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Hello, geeks! |
So…. Instagram latest copy/paste app has dropped globally. Instants.
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And while I am almost definitely not Adam Mosseri’s target market here, I’m not convinced this one has legs. |
It’s basically a clone of an app that already failed to sustain mainstream traction, BeReal, which itself was riffing on the addictive mechanics of Snapchat, which for teens is basically messaging app crack. |
The problem? Instants doesn’t seem to add enough new functionality, novelty, or reason to exist beyond: “What if BeReal, but Instagram?” |
Bold. |
Check out my deeper dive on Instants later in this week’s Geekout. |
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Meta Subscription Fever |
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Meta product managers appear to have discovered the subscription button and are now repeatedly smashing it. |
Meta Verified launched in 2023. ad-free Facebook and Instagram plans arrived in the UK and Europe last year. |
Earlier this week, WhatsApp started rolling out WhatsApp Plus, with paid perks like custom themes, app icons, premium sticker packs, and more. |
But Meta looks like it’s only getting warmed up. |
According to Meta’s App Store listings for Threads and WhatsApp, new in-app purchase options for “No Ads” have appeared. |
Pricing goes up to £14.99/month for ad-free experiences on 5 accounts.
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Which feels… ambitious. |
That’s a big ask for most users, especially when the core benefit is simply removing something people already dislike. |
But lets be honest, Meta is only offering these ad-free plans in limited markets under duress from EU regulators. |
The more intriguing move is Meta AI… |
A premium Meta AI subscription also appears to be in the works, though there are no clear details yet on what users would actually get for the money.
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At around £20/month, Meta will need a very strong reason for people to choose it over ChatGPT or Claude, both of which already have established paid plans and much clearer utility. |
For now, it feels like Meta is testing how far it can stretch the subscription model across every major app it owns. |
Still, never underestimate Meta’s ability to turn “free app with ads” into “please subscribe to make this slightly less annoying.” |
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1 cool thing… |
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EU to crack down on TikTok + Instagram’s ‘addictive design’ by summer 2026 [INTERVENING] WhatsApp starts to roll out paid subscriptions, with exclusive premium perks [ENSHITTIFYING] TikTok will now lets UK users pay £3.99 a month to avoid ads in feed [AD-BLOCKING] Meta tests its own version of Grok in Threads, but it’s already pissing users off [IRRITATING]
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Instant failure? — Instagram’s new app has a lot to prove
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If there’s one thing Instagram is good at, it’s copying Snapchat. And so here is Instants, the snappiest of all Snapchat feature clones. |
It’s as simple as feature can be. You take a photo for either your friends or close friends and it gets added to a stack of images in the corner of their DM inboxes. You get notified if someone reacts to it. |
…and that’s it. |
The question is… WHY? BeReal proved itself to be a dud years ago, and Snapchat has cornered the market for disappearing photos. Given the way Instants presented in the app, it doesn’t exactly encourage interesting use cases, either. |
The most interesting thing I’ve seen posted so far is pet photos, and it’s easy to forget Instants is even there in the app. Meh. |
The feature might evolve over time but as it stands right now, I just can’t see it taking off, except maybe among younger users. But even then, if they like this kind of sharing, won’t they already be doing in on Snapchat? |
If Instants is already bugging you, here’s how to turn the bubble notifications off and how to delete a photo you accidentally sent (essential knowledge!). |
Oh, and Instants is also available as a standalone app. That seems even more pointless than it being a feature in the main app. I mean, here at Geekout, we’re old enough to remember when Facebook launched a standalone app for poking people. 🙃 |
Yeah, that one didn’t last long. |
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Meta  / Facebook  |
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Image: Meta Ray Ban Display Smartglasses |
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Instagram  |
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Image: Instagram’s new multiple captions for carousels feature |
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Threads  / WhatsApp  |
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Image: Threads refreshed brand logo and font |
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X / Twitter  |
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Image: X’s new ‘History’ tab on iOS |
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Image: TikTok Story Highlights | Credit: @theahmedghanem |
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Image: YouTube’s Brandcast 2026 event |
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The Meta AI app now lets you point your camera at anything and get instant answers about it. |
A new voice mode and expanded image generation have also been added.
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Also spotted this week… |
Instagram is testing ‘Magic Cut’, an AI tool that automatically finds the best parts of your videos and trims them for you
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Image: Instagram’s new ‘Magic Cut’ feature |
- Instagram now breaks out AI-based contacts away from others in DMs Meta AI’s Android app has a new ‘For you’ feed that offers news based on existing prompts. WhatsApp has launched Incognito AI chats. Conversations disappear with no logs, no history and no memory TikTok is opening its ads platform to AI agents, letting AI become the media buyer TikTok is rolling out a new AI feature called ‘AI Transition’ to let you generate transition videos using just two clips TikTok’s Tako AI assistant has added chat history support and the option to start new chats. YouTube is now displaying AI-generated videos created with the ‘Reimagine’ feature as carousels inside the Shorts tab YouTube rolled out new AI ad tools powered by Gemini and Veo LinkedIn is upgrading its feed with AI that understands your long-term interests, not just one-off actions xAI’s Grok’s voice mode has launched on Apple CarPlay, joining a growing wave of in-car AI assistants xAI launched Grok Build, its new AI coding agent designed to compete with tools like Claude Code xAI introduced a new ‘Agent Mode’ for Grok AI Imagine xAI’s Grok app now has Skills built in xAI added a new ‘Connectors’ feature on Grok AI mobile apps X is working on preventing automatic AI content disclosure labels from appearing on AI-generated content Telegram added autonomous bots, auto-replies, AI-powered sticker search, and more
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Okay, the courtroom showdown between Elon Musk and Sam Altman is about the origins of OpenAI, not social media directly… |
…but given xAI is X’s parent company, and Elon is such a big figure in our industry, this roundup is well worth a read: |
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Courtroom scenes spiralled into spectacle, with protests, props, and fans chasing seats Musk cast himself as humanity’s protector, pushing a “Star Trek not Terminator” AI future Altman stayed composed as tensions simmered, with icy stares replacing direct clashes Private texts and testimony revealed fragile egos behind $670B AI power struggle
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Also this week: |
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Earlier this week, I explained to BBC News why TikTok’s new no-ads subscription in the UK is a sign of the times:
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This whole carousel is worth a swipe 🤣
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Meta started rolling out a Grok-style feature on Threads this week, where Meta AI can be summoned to engage in your conversations. |
Users HATED it. |
Especially the fact that the Meta AI account can’t be blocked!
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- Some users went the extra mile to figure out if blocking was possible…
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But in the end, the anger calmed down (or maybe Threads just made it disappear)…
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YouTube pitched creators as Hollywood replacements at Brandcast 2026. |
Brands can now sponsor creator shows and buy curated creator slates like TV upfront inventory… |
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More brand social news this week: |
Meta has become an official Cannes Film Festival partner, bringing creators to the event with smart glasses, AI editing tools, and more …but the festival will still ban selfies with stars (sorry creators!) TikTok and FIFA have launched a World Cup 2026 ‘Creator Correspondents’ programme Disney is doubling down on short-form video via its TikTok-style “Verts” feed to deepen fan engagement, introducing creator-made clips alongside official content Target has scrapped its commission-only creator programme, replacing it with Club Target and Target Ambassadors to treat smaller creators and pros differently
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Also quoted this week: |
“Children should be protected in the same way wherever they live in our Union” |
- European Commission president Ursula von Der Leyen pushes for EU-wide social media age protections for children |
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“If lawmakers actually want to protect kids, they should stop asking platforms to decide which stories are acceptable and start regulating core design choices that cause harm in the first place, like endless scroll, engagement‑based recommendations, and surveillance‑driven feeds.” |
- Activist Lennon Torres argues app design is more important for safety than content moderation |
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“No. The Nazi Party’s name included ‘National Socialist’ for propaganda appeal to workers, but Hitler explicitly rejected Marxist socialism” |
- Grok called out its master, Elon Musk, for parroting the old lie that Hitler was a socialist |
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This is a good look at TikTok’s Commercial Music Library, which gives around 7 million businesses access to 1.5 million licensed tracks |
Viral songs like ‘Orla’ power turn trends into revenue, as artists earn from ad spend and organic brand use, not just streaming plays |
Breakout hits can scale massively, with tracks hitting 1 million videos and 10 billion views. |
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Digg is back… again. |
The app has relaunched for a second time in months. Its previous open beta was shut down after being quickly overrun by bots. |
The new platform drops the Reddit-style model and instead tracks sentiment around trending topics. |
It’s currently focused on AI news and conversations. |
Founder Kevin Rose says the vision is to expand beyond AI into a broader trend-tracking platform |
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Instagram ads are packed with “definitely not cocaine” products like designer bump straws and powder pouches 😱 |
Brands are blatantly using coded terms like “electrolytes” and “cacao” to dodge Meta’s drug ad rules. |
Some accounts only vanished after journalists asked Meta why they were still running ads. |
Platforms still can’t police wink-wink marketing built entirely around loopholes. |
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More WTF this week: |
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2 BILLION |
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| – The number of hours YouTube says viewers now watch Shorts on TV for every month |
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More stats: |
NO MORE FAME: Gen Z is done chasing fame, new data revealed:
- 📈 Only 13% of Gen Z picked Zendaya as a role model; no one else hit double digits
- 📈 A huge 36% rejected all celebrity role models including creators like MrBeast, signaling a shift away from fame
- 📈 79% prefer a private life, while just 9% still want fame or public attention
- 📈 Just 5% want to be influencers, down sharply from earlier Gen Z ambitions
- BIGSTACK: Substack has hit 500,000 paid subscriptions in the UK UP IN THE SKY: Sky News dominates reach on YouTube in the UK with 9 million users, ahead of the BBC with 8.4 million and Netflix with 7.9 million A WORRYING AMOUNT: Google, TikTok and Meta have sent over 70 million warnings to users searching for child sexual abuse material SCREWGLED: Meta claims Instagram is replacing Google for product discovery, with 92% of people using social apps for product discovery vs 79% for search engines
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Threads appears to be bleeding users, while X is winning on every engagement metric 😮 |
New app data from Apptopia claims Threads has lost daily active users for 8 straight months. |
X, meanwhile, reportedly grew daily users 22% globally and 28% in the US YoY in Q1 2026. |
The report says X now beats Threads on time spent, sessions per user and retention.
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More social data, charted: |
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Also spotted this week… |
Meta’s planned job cuts and embracing of AI has unsurprisingly led to internal anger, anxiety, and job uncertainty. [New York Times $$$] LinkedIn is cutting 5% of its workforce in a reorganisation. [Quartz] UK MPs want social media treated more like unsafe toys than harmless apps. [The Register] The EU has backed Italy’s right to make Meta pay for news content. [NiemanLab] Spain is pressing ahead with tough AI and social media rules despite US lobbying. [TNW] A suicide forum has been fined £950,000 for not blocking UK users. [BBC News] Pinterest has upgraded its ad relevance model, combining real-time search behaviour with external conversion and browsing data. [Social Media Today] Amazon Prime Video has followed Netflix and Disney by adding a TikTok-like ‘Clips’ feed in its app. [TechCrunch]
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New features and tests: |
Facebook is testing a refreshed UX for creating and editing Reels. [@oncescruadu] Facebook now lets you edit and reorder Highlights [@theahmedghanem] Facebook has added a shortcut to Instagram Edits in the main Reels composer. [@oncescuradu] Instagram has been showing very large story reaction bubble. [@saadhjawwadh] Instagram is testing a new UX for the bottom navigation bar. [@oncescuradu] Instagram is testing a refreshed UI for the story composer. [@oncescuradu] Instagram now lets you customise your profile picture avatar with different poses and backgrounds. [@theahmedghanem] Instagram now allows you to receive notifications only for new messages and nothing else. [@theahmedghanem] Instagram’s “Hidden Requests” section is now called “Spam”. [@theahmedghanem] Instagram now lets you choose the location you want to receive voting reminders for. [@theahmedghanem] Instagram is promoting Edits in the Reels tab with a full-screen splash page. [@theahmedghanem] Meta Business Suite has a new logo [@theahmedghanem] WhatsApp is testing a feature that allows channel admins to reply to their updates. [WABetaInfo] WhatsApp is working on a new system to view chat lists. [@WABetaInfo] WhatsApp is working on a new design for message bubbles. [@WABetaInfo] WhatsApp is working on a feature that allows users to clean up storage in their channels. [@WABetaInfo] WhatsApp Business is testing a rename of Labels to Lists. [@theahmedghanem] Clubhouse has added new Karma and Earnings features. [@theahmedghanem]
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Also worth a read: |
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At least some teens are ditching screens, craving real-world social connection instead. |
The result? 90s stoner trend hacky sack has exploded among Gen Z teens! |
The trend lives offline, but TikTok and Instagram are pouring fuel on the fire… |
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… And that’s everything you and your social team needs to know this week. |
I’m heading off to urgently tweak my Instagram feed algorithm topics. |
Instagram just showed me this… WTF, Mosseri! 😳 😂
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Goodbye, geeks! |
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P.S. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant |
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