New social media features and updates to know this week

TikTok and X made some of the biggest moves in the social media space this week, each rolling out a wave of updates aimed at deepening user engagement.

TikTok is testing in-stream DMs during live broadcasts, launching new AI tools, and expanding its focus on mental health and accessibility. Meanwhile, X is tightening its Community Notes moderation system, enabling 4K uploads for Premium users and hinting at a more robust livestreaming experience.

But they weren’t the only movers in the social space. Meta added new functions to its Edits app, Threads expanded its audience-building options and Bluesky is making a play for sports fans with a new partnership with the NBA.

Here’s what you need to know.

TikTok

TikTok has launched AI Alive, a new feature that turns static photos into animated videos within Stories. Available through the Story Camera, the tool adds dynamic movement, effects and sound to photos, with a goal of making them more engaging for the video-focused app.

Users can access the tool by selecting a photo and tapping the AI Alive icon on the edit page.

The feature includes safety measures such as content moderation, AI-generated labels, and embedded metadata to ensure transparency and community trust.

The app also appears to be testing a new direct messaging feature for live broadcasts.

According to screenshots shared by Jonah Manzano, the platform is rolling out a feature called “LIVE setup for Client Acquisition,” which allows the host to receive DMs during TikTok LIVE sessions.

TikTok has also made several upgrades focused on improving the well-being of users, including expanding its efforts to support mental health through guided meditation exercises .

The new Meditation in Sleep Hours feature will help users, especially teens, wind down at night with guided meditation prompts if they use the app late at night. For teens under 18, this feature is automatically turned on, with a goal of encouraging healthier digital habits and better sleep.

It’s part of TikTok’s larger $2.3 million investment in ad credits for 31 mental health organizations worldwide.

To mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day, TikTok highlighted several recent updates aimed at making the platform more inclusive for users with visual, auditory, motor and cognitive differences.

New features include:

• A test of an AI-powered feature that automatically generates alt text and makes it accessible to screen readers.
• Color contrast adjustment allowing users to increase text and icon visibility.
• Bold text support which follows device settings to improve readability across the app.

These updates join existing tools like auto-captions, text-to-speech and a redesigned accessibility settings page.

X

X has released a Community Notes update to prevent groups of contributors from working together to unfairly boost or block notes.

“We’ve extended Community Notes ability to detect coordinating contributors with additional features targeting coordination between note writers and raters,” X posted. “When the scoring algo detects anomalous correlations in ratings, it automatically prevents those ratings from contributing to notes achieving helpful status.”

In simple terms, if the system sees a group of users working together to upvote or downvote a note, those ratings are treated like they came from one person, limiting their impact.

Given the rise of Community Note systems on other social networks, other platforms may follow suite if X’s system works.

On another content front, X now supports 4K video uploads for all X Premium subscribers. The platform initially tested the feature with select creators last month and is now available to all Premium users.

X appears to be working on improving its live-streaming capabilities. Though details haven’t been shared yet, an image shared in a tweet by Allegra Jacchia suggests the tool will go by the name X Live Events.

The updates highlight X’s push to become more competitive on the video front.

Finally, X has refreshed its website card design for in-stream ads. The new layout features a headline and customizable call-to-action button along the bottom of the image or video, aimed at increasing clicks, according to Social Media Today.

Bluesky

Bluesky is testing a new feature aimed at tapping into the sports audience, starting with the NBA. When the NBA is promoting live content, a red border and “live” label will appear around their profile picture – clicking it will take you directly to that content.

The microblogging app said that the function is a way to help people discover what’s happening in real time and take part in those conversations. While sports are one outlet for the tool, it could also be used for other major events.

Meta

Meta just rolled out five new updates to its new Edits video app for Instagram.

• 50 new dynamic text animations, including effects like stretch and slide to help captions stand out.
• Additional filters to change the look and feel of your videos.
• Safe zone and alignment guides to ensure playback buttons don’t block important visuals.
• New frame rate selector to let creators to adjust playback speed for smoother motion.

Edits users now have the option to have AI create captions for their videos as well.

Threads

Threads has added several features to help users get noticed and better understand their audience. For instances, users can now add up to five links in their bio and track how many clicks those links get, whether in posts or profiles. The updated Insights dashboard gives a weekly snapshot of activity, follower growth and simple tips to help users engage better with their community.

Looking to post about that new movie to your followers? Threads is testing on iOS a new Mark Spoiler feature to allow you to discuss it without ruining someone’s day. The function will hide selected words behind a black overlay so those who don’t want to see it can avoid it.

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.