(March 13) The Latest 2026 social media news

March 2026 social media updates

March 2026 Meta (AI) updates

• Meta is working on a “Scenes” feature for its standalone Vibes platform. (source)
• Meta has launched a new AI chatbot for user support, Support AI. (source)

March 2026 Meta (Ads) updates

• Meta will add location fees to ads delivered in the countries listed below in order to cover Digital Service Taxes (DSA) and other location-based fees: Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom. (source)
• Meta announced new changes to its ad attribution metrics as follows (source):
  • Click-through attribution for website and in-store conversions now counts only real link clicks.
  • Other interactions (likes, shares, saves, comments) are tracked separately in a new category called “Engage-through attribution.”

March 2026 Facebook updates

• Facebook is working on reducing notifications from Pages by prioritizing more relevant updates. (source)
• Facebook is testing a new section called “Friends with Things in Common” on iOS. (source)
• Facebook expands its creator affiliate program to brand links. (source)
• Facebook is rolling out an updated UI for the log-in landing page on desktop. (source)

March 2026 Instagram updates

• Instagram is testing a new “Shuffle” icon for songs added to reels. (source)
• Instagram is testing on Android a new change to the “Your algorithm” feature that places the setting button in the “For you” drop-down menu. (source)
• Instagram has added a new option to hide all activity bubbles in the feed and Reels. (source)
• Instagram is testing with Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco a new variant of the “Close Friends” feature, “Secret Friends.” (source)
• Instagram now allows users to edit the thumbnail images of their posted content. (source)
• Instagram is promoting trending “Add Yours” prompts so users can easily join popular ones. (source)
• Instagram has merged the “Effects” and “Restyle” sections in Instagram Stories into one, “Effects.” (source)
• Instagram has introduced GIF support for Instagram Notes. (source)

March 2026 Instagram Edits updates

• Instagram added new features for its Instagram Edits users: 
  • A new “For you” feed for sound effects.
  • Freeze Frame.
  • “Teleprompter” for voiceovers. (source)
  • 11 new effects for videos.
  • Auto-highlight words in video captions.
  • Overlay Effects. (source)
• Instagram has launched on Instagram Edit’s Android app a separate feed with videos made out of templates. (source)

March 2026 WhatsApp updates

• WhatsApp is working on higher-tier subscription plans for Meta AI. (source)
• WhatsApp is testing a new KPI for posts created in broadcast channels, “Number of forwards.” (source)
• WhatsApp is testing a feature that gives message bubbles a softer design for a more modern chat look. (source)
• WhatsApp added parental controls and parent-managed accounts for pre-teens. (source)
• WhatsApp is working on a premium feature that offers a collection of new ringtones. (source)
• WhatsApp is working on a premium feature that allows users to pin up to 20 chats. (source)
• WhatsApp is testing a feature that will allow you to join the waitlist for the WhatsApp Plus premium plan. (source)
• WhatsApp is testing a feature that will allow you to share status updates with unsaved phone numbers. (source)
• WhatsApp is testing a feature that will allow you to organize your conversations with Meta AI. (source)
• WhatsApp is widely rolling out a feature that suggests stickers as you type an emoji in your chats. (source)

March 2026 Threads updates

• Threads is now in the Meta Account Centre. (source)
• Threads now allows users to manage Meta Verified directly within the app. (source)
• Threads now categorizes suggested accounts to follow based on the topics they post about. (source)
• Threads has added a new community, “Social Media Managers.” (source)

March 2026 TikTok updates

• TikTok now allows users to post subscribers-only stories. (source)
• TikTok has updated its “For You” feed refresh process. It now takes several days to complete, during which the app shows popular videos you might not normally see. (source)

March 2026 X (Twitter) updates

• X is testing a new ad format that includes product mention links. (source)
• X added a new “Audio Articles” feature. (source)
• X now allows users to block image editing with Grok AI. (source)
• X updated its creator subscription offerings with the following features: 
  • Exclusive Threads.
  • New UI for the main dashboard.
  • Shareable Subscriptions card.
  • Subscriber-only content highlights. (source)
• X is working on a new UI for the post audience selector. (source)
• X is working on a “Photo Editor” feature. (source)
• X is rolling out a new “For You” feed filter that allows users to choose the type of content they want to see. (source)
• X added two new labels for posts, “Made with AI” and “Paid partnership.” (source)

March 2026 xAI updates

• xAI is considering a freemium Grok Enterprise offering for businesses. (source)

March 2026 LinkedIn updates

• LinkedIn now allows users to manage job applications with an “all-in-one” feature called “Job Tracker.” (source)

March 2026 Google updates

• Google is testing a larger header image for the Google Discover publisher header images. (source)
• Google is testing a new widget for the Google Discover feed where you can follow news publishers and/or topics. (source)
• Google is rolling out its AI voice models as a new asset optimization feature for existing Performance Max video ads. (source)
• Google added a new “Trending posts & discussions” title under the “What People Are Saying” section within Google Search results. (source)
• Google is sending notices to advertisers asking them to confirm whether their campaigns contain European Union political content. (source)
• Google will also roll out a new feature for Google Business, “Recurring scheduling” for posts. (source)
• Google is testing a “Bold” effect for the site names in the search results. (source)
• Google has posted a new help document titled Google’s web crawling strategy. (source)
• Google has updated its “Circle to Search” feature with a new “Multi-object search” behaviour. (source)
• Google is rolling out colorful sections in the knowledge panels. (source)
• Google is showing a full-width image pack for some travel-related queries. (source)

Google AI updates

• Google is working on “AI-generated landing pages” for Google Search. (source)

March 2026 YouTube updates

• YouTube for Android TV now shows YouTube Premium family plan members in the “Account switcher” section. (source)
• YouTube has expanded its “Likeness” detection feature to politicians, government employees, political candidates, and journalists. (source)
• YouTube added a new “Private messaging” feature on mobile Android and iOS. (source)
• YouTube is testing a new feature that will allow each musician to host a 24/7 livestream composed of their music, “Station.” (source)
• YouTube now allows content creators to see aggregated AdSense earnings across linked accounts in YouTube Studio. (source)

March 2026 Mastodon updates

• Mastodon added a “Share” button that allows users to share content to any Mastodon server. (source)

March 2026 Telegram updates

• Telegram added nine features for its users:
  • Captions for GIFs.
  • Disable Sharing in Private Chats.
  • Editing GIFs and Stickers.
  • Instant Stickers from Photos.
  • Log In With Telegram.
  • Member Tags.
  • Stream responses in real time.
  • Time and Date Formatting.
  • Timestamps for Polls. (source)

March 2026 Snapchat updates

• Snapchat added a new AI feature that lets users enter prompts and transform a photo into virtually anything they imagine. (source)

March 2026 Twitch updates

• Twitch is testing a new “Gift ‘em all” feature. (source).
• Twitch added a new “Multitask while streaming (Picture-in-Picture)” feature for content creators. (source)