Is Instagram's new app better than TikTok? 😳

It’s 2025, and I have been doing this newsletter for four years now (honestly, where does the time go?!). I feel like we need a shake-up—a refresh, if you will. 

To help me make sure I am giving you all the content you want, I’d love for you to give me some feedback (and I’ll even give you a chance to win a $20 gift card!).

Fill out the survey here and I’ll love you forever. 

Now, on to today’s newsletter! And it’s a stacked one! Whenever I think social media platforms can’t possibly do any more features or releases, they continue to surprise me. 

Mainly surprise me by giving us features no one asked for and completely ignoring the ones people do ask for. 🙃

I digress… 

Here’s this week’s social media news—the good, the bad, and the weird. 

Honestly, WTF?! Sorry, but why are all social media platforms asking users to pay to use its platforms?! 

*Deep breaths, Mackenzie. Deep breaths.*

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said last week that Reddit will start introducing a new subreddit that has “exclusive content or private areas” that users will have to pay to access. 

While I guess I can understand other platform's use of paid models, when it comes to Reddit, I am left scratching my head. Unless Reddit is going to offer the moderators the money for those subreddits (because HELLO, moderating can be a full-time job!), I’m confused as to why there needs to be paid subreddits at all. 

The other big thing coming to Reddit this year is monetizing interactions. As users already buy from others on the platform, Reddit wants to figure out new ways to make that easier and really cash in on these transactions. 

I guess like Facebook Marketplace but on Reddit? Could be a good idea. Maybe. Potentially. Perhaps.

🙃

What are your thoughts? Do you see a perk to subreddits behind a paywall? Or do you feel like this is another cash grab from a social media company? 

LET ME KNOW!

• The US government has said it won’t fine Apple and Android for adding TikTok back into its App Stores.
  
  

• Man, oh, man. TikTok is really working overtime to show users that it protects your data.
  
  

• Scam alert! Yes, those celebrities that are confessing their love to you online? Probably don’t trust that.
  
  

• Intriguing. Apple has started advertising on X again.
  
  

• Instagram’s CapCut-like app is set to launch next month, and its features could possibly be better than CapCut? (I know, I know!)
  
  

• Instagram’s new DM feature, “Pals,” has been spotted in the wild. And it’s giving Snapchat Bitmoji, if you ask me!
  
  

• Reddit is looking to update its search and use AI (like every other social media platform). 
  
  

• I guess the beta test went well! Instagram is rolling out the collage feature to more and more users.
  
  

• Ope—not surprising! 84% of songs that hit the Billboard charts went viral on TikTok first.
  
  

• Surprising or not? More people watch YouTube on their TVs over their phones.
  
  

• LinkedIn is making it easier than ever to share posts with other users.
  
  

• Protect your nudes in the DMs!
  
  

• Uh, what? BuzzFeed is launching its own social media network.
  
  

• Threads is working on a new feature called Weekly Recap, which will summarize everything you might have missed that week.
  
  

• YouTube is 20 years old! 😭
  
  

• Instagram has officially launched Dashboard on desktop, so you can view your insights. However … it’s still not working for me. Sad!
  
  

• Not sure what to post on TikTok? Its new Creation Ideas tab will help you fine-tune your ideas.
  
  

• The Layout App from Instagram is no longer a thing.
  
  

• Is it 2008 again? Tumblr is looking to join the Fediverse.
  
  

• Threads is getting more and more popular—are you on it yet?
  
  

• Calling all businesses! New carousel ads for Instagram just dropped. 
  
  

• Welp, Facebook, and Instagram are slowly merging into one another with this new “Friends” tab.
  
  

• Meta is working hard on merging WhatsApp into all of its other social media platforms.
  
  

• After a deadly challenge, parents are coming together to sue TikTok.

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With over a million pairs of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses selling in 2024 and the potential of 5 million being sold at the end of 2025, it seems like Meta smart glasses are finally cool. 

Four years after its official launch...

I, for one, have seen a massive uptick in people using them. Not only influencers online who are walking around their city explaining how much they love their glasses in the caption followed by #ad, but people on the trains and buses I use daily. 

The glasses use Meta AI so you can control your glasses with your voice.

It also has an in-built camera, open-ear speakers for you to listen to music, an app for you to look through the content you’ve captured, and the ability to call and message people. 

Are you on the Meta smart glasses train? Will my FOMO win out in the end and I’ll purchase them in the future too?

Only time (and the quality of the photos and videos) will tell.

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It’s baaaack … but for how long? 

TikTok is allowed to be back on App Stores in the US! Apple and Android were given the go-ahead from the Attorney General and told they wouldn’t be fined. 

Although TikTok’s future in the US still remains unclear, US users can officially download and update the app once again.

The top trending sounds and songs you need to use to go viral this week. 

🎉 They Like To Party: Use this audio to share something that you don't judge your friends/family/loved ones doing, but if someone else does it, you would absolutely judge them for it.

🥰 Happy: Use this sound to share something recently that has made you happy.

👎 Do not come to my town: Use this audio to describe a relatable situation where you want to avoid someone.

Want more trends? Get daily notifications on trending audios with our AI Assistant, Iris. Start a free trial today!

Not sure if an account is real or fake? Here are the signs of a fake Instagram account, why there are so many phonies online, and how to stay safe on IG.

Everything you need to know to help your social media optimization efforts to ensure your content reaches and strikes a chord with your audience.

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