Buckle up for this week’s edition of Spark Bites! We’ve got details on all the latest social media news, including: a Snapchat update allowing users to delete unseen messages, a potential release date for Instagram’s new long-form video hub, and an in-the-works Uber feature that will detect when users are under the influence, and more.
In the coming weeks, Google will be rolling out Neural Machine Translation (NMT) to make its translation app more accurate when it’s used offline. Previously, when used offline, the app’s translations were phrase-based, and therefore not always as precise as the learning-powered technique used when online. The new update to the app will provide more accurate offline translations for 59 languages!
Google AdWords has launched a new Click Identifier tool that reveals specific companies – including their address, phone number, website, and employees’ contact information – who have interacted with an AdWords advertisement. The new tool will even tell users which keywords were searched before clicking on the advertisement.
Snapchat
Snapchat is rolling out a new feature called Clear Chats that will allow you to delete unseen messages. By simply holding down on an image, text, or audio clip within a message thread, you’ll have the option to delete your message. Keep in mind, the recipient will be notified that you deleted a message!
Apple
Apple announced it is banning all apps that drain your battery, overheat your phone, and overuse your resources due to background cryptocurrency mining. Stay tuned to see how many apps get removed due to their secret mining!
Soon, spouses of members of the military will have access to a free premium package on LinkedIn. Spouses will have access to a “spouse-specific learning path” that will help them tackle employment challenges due to unexpected moves and deployments.
LinkedIn Audiences may soon be directly targeted by Bing Ads due to a new feature. Bing Ads announced this feature will likely be available by the end of the year, and it’s worth noting that since Microsoft owns LinkedIn, this feature will likely never be offered by Google Adwords.
Facebook is available in over 100 languages, and it is now also available in Arabic! The latest version for IPhone now gives users from the Middle East and Northern Africa the option to translate the app interface into Arabic so that users in the area can use the app in their native language!
In continuing to take steps to avoid another privacy scandal, Facebook has announced that advertisers using Custom Audiences to target users with ads will need to declare if they or their partners received proper consent to use their audiences’ contact information to target them with the ads.
Soon, Facebook will have an entire page dedicated to your “Memories,” where content similar to “On This Day” will be stored. It will include “Friends Made on This Day” and seasonal or monthly recaps of your posts. In an attempt to keep the reminiscing positive, Facebook is giving users the option to dismiss certain posts and stories and even block out entire dates or people from surfacing on the page to avoid bad or painful memories.
Do you get annoyed by Facebook’s ‘now connected on Messenger’ notifications? If you do, you’re not alone. Facebook received enough complaints about the feature that it announced it will be significantly cutting how many Messenger notifications you receive based on how many of them you open. So if you want to send a signal that you no longer want to receive the notifications, don’t open the messages.
Uber
Uber announced a couple big updates to its app this week. To accommodate users with slow internet and limited data, Uber is introducing Uber Lite – a version of the app that works with slow networks and old phones to use less data and power by streamlining the design and only showing maps if the user requests to see them.
Uber is also working on a feature that will identify when users requesting a ride are under the influence. The feature would gather information about the user, such as how quickly and accurately they type, their location, the speed they’re walking, and even the angle the device is being held, and then report the information to the driver. The consequences of a user under the influence requesting a ride are still unknown, but it’s possible they could be charged more for a ride or denied a ride altogether.
You can now repost stories you’re tagged in on Instagram! Once you’ve been tagged in someone’s story, you’ll have the option to add stickers and post it as your own for 24 hours. Your followers can still see the original account that posted the story and tap on the username to view the profile if it is set to public.
Instagram announced it has big news to share on June 20th, and many believe it may be the day they release the exciting long-form video hub we reported on last week. Stay tuned for next week’s edition of Spark Bites for all the details on the announcement!
That’s all for this week! See you back next week for more exciting social media updates. Have a great weekend!
