select Delete account.
  • Click Continue and follow instructions to confirm.

How to download your Instagram information

There are two ways to find the web page where you’ll download your Instagram information — you go through the Accounts Center or your Instagram Settings. For the former, navigate to Your information and permissions to find Download your information. To get to Instagram Settings, click on the three parallel lines on the bottom left of your screen, then click Your activity…

Either of those steps will take you to the Download your information page. You’ll need to click the profiles you want to download your information from and choose if you want to download it to a device or directly transfer the information to another destination.

If you select Download to device, you’ll have to pick a date range, notification email, format of your download request, and quality of photos, videos, and other media — the same as with downloading your Facebook info. Then click Create files.

Once you’ve made the request, it’ll appear as In progress under the Current Activity tab in the Download your information tool. Instagram will notify you by email and on the app when it’s ready to go, and you’ll have four days to download the information.

How to delete your Instagram account

Downloaded your info? Now you’re ready to permanently delete.

Here’s how to do it on the web page:

  • Go directly to Accounts ownership and control settings in the Accounts Centre.
  • Click Deactivation or deletion.
  • Click the account you want to delete.
  • Click Delete account, then click Continue. 

Once your account is deleted, you can sign back up with the same username if it’s still available, if you have a change of heart.

How to delete your Threads account

Note: If you delete the Instagram account associated with your Threads profile, that will also delete your Threads profile.

But to delete only Threads, you’ll need to go to the Threads.net web page on a computer, and follow these steps:

  • Click the two parallel lines in the bottom left of the page, then click Settings.
  • Click Account at the top, then Deactivate or delete profile.
  • Click Delete profile.
  • Follow whatever prompts show up, then click Delete Threads profile.

It’ll take 30 days for the deletion request to go through. And if you want to sign back up with the same Instagram profile, you’ll have to wait 90 days.

Feature Image Credits: Alex Wong / Staff / Getty Images

By Rebecca Bellan

Sourced from TechCrunch

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Instagram expected to generate 50% of Meta’s US ad sales in 2025

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By Aisha Counts

Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram will soon account for half of the company’s advertising revenue in the U.S., according to estimates from research firm Emarketer, further cementing the photo- and video-sharing app’s role as the key growth driver for the company.

Instagram has steadily expanded into arguably the most important part of Meta’s business, not only for its role-driving revenue but also as a vehicle for features like Reels and Threads that offer competition to rivals. In 2021, Instagram generated $32.4 billion globally, or 27% of the company’s total sales. By early 2022, Instagram was responsible for nearly 30% of Meta’s global business, according to court filings released earlier this year.

Instagram is expected to top $32 billion in U.S. advertising revenue in 2025, up more than 24% from the current year, according to data from Emarketer. The video-sharing app has more than 148 million American users.

Meta’s focus on video content has been a major contributor to that growth, wrote Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Emarketer, in a blog post. “Instagram is now a video-first platform, with users spending close to two-thirds of their Instagram time watching videos,” she wrote.

Meta previously told investors that Instagram Reels, a short-form video product that rivals TikTok, makes up more than 50% of the time people spend on the app.

Feature Image Credit: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

By Aisha Counts

Washington Post

Sourced from The Spokesman-Review

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7 Time-Tested Strategies Used by Social Media Marketers to Increase Instagram Followers

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Sourced from what’s trending

Instagram’s unpredictable algorithm and 2.11 billion monthly active users make growing followers harder. Our 7 tried-and-true strategies for Instagram growth have helped social media marketers thrive in this competitive environment. These tactics can help you succeed on the platform, whether your goal is to increase your exposure or to get actual followers.

Pro Tip: You can use special programs to connect with followers. For example, Path Social is an Instagram growth tool that will help you get as many real followers as you need.

  • Create Content First and First Only

Inbound marketing relies heavily on content production. Making content for your company or brand is like giving out free, helpful information to your followers. Attracting visitors to your site or other platforms and keeping them engaged with high-quality content is the goal. Instagram followers will increase when your material is well-received since viewers will be eager to see more from you in the future. Posting relatable, relevant, and entertaining material is essential for attracting your audience’s attention and, eventually, growing your Instagram following, regardless of whether you’re making the content yourself or obtaining user-generated content.

Techniques for Unleashing Imagination

To engage your audience, upload behind-the-scenes photos, real-life tales, tutorials, and interactive Q&As on Instagram. Post inspirational quotations to boost your followers, poll and survey your audience, and reflect on the past to improve your material. Highlight your offerings by promoting user-generated content and showcasing products. Join forces with other producers or businesses to broaden your audience reach and exposure. You can feel certain that your feed will be engaging and diverse if you do this.

How might well-received information benefit you?

When your material is popular and people desire more, your Instagram following will expand. Whether you produce or utilize user-generated material, posting relatable, relevant, and entertaining content will improve your Instagram following and viewership.

We sought an insider’s take on why marketers need content creators and whether Instagram users would be posting less often in light of the new algorithm.

  • Make a Broad Social Media Plan

A social media plan lays out the specific steps your company will take to reach its marketing objectives by using best practices in social media. It seems to be a reason that your social media channels would follow the same established approach as any other company. You need a plan if you want your Instagram accounts to develop as much as possible.

  • Make Smart Use of Hashtags

Is gaining actual followers on Instagram something you’re interested in learning more about? You likely already know how effective hashtags are for increasing interaction and growth on Instagram if you work in social media management or for a company.

  • Take Advantage of Influencer Marketing

Among the many social media marketing strategies, influencers rank high. In contrast to more conventional forms of advertising, they are able to captivate viewers and provide credibility to branded content. By enlisting the help of influential users who already have a large and dedicated fan base, marketers may increase the visibility of their products and services while simultaneously attracting new Instagram followers.

  • Master the Art of Instagram Ads

A great strategy to increase your Instagram following is to make use of the Ads option. Among the many advantages of advertising on Instagram, one should stand out: the platform has greater engagement rates than others, boosting the possibility of an increase in Instagram followers.

  • Instagram Stories

The basic idea behind Instagram stories is to provide people a way to more casually and rapidly express their everyday lives than they would with a well-crafted post in their feed. There is no need to worry about algorithm crazy since this feature has increased in popularity since its launch and appears at the top of the stream.

Instagram stories are well-known to be the platform’s most effective tool for fostering relationships. Am I correct? The majority of people are unaware that Instagram stories may also be used to increase followers.

To begin, write a story every day. Each article should then include the location tag in addition to two or three hashtags. Doing so will increase the likelihood that others will find your tales and read them.

The next step is to encourage others to follow you and explain why they should. For example, do you consistently post the most delicious vegan recipes? Do you happen to know of any great local real estate deals?

After that, team up with other experts in your field to host story takeovers. If you want to increase your Instagram following, this is another great way to reach new people.

As a last step, increase your following count using Instagram story advertisements. Take a look; it’s the most cost-effective ad spot in the Facebook + Instagram network. The story ads may take you wherever you want to go, but if you want more Instagram followers quickly, utilize the link to your profile.

  • Selling on Instagram

As a last topic, let’s talk about Instagram sales, one of the app’s latest features. Instagram growth is going to do wonders for your business if you want to generate money by selling products or services.

Customer experience is a connection, which is something that many small company owners fail to remember. Revenue and relationships might take a hit when service providers aren’t upfront about prices for their extensive offerings. Foster trust and foster progress by prioritizing openness.

Your solution should be only given to your clients.

Keep all parts of Instagram consistent, such as feed content, Stories, direct messages, the booking process, website text, and online forms, to guarantee a smooth mobile experience. Most Instagram users access it on their phones. Maintain consistency and usability across the user experience.

Expand Your Instagram Audience

Following these professional tactics will help you grow your Instagram following, even if it seems impossible. Patience, effort, and attention are needed to achieve these goals.

Feature Image Credit: Pexels

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4 Tactics For Running Successful Facebook And Instagram Ad Campaigns

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By Adrian Falk

When it comes to advertising your business, you no longer need months of planning and preparation to launch your campaigns.

When I started my advertising and PR agency over 22 years ago, it took weeks of planning to write clients’ ads, design show-stopping pieces and then manage all of the production for an integrated print, TV and outdoor campaign.

Nowadays, you can launch a social media campaign within a few minutes and then scale it overnight, internationally if you want. You can wake up to a calendar full of potential clients who are all warmed up and waiting to engage your company’s services.

Here are four tactics to use when you’re rolling out ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram.

1. Be Aware Of Your Audience

Who is your target audience? Knowing your audience is crucial not only for setting up your campaign objectives but also for designing your creative. Not sure where to start? You can use tools like Google Analytics and Facebook’s Audiences section to discover information about your existing customers and identify their key interests and behaviours.

Having a great understanding of your audience also helps you craft your ad copy. You want to ensure that you communicate with your target audience in a tone that will resonate with them.

The great thing about Facebook is that it also offers look-alike audiences that allow you to reach potential new customers based on the attributes of your existing audience. You can simply upload a list of email addresses of current clients and then Facebook will automatically create a look-alike audience for you.

2. Prioritize The Meta Pixel

Properly installing the Meta pixel on your site, landing pages or customer relationship management tool is crucial. The pixel is a powerful way to track your ad audience’s behaviour on your site and then optimize the performance of your ads.

Installing the Meta pixel on your website allows you to track who is viewing your site, what products they add to their cart and what purchases they make. The pixel also can help with conversion tracking. This allows you to determine which ads produce the most conversions so you can optimize accordingly. Using the pixel as part of a retargeting strategy helps you further advertise to those who have visited your site or abandoned their shopping cart.

3. Optimize Often

Make sure you are continuously optimizing your Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns as things can change quickly. Even if you’ve hit a home run with winning creative, after a while I guarantee that your cost per lead will increase dramatically. At this point, you could either increase your budget or go back to the drawing board and start running new creative.

When testing new creative ideas, make use of Facebook’s A/B testing option, which allows you to see quickly which is the winning creative so you can roll out the ad that will ultimately perform the best.

Monitoring your daily ad spend is important as well. Although it seems like a given, many people set up their ads and don’t look that often at their ROI. You should pause any ads that aren’t meeting your advertising goals so you can give more weight to those that are.

Another metric to take note of is your ad frequency. I’ve found that ads with a frequency of two or more often start getting more expensive to run as your target audience may have ad fatigue, which can lead to a decrease in engagement.

4. Integrate Your Campaigns With Your CRM

Once your social media ads are up and running, integrate your CRM software with your Meta Ads Manager platform so your leads will be emailed to you in real time, and then you or your sales team can reach out to them promptly.

I also recommend setting up automated workflows in your CRM so you can keep prospective customers warm by drip-feeding them emails about you and your company throughout the month. You could even create an AI chatbot to engage with them and sell via a text messaging campaign. I have done this for my own company.

Running paid social media campaigns is a great way to grow your business without spending a fortune if you are doing it correctly. By taking a methodical approach, determining your goal upfront, testing creative along the way and monitoring your return on investment, you can be sure that you are setting your company up for success.

Feature Image Credit: Getty

By Adrian Falk

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Adrian Falk, Founder of Believe Advertising & PR | Helping Entrepreneurs Scale Through PR & Digital Marketing | Best-Selling. Author. Read Adrian Falk’s full executive profile here.

Sourced from Forbes

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Instagram will help researchers study if it’s hurting teen mental health

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By Emma Roth

Meta is finally opening up Instagram’s data to researchers.

Instagram will let a select group of researchers access its data to study how the platform affects the mental health of teens and young adults. The pilot program, launched in partnership with the Center for Open Science (COS), could produce independent studies that offer insight into the relationship between social media and a teen’s well-being.

Researchers will gain access to Instagram data for up to six months, which may include information on how many accounts a teen follows, how much they use Instagram, their account settings, and more. However, Meta notes it won’t provide access to a user’s demographic information, nor will it include the contents of their posts, comments, or messages.

Through the program, first reported by The Atlantic, COS will choose up to seven research proposals in different areas related to the mental health of teens. (Meta will not be involved in the process.) Researchers must also recruit the teen participants and get their parents’ permission. COS says the study of data directly from Instagram could help “contribute to understanding of well-being when combined with other sources of data,” such as surveys and other types of studies.

“Parents, policymakers, academics and technology companies are grappling with how best to support young people as they navigate online spaces, but we need more data to understand the full picture,” Curtiss Cobb, Meta’s vice president of research, said in a statement.

Instagram’s effect on the mental health of teens has been in the spotlight for a while now. In 2021, Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen came forward with a trove of leaked documents, including internal research that suggested “teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression.” Scientists later called on Meta to make its mental health research more accessible.

Instagram has since rolled out features intended to protect kids on the app, but concerns about Instagram — and other online platforms — remain, leading to a deluge of child safety bills and age verification laws across the US.

Feature Image Credit: Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

By Emma Roth,

A news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Sourced from The Verge

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Pinterest’s New Board Sharing Finally Lets Me Share My Creativity With My Instagram Followers

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By Marissa Parisi

Pinterest has sometimes been known as the un-social social media platform because of how most people use it for inspiration and not to really interact with others. If you are a frequent solo user on Pinterest, you might wish that you could share your boards with others. With a 2024 update, Pinterest has finally made this a dream come true with board Sharing.

How to Share a Pinterest Board on Instagram or Other Platforms

Users have always been able to share their boards with others by sending them directly on Pinterest, over text, or just taking screenshots of them. This was usually clunky though, as the screenshot may not capture the whole board and texting someone your board is just sending them a link. The new board sharing feature is much more efficient—it creates a beautiful video of your board, which you can easily share on other social media platforms like Instagram.

Here is how to share a Pinterest board with the video method:

  1. In the Pinterest app, tap your profile icon at the bottom and find the board you want to share.
  2. Tap the Share icon in the top right.
  3. Tap either Download to download the video and send it to others or Add to story to share it immediately on Instagram.

You can also choose to copy the link to your board before sharing it on your Instagram story. Then, you can add the link to the Instagram story, allowing everyone to tap and view your board directly on Pinterest.

If you choose Add to story, you will be directed to Instagram, where you can make any edits before posting and use all the things you can add to your Instagram story. If you download the video, you can still upload it to your Instagram story later, just like would add any photo or video. Additionally, you can share it on other social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, or anywhere else!

What Is The Best Way to Share a Pinterest Board?

Most users want a large audience to view their Pinterest board when sharing it. The best way to achieve this may vary for each person, but generally, you should share it where you have the most followers and garner the most views. For many people, the best platform for this is their Instagram story. The visually appealing nature of the video format aligns well with Instagram’s emphasis on aesthetics.

Sharing your Pinterest board on your Snapchat or TikTok story may also be effective. The video generated by Pinterest is designed to fit your entire phone screen, making it well-suited for platforms that don’t crop the video. This also means it’s best not to post it as an Instagram carousel post or similar, as it will be cut off.

Instagram and Facebook tend to limit the visibility of Reels content from other platforms like Pinterest, so it’s better not to post it as a Reel. Pinterest boards also don’t quite fit as regular TikTok posts, as photo galleries are already popular on TikTok.

Why I Share Pinterest Boards

Sharing Pinterest boards makes it easy for me to share my style with my friends and followers online, especially on Instagram, where aesthetics are so important. Sharing a Pinterest board adds to my personality on my profile, and I can start a conversation with others who like my ideas. This helps me find the most popular trends on Pinterest.

Of course, not every Pinterest board is meant for sharing; some are to inspire myself or plan out a project, while others are just for fun and help to show what the latest styles are.

Whether you want to inspire your followers, collaborate with others, or simply show off your latest finds, Pinterest’s board sharing feature makes it easier than ever to connect with your audience and get the most out of your curated collections.

By Marissa Parisi

Sourced from MUO

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Leaked Email Reveals Why Mark Zuckerberg Acquired Instagram: ‘These Companies Have…’

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By James Paul

Facebook Inc bought IG in 2012 for a cool $1 billion

Facebook Inc. (now Meta) bought Instagram for a cool $1 billion in 2012 in cash and stocks, making it the then costliest social media acquisition in the world. The photo (and now video) sharing app was launched in 2010 on the iOS platform by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Soon after its acquisition by the Mark Zuckerberg company, an Android version of the Instagram app was launched in April 2012. On the day of launch, the app was downloaded by over 1 million users. In 2016, a Windows version of the app was released. In 2018, the cofounders stepped down from Instagram, paving the way for its current head, Adam Mosseri. Currently, the app has around 2.14 billion monthly active global users. The app has come a long way since December 2010, when it had one million registered users. Within a decade, the app has gone through several changes (and controversies). But why did Facebook/Meta buy it in the first place?

A screenshot of a leaked email between Mark Zuckerberg and David Ebersman, the former CFO of FB is going viral on X/Twitter. The mail dated February 27, 2012 has no subject. Zuckerberg states in the mail how much he has been consumed by the thought of the apt amount to acquire mobile app companies like Instagram that pose competition to Facebook. The Meta boss further writes that “these companies have the properties where they have millions of users, fast growth, small team, and no revenue!” He notes that while the business is at an early stage, their network is established with meaningful brand value. He writes, “if they grow to a large scale, then they could be very disruptive to us.” Mark then drops the billion dollar bait,

“these entrepreneurs don’t want to sell but at a high enough price ($500 mil or $1 bil), they’d have to consider it.”

He further asks David that given Facebook’s current state of vulnerability in mobile, should they chase one of these apps? In a follow up after a couple months, when IG was finally acquired the men exchange notes about their previous conversation of how they dismissed Google+ as red herring while “Instagram was our threat”

By James Paul 

Sourced from Mashable India

 

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Meta Announces Updates to Advantage+ and Shopping Ads

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Meta has announced a heap of new ad updates, primarily focused on retailers and those using its automated Advantage+ campaigns.

And there are a lot of niche use cases within these new updates, which could apply to your business.

The first update is “Advantage+ creative optimizations”, which will automatically optimize your video ads for viewing on Reels, or the mobile Facebook and Instagram apps with 9:16 ratio.

Meta ShopTalk update

That will help more brands tap into the popularity of the various Meta video formats, with Reels being the key focus.

As per Meta:

“Reels and video on our apps continues to grow as daily watch times across all video types grew over 25% year-over-year in Q4. In fact people now reshare Reels 3.5 billion times every day.”

The new process will also enable advertisers to dynamically create multiple variations of an ad, so the system then has more options to display to users, depending on what they respond best to.

Meta’s also updating its Advantage+ catalogue ads, with the added capacity to import and use branded videos or customer demonstration videos, instead of just static images.

Meta ShopTalk update

Advantage catalogue ads, which Meta first launched in beta testing last year, provide personalized recommendations to users, based on what Meta’s system detects that each will be most interested in, and this new process will provide more capacity to showcase relevant products within the display.

Meta’s will also now enable brands to upload a “hero” image in the centre of their catalogue ads, which Meta’s AI will then use to show people the best products from their catalogue to drive performance.

Meta’s also adding more eCommerce ad options, with users of Magento and Salesforce Commerce Cloud now able to create Shops ads within their management systems. Meta’s also integrating its Shops ads and branded content ads (now called “Partnership ads”), which will enable direct purchasing from collaborative campaigns.

And there’s also new elements in Reminder Ads on Instagram:

“Now, advertisers can include external links to a new product or sale in their Reminder ads to help turn a person’s interest into a purchase. This summer, we’ll also give advertisers ways to notify people when an event starts and before it ends.”

Meta ShopTalk update

Meta’s also looking to expand Reminder ads to Reels in the coming months.

There’s also new Promo Codes promotions on Facebook and Instagram, as well as ads with product tags:

“In March, we’ll bring ads with product tags to Facebook Feed (currently Instagram only), and in April, we’ll launch the global availability of ads with product tags to all businesses, whether or not they maintain a Shop.”

Meta ShopTalk update

Meta’s also updating its Collaborative ads offering, to provide more analytics on performance, while it’s also testing the ability for advertisers to use Collaborative ads with Advantage+ shopping campaigns.

Finally, Meta’s also working on Advantage+ Catalogue ads with omnichannel brand and product level reporting as a new managed service solution “to help RMNs prove that ads on Meta platforms drove sales online and in-store”.

So yeah, a heap of updates, all with varying levels of applicability and use. And while there may not be some huge, headline change that will get the most attention, there’s a lot of value for specific brands within these changes.

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Sourced from Social Media Today

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