Deezer, the Paris-based music streamer, has teamed with TikTok to let users share songs, playlists and listening data on the mobile video platform. Listening stats from “My Deezer Month” and “My Deezer Year” can now be shared straight to TikTok. The move expands a relationship TikTok initiated last year when it added Deezer to its “Add to Music” program. The collaboration gives Deezer, which claims 9.6 million subs, broader reach while providing TikTok users a way to connect over shared interests. Also this month, Deezer added a protocol that allows music to be shared on other streaming music platforms. Continue reading Deezer Partners with TikTok to Let Fans Share Music and Data

Meta Platforms has updated its Facebook recommendation algorithm to boost Reels use, adding a topic search filter as well as prioritizing same-day content, with a 50 percent increase in pushing Reels videos posted within 24-hours of user scrolls. In July, Meta said time spent watching videos on Facebook in the United States had expanded more than 20 percent year-over-year, and the company wants to continue boosting that number. Taking a page from the TikTok playbook, Facebook is adding topic search links to Reels displays to help users find material of interest. Facebook is also trying to accommodate user pushback against AI slop by urging use of a “Not Interested” button. Continue reading Meta Updates Recommendation Algorithm for Facebook Reels

Adobe is bringing a free “pro quality” version of Premiere to iPhone, so YouTubers, filmmakers, music video editors, commercial producers and other creators can edit video on the fly. While tools like ByteDance’s CapCut and Meta’s Edits have become popular for mobile, Adobe’s move marks a major productivity step for those aspiring to more than social video, particularly through integration with the entire Adobe tools ecosystem. The Adobe Premiere mobile app features what Adobe promises are “studio-quality audio enhancements, perfectly timed AI sound effects, precision editing on a multi-track timeline, AI content generation and more.” Continue reading Adobe’s Pro Quality Premiere Video Editor Is Free for iPhones

Meta Platforms is rolling out Vibes, a short-form AI video generator now in early preview. Using Meta AI, Vibes allows the visually adventurous to create videos from their own ideas or remix existing ones by adding music or changing the style to make it your own. Vibes has its own feed featuring “a range of AI-generated videos from creators and communities.” As you use it, “the feed will become more personalized over time,” according to Meta. Vibes videos can also be cross-posted to Instagram and Facebook Stories and Reels or shared with friends via DM. Vibes is available on the Meta AI app and the Web at Meta.ai. Continue reading Meta Previews Its Vibes AI Video Generator for Social Sharing

Sora 2 is here, “marking a giant leap forward in realism,” claims OpenAI. And it includes sound and dialogue generation, catching up to Google’s Veo 3. Coming nearly two years after Sora was first introduced, the new model is being released in conjunction with a free iOS social app with a vertical feed and “swipe-and-scroll” functionality like TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Available in the U.S. and Canada, the fee version — which currently requires an invitation — is also available at sora.com. ChatGPT Pro subscribers can access an experimental, higher quality Sora 2 Pro model online only. Continue reading OpenAI Sora 2 Vid Generator Has Sound and Social Features

Instagram has hit 3 billion monthly users, parent Meta Platforms announced this week, an increase of one billion since the company last disclosed figures in October 2022. Meta’s other social platforms, Facebook and WhatsApp, both crossed the 3 billion mark earlier this year. The milestone coincides with a redesign of the Instagram app’s homepage putting more emphasis on Reels short-form videos and private messaging that have largely driven the platform’s growth. Meta has begun testing a version of the app in India that opens directly into Reels instead of a traditional feed. Continue reading Instagram Touts 3 Billion Global Users, Redesigns Homepage

YouTube Live is getting upgrades including AI-generated highlights and soon the ability to simultaneously broadcast in both horizontal and vertical formats, allowing creators “to reach viewers on every screen.” Playables on live minigames have been added as a way to ease newbies into live streaming. Creators can chat with their audience while playing from among 75+ games, monetizing the stream just like any other live broadcast. Next year, YouTube will begin testing live reactions, enabled by starting a mobile live stream to share reactions with others who are currently live. Continue reading YouTube Adds Dual-Format Streaming, Live Minigames, More

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has released proposed rules that would restrict minors from exposure to addictive features on social media pursuant to the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, signed into state law last year to “protect the mental health of children.” The law, which is expected to take effect sometime next year, requires social media companies that supply addictive content to use an age verification system with results “certified by a verified third-party.” Absent parental consent, platform operators must restrict users under 18 from receiving addictive or algorithmically personalized feeds and nighttime notifications. Continue reading SAFE for Kids Act: NY State Attorney Opens Comment Period

Roblox is launching an in-app feature called Roblox Moments, a scrollable short-form video feed for users 13 and older to upload and share clips. The company is also debuting new AI tools including one that generates 4D objects “where the fourth dimension is interaction.” Real-time voice chat translation and agentic updates to the Roblox Assistant AI helper are among the other features announced at the Roblox Developers Conference, where the company promoted an 8.5 percent bump in creator revenue potential and introduced an “age estimation” initiative that will use facial ID in addition to other tools. Continue reading Roblox Demos ‘Moments’ Short-Form Video Feed, AI Features

TikTok has teamed with Fandango to sell movie tickets, allowing entertainment fans “to go from movie discovery to ticket purchase directly within the TikTok app.” The integration is powered by TikTok Spotlight, a film and TV vertical the social platform launched last summer. The first film on offer is Disney’s “Tron: Ares,” opening in theaters October 10. “Fans will see a ‘Get Tickets’ button on movie-related in-app hubs, which will seamlessly connect them to Fandango’s ticketing flow,” TikTok explains, noting that from there, moviegoers can select seats and purchase tickets. Continue reading TikTok Partners with Fandango for In-App Movie Ticket Sales

As ByteDance approaches the latest U.S. deadline to sell TikTok or face being banned here, it continues to add new features, with barely a ripple of news concerning a sale. The legislation that contained the sales clause became law in April 2024. The most recent of several extensions was issued in June, pushing the deadline to September 17. In July Reuters reported a deal was “close,” with TikTok building a new U.S. version of its app ahead of a planned sale “to a group of investors.” Now the platform is adding voice notes to DMs and image uploads in chats. Up to nine images or video clips can be added to individual or group chats. Continue reading TikTok Adds Voice Notes for DMs and Image Uploads in Chats

Instagram has started to let creators link multiple Reels, effectively creating their own “series.” The new capability, which TikTok already offers, makes it more convenient for viewers to discover and follow related content. The new “Link a Reel” feature lets creators sequentially either link generally related content or connect specific, sequentially related material, as in Part 2, Part 3, etc. Meta Platforms has also added a free AI-powered voice translation feature. Now available globally on Facebook and Instagram, it automatically dubs and lip syncs Reels into other languages using the sound and tone of the creator’s own voice. Continue reading Meta Updates Features for Reels on Facebook and Instagram

The ESPN mobile app has been revamped to coincide with today’s debut of the ESPN DTC streaming service, which offers the sports network’s 12 program outlets together for the first time. The ESPN app has added a vertical feed of video shorts accessible through a “Verts” tab and the homepage carousel. The Verts feed includes game highlights and analytics as well as user-generated content. A vertically delivered “SportsCenter” called “SC for You” delivers daily updates personalized for favorite teams, leagues and sports, available on the app, ESPN.com and some smart TVs. Continue reading ESPN Updates Mobile App with Vertical Video for DTC Launch

Meta Platforms has launched a war against scammers who have infiltrated its popular messaging service WhatsApp, reportedly taking down more than 6.8 million accounts on the platform and adding features to help people identify fraudulent schemes in group and individual chats. Meta claims the scams go far beyond WhatsApp, involving crime syndicates linked to known fraud communities around the world. These criminal scam centers commonly use forced labor to target people across multiple apps, commonly disrupting WhatsApp, the mobile SMS tree that underpins private text messaging, as well as users of ChatGPT, TikTok, Telegram and blockchain. Continue reading WhatsApp Deletes Scam Accounts and Adds Safety Features

Feed is a new social platform featured within the Character.AI mobile app, which launched in 2023 and now has more than 20 million active users worldwide. Described as “TikTok-meets-ChatGPT,” the AI-native Feed is populated by AI-generated avatars, called Characters, created by the platform’s subscribers using the company’s tools. Characters can post AI-generated content, including videos, viewed in a scrollable format that invites familiar interactions like sharing, comments, follows and likes. What sets Feed apart, Character.AI says, is its vibe of a “remix playground,” as opposed to the “passive consumption” approach typical of conventional social platforms. Continue reading Character.AI Launches AI-First Social Platform Named ‘Feed’