Instagram rebrands IGTV to Instagram TV

Instagram

Instagram is throwing in the towel on IGTV. At least, it is when it comes to that branding. The company is now calling that effort Instagram TV. And it is getting rid of the exclusive IGTV video format. Videos posted to the main Instagram feed can now run up to 60 minutes. That time length was previously reserved for IGTV videos. And IGTV app is now called the Instagram TV app, and a company spokesperson said it would continue to be a "destination for people to visit with the intent of watching video."

Feed videos and IGTV videos will now be consolidated into Instagram TV. They will get a single tab on profile pages. Reels, or Instagram's take on TikTok, looks to be a separate thing still.

Source: The Verge

Facebook pauses work on Instagram Kids app

Facebook has announced it is "pausing" work on its Instagram Kids app amid intense scrutiny and criticism of the project. The company vowed it wanted to "work with parents, experts, and policymakers to demonstrate the value and need for this product." According to Instagram's team, they wanted to build an app that solves the issue of kids using Instagram without parental permission.

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Instagram to replace swipe up with link stickers

Instagram is getting rid of its swipe-up gesture by August 30. Swiping up when viewing stories is how Instagram employs its click-through command. For content creators and businesses, it's a way for them to promote a product or share a story, live stream, and more.

Instagram hasn't said exactly why it is getting rid of the feature, but the Facebook-owned company talks about other methods that will be useful for Instagram users. It says it wants to "streamline the stories creation experience" and give users more "creative control" since they can format the looks of stickers.

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Facebook Messenger finally gets end-to-end encryption on voice, video calls

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Facebook Messenger had end-to-end encryption in its messages before. But now, Facebook is bringing this security feature to voice and video calls, too. These types of communication became especially important during the pandemic, with Facebook citing over 150 million video calls a day. It isn't available in group voice, chats, and video calls yet, but the company said it would test this out with some users in the coming weeks.

End-to-end encryption offers the assurance that only you and the recipient will get access to what's in your calls and messages. Facebook won't be able to read or listen to your calls. But you can report an end-to-end encrypted message to the company if "something's wrong," which presumably refers to situations involving harassment.

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