TikTok launches downvotes, Instagram tries DM alerts, Facebook tests ‘Subscribers Only’ posts and Twitter rolls out video updates

Twitter rolls out video updates 

Twitter is the next social media platform to join the video content trend and align with the TikTok-led shift by launching two updates to improve their video experience. As stated by Twitter, “Videos are a huge part of the public conversation, and they’re one of the most engaging ways people can express themselves online.” The updates include adding a new option that will expand tweeted videos to full-screen mode with a single click, followed by the emphasis on video content in Explore.

Facebook tests ‘Subscribers Only’ posts for creators

Along the same lines as Patreon and OnlyFans, Facebook is testing exclusivity on its platform with ‘Subscribers Only’ posts. A creator can post a piece of content that will be limited to being viewed only by users that have subscribed to the creator’s profile, from 24 hours to a week. Some users now have access to an ‘Early Access for Subscribers’ toggle in their post settings, which enables limited access to that post for a chosen period of time. This feature provides more value for subscribers while enhancing its appeal for creators, to encourage both parties to keep returning to the app.

Instagram experiments with DMs as an alert option 

Instagram is experimenting with a new option that enables users to share their latest posts with connections via DM. This broad-reaching DM option would blast links to posts to everybody who follows you in the app, with the addition of the ‘Public’ folder in your DM inbox. Depending on how the platform applies their latest experiment, it runs the risk of becoming spammy. LinkedIn previously had issues with a feature that was similar to this, resulting in them reducing the frequency of notifications within a couple of months after launch. 

TikTok adds downvote button for comments 

After six months of testing, TikTok has started the global rollout for a comment 'dislike' button. The button will appear next to likes on individual comments under videos in the form of a thumbs-down icon that users can click. The total dislike counts aren’t being made public, so you won’t see a number next to the icon. The key focus of the downvote feature is not an audience response element as seen on other platforms such as Reddit, but instead for TikTok to get feedback regarding "irrelevant or inappropriate" comments and weed out negative behaviours.