Welcome back, Spark Biters! We hope you have a sweet tooth, because we definitely have some sweet treats to share with you today.
First off, Jumbo is here for all of your privacy and safety needs! Also, Facebook is trying to ease loved ones’ grief, Snapchat is trying to be more inclusive with Android users, and it’s also working on creating a better environment for creators.
Social media is getting sensitive this week, so you go grab the tissues, and we’ll bring the social media updates.
Jumbo
Jumbo is a new start up that is here to help you stay safe on the internet. This sweet and caring elephant will automatically choose safety settings for you based on the protection strength that you choose. On Facebook, Jumbo will pick out privacy settings; on Twitter, he will create safety settings and delete your old Tweets (after saving them on your phone of course, since he’s so thoughtful); and on Google, Jumbo will even delete your search history and protect your data! Thank you Jumbo, you’re too sweet!
Facebook is working on their sensitivity as well, and trying to ease people’s grief. With its new update, Facebook is using AI to stop sending notifications to users about a person that has passed. Users who were friends with that person will no longer see birthday reminders, invitation suggestions, or friend suggestions about them. Rather, the account will become memorialized with a tribute section for users to share their feelings and memories. Alternatively, users can also set a legacy contact, giving a loved one the ability to make decisions about their account after their death, whether it means setting it up as a memorial or just deleting the account. Well done Facebook, we appreciate your sympathy and sensitivity.
Snapchat
Snapchat is showing its sweet side, finally including Android in the Snapchat fun that iOS users have been enjoying for a while now. The photo-based social media app introduced its new Android updates with a cute little love note, celebrating that they will be in sync now! Android users will now experience a smoother and faster experience, hopefully with fewer glitches than before. We applaud you for your inclusivity, Snapchat.
It is also taking care of its wonderful creators! Snapchat’s new update will allow users to make creator accounts, if that is what they are passionate about, so that they can continue to create to their hearts’ content! It will also overhaul the Lens Creator Studio, adding more templates for the creative audience (specifically augmented reality creators) to use to create their lenses. One specific feature that Snapchat has shared is that users will be able to create lenses to go on famous landmarks. Snapchat’s goal is to create lenses that amplify the world for their users; it wants users to be able to scan a math problem and get the answer, to scan the ocean and see whales, and probably endless other possibilities besides those two. Thank you for thinking of your users and their creative passions, Snapchat!
We’re not crying, you’re crying! Our faith in social media has been restored. We’ll see you next week for another Spark Bites, which we hope will be as heartwarming and hug-worthy as this one!