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Social media news you can't miss this week
Instagram Maps is here, plus wtf is Grok doing?!
Mackenzie Taylor
August 12, 2025
Weekly social roundup
A big ol’ roundup of a week
I’ll admit: Some weeks, writing this thing is hard. I don’t know where to begin. I don’t know what to talk about. What the heck do you all want to know the most about? The least about? Or do I just do what I normally do, and write about things that I think are the most interesting?
And then you have weeks like this week, where I felt like I couldn’t shut tf up. I wanted to chat about absolutely everything, so warning: It’s a beast this week.
But I promise! There’s a lot of good content. And I’d love to know what you think!
ICYMI: You can leave a comment on these newsletters now! Share your opinion. Share your insight. I promise not to cry too hard if you disagree with me. 😬
Tools you need this week
How to see who unfollowed you on Instagram 👀
One of the biggest questions I’ve gotten over the years (and still one of the highest viewed YouTube videos we’ve ever done!) is:
“How can I tell who has unfollowed me on Instagram?”
If you’ve ever had that thought, then FollowBuddy is the free tool you need!
You can quickly check who has unfollowed you without giving away all of your Instagram account info (HUGE!), like other apps.
FollowBuddy is completely safe and fully compliant with Instagram’s Terms and Conditions (so no more getting locked out of your account or fear of getting hacked!).
If you’re intrigued by who has unfollowed you on social media, try it for free today!
A whole new set of privacy concerns
Instagram Maps has launched … and automatically sharing locations?
Instagram got some major heat last week with its newest feature, Instagram Maps.
The feature is very similar to Snap Maps, but the reason it got a lot of heat is that people were (falsely) saying that it was automatically sharing your location with all of your followers (I will say, I was one of these people spreading the misinformation before I looked into it properly!).
The Map shows posts and Reels created by users that have tagged a specific location on the post.
If you see your posts on the map, it’s because you have tagged the location on that post.
Still, it seems like a lot of users are still confused or haven’t seen that your location isn’t automatically shared, so let me be the one to reiterate for you:
Your location isn’t automatically shared.
You must share (and verify!) that you want your location to be shared with followers. If you decide to share it, only people you follow back, or a private list you create, can see your location. No one else.
I hope this eases anyone’s anxiety!
Extra, extra! Read all about it!
Top Meta news from the week
Well, that took long enough! Meta Business Suite allows you to schedule mixed media (photos and videos!) on one post.
Is AI improving Threads, Instagram, and Facebook? According to Meta’s own research (lol), it definitely is.
No, Instagram isn’t automatically sharing your location with your followers with its new Instagram Map.
Instagram Notes has added a new feature where you can share what you’re interested in (i.e., movies, music, TV shows). Because, apparently, that will help people connect with friends.
Edits added three new features this past week: increased volume level, ability to send videos in a message for feedback, and an option to write a sticky note that sends directly to the teleprompter.
Instagram has added a repost option for Reels. Yes, like Tumblr. Yes, like TikTok.
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, says using Edits helps boost your Reel in the algorithm.
New updated metrics from Instagram are officially rolling out (finally!). See at what moment someone likes your Reel, what photo in your carousel people liked, dig deeper into the demographics of your followers, and accounts reached are changing to Views.
Your Instagram Highlights are going to be shared as new Stories.
WhatsApp will soon let you send a message to those who don’t have WhatsApp.
Eeek! The EU is asking (demanding) WhatsApp to hand over users’ private messages.
Instagram will soon let you create your own Fonts for Stories and Reels.
Extra, extra! Read all about it!
Top TikTok news from the week
Weird or cool? You can now book hotels through TikTok thanks to their new partnership with Booking.com, and travel creators can make a commission by promoting hotels.
Did your friend lose access to their TikTok account? TikTok is now giving you the ability to help them recover their account.
TikTok bios can be 160 characters now, so it's time to write more about yourself!
Extra, extra! Read all about it!
Top X news from the week
Elon Musk has brought back Vine. Well, kinda. Well, not really.
Plus, it’s making a HUGE push for AI-generated videos … with some NSFW options.
Extra, extra! Read all about it!
Top YouTube news from the week
Smells like a lawsuit waiting to happen!!!
xAI, Grok, is creating nudes 😔
And here we are, folks, the biggest thing that makes me terrified of AI.
Other image generators aren’t allowing users to be able to create deepfakes and/or NSFW content, it seems X is going all in on the images … and can I just say, lawsuit?
The Summer I …
A Very Meme-orable Week
The Prime TV Show, The Summer I Turned Pretty, is back on screens, and it seems their marketing team did a hell of a job getting people to participate in a text meme using “The Summer I...”
Brands and creators are using it absolutely everywhere, and our friends over at Your Social Team have created a gorgeous template for you to use!
Thoughts from the week
Is wearable tech bad for our mental health?
Something that has been on my mind this week (and a lot of others!): Wearable tech.
With the news that the United States Secretary of Health, RFK Jr, wants everyone to start using wearable tech, it’s been a hot topic across the internet.
Is wearable tech good for our mental health? Are we over-optimizing our lives? Or is this something that can help us “take control and responsibility” over our health?
Now, I for one, haven’t ever had wearable tech. I spend so much time online and on social media for work that I find having something physically attached to me that connects me to an online world really stressful.
Plus, knowing exactly how badly I slept last night, how lazy I was with my steps, or how quick my resting heart rate is would end up causing me more anxiety … not less.
While I know there are people out there who benefit from wearable tech (those who have chronic conditions, heart problems, etc), there are also lots of studies out there showing how much wearable tech actually makes our mental health worse. Not better.
According to NPJ Digital Medicine, 32 percent of Americans use wearable tech, with researchers finding that those who track fitness and physiological markers become “anxious when their physiological data was abnormal and experienced dependence when tracking sleep status, heart rate, and exercise.”
But on the other hand, some people track these things and don’t experience any anxiety about it at all. They are intrigued and shift how they sleep, eat, or exercise.
Then, there is data protection. We all have discovered that Meta has gotten access to the menstruation app Flo’s data, and do we actually know what all the terms and conditions were accepting when we signed up for this wearable tech? How are they using it, and can it be used against us in the future?
Am I saying wearable tech is all bad? No, obviously. But it could be something to consider for ourselves as the shift of Apple Watches becomes Meta glasses, become whatever new wearable tech emerges in the future.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!
A curated list of fun things to read
My favorite read of the week
If you have found yourself online this week, you might have noticed a lot of think pieces, meme videos, and reaction videos to someone called “Kendra.”
If you were left confused by this and also didn’t want to dive into the 19-part video series, this piece by The Cut breaks it all down for you.
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Join Talk Social To Me on Facebook Live
FREE WEBINAR: How to see who unfollowed you on Instagram
Have you seen your Instagram follower count decrease and wonder who the heck unfollowed you? We've all been there.
On Thursday, I'll be going live in our Facebook Group with Ben Leavitt, Instagram and YouTube guru.
We will be discussing all things unfollowing, Instagram, and what apps are safe to use when trying to discover who has unfollowed you.
A cozy follow
Creator of the week: @victorier
I’ve been following Victoria for years (back in the day when she had less than 10K followers 🥲), and I think she is a great and quite normal person to follow on Instagram (as in she has a normal 9-5, lives in the Midwest, and doesn’t do daily hauls of beauty items — not that I don’t like those people too!).
She’s a librarian with a sweet dog, gorgeous home, incredible taste in books, and doesn’t ever make you feel bad about living quite an ordinary life.
Social media can make us feel like we’re behind, or we’re not living life to its full potential 24/7, so I always love to find people who make me feel okay with scrolling online, and less bad about it.
Annnnd, that’s all, folks!
I told you it was a beast. If you got to the end, thanks for reading! I love you all, and can’t thank you enough for the support.
If you want to chat with other creatives, social media managers, or small business owners, you can join our Facebook Group, The Social Hub.
Want to sponsor Talk Social To Me? Reach out to learn more!
See you next week!
Mackenzie
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