Social media updates and new features to know this week
Including LinkedIn, X, Facebook and more.
Hello, social experts, and welcome to another week! This time around, we’re seeing tools specifically geared to marketers ahead of the holiday season. There’s also a nostalgic throwback on Snapchat and an updated DM system on X. Let’s take a closer look and see what features could be most useful for your team.
LinkedIn has launched a new AI-powered people search feature. Instead of manually hunting for the right contacts, users can now describe in plain language the kind of people they want to connect with.
For example, search terms might include “former coworkers who became founders in healthcare, investors with specific experience” or “local professionals with certain skills.” LinkedIn will then show the user the people who can help.
This feature is designed to make it easier to go from guessing who the right contacts are to actually finding the right people to connect with, per Tomer Cohen, chief product officer at LinkedIn.
This search tool is currently available for premium subscribers in the U.S. and will roll out to all members soon.
Additionally, LinkedIn is making its Events tool more powerful for marketers. Advertisers can now run events and promote them more effectively: there’s an integration with ON24, plus new ad options that help boost visibility and drive real leads, not just RSVPs, LinkedIn explains.
They’ve also added better targeting: marketers can upload lists of people (like event registrants) into LinkedIn’s ad system and then retarget them or find more people like them.
When running Event Ads, marketers can choose a “lead generation” goal so people who register are sent straight into the CRM or marketing tools via integrations with platforms like Integrate and ON24.
X
X just rolled out a big upgrade to its direct messages, called XChat, for all users. This feature has previously been tested with paid users but is now available for everyone.
The biggest change is that messages and shared files can now be end-to-end encrypted, meaning only you and the person you’re talking to should be able to read them, according to X.
X also added disappearing messages, similar to Snapchat, the ability to edit or delete DMs, screenshot blocking, and soon, voice notes and video chat.
To make this work, the system will use a PIN to protect a private key, which can be recovered on different devices.
But it’s worth noting that basic message details, like who you talked to and when, are still not encrypted, per Social Media Today.
Additionally, users who pay for a Premium+, Premium Business or Premium Organizations subscription on the platform can now request inactive usernames that are no longer in use by others.
If the request is approved, the user doesn’t own the handle, but they receive a license to use it, and X can take it back at any time, per their terms.
To ask for a handle, go to handles.x.com, or find the “Request an inactive handle” tab in the Premium Hub, pick the username you want, agree to X’s Marketplace terms, and sometimes pay a transfer price, per X.
Once a user gets permission to use the requested handle, they have to stay active by making posts, replying and logging in from at least one device every 30 days. Otherwise, X may take the handle back.
Facebook Marketplace is aiming to make buying and selling feel more like a social experience while simplifying the process. Users can now create shopping collections and invite friends to add items.
Facebook is also testing a new group buying feature that lets friends join the chat with a seller so users can compare options or negotiate as a group.
When users message a seller, Facebook will suggest helpful questions to ask. For car shopping specifically, Facebook’s AI tools will automatically pull together useful details like safety info, engine specs and price comparisons.
Users can now also comment on and react to listings like regular posts. Facebook is improving how shipping costs, taxes and delivery updates show up so everything is clearer from the start.
Additionally, Meta is removing two Facebook Social Plugins: the external Like button and the Comment button, beginning February 10, 2026.
Per Meta: “This change reflects our commitment to maintaining a modern, efficient platform that serves developers’ current needs while enabling us to invest in future innovations. The plugins that will be discontinued reflect an earlier era of web development, and their usage has naturally declined as the digital landscape has evolved.”
TikTok
TikTok just launched a new feature called Bulletin Board, which lets creators send public updates directly to their fans.
Creators can post text, images or videos, and followers who join the board get notifications in their inbox. They can react with emojis, but they can’t comment back.
Right now, the feature is available only to creators who are 18 or older and have at least 50,000 followers, TikTok says. But the feature is a way for creators to build community, share news, drop exclusive content or promote things like new music or other important updates with their followers.
Snapchat
Snapchat just brought back its 2D“Comic Bitmoji,” upgraded so it works on the newer 3D avatar system, according to Snap.
Available for Snapchat+ subscribers, it’s like applying a filter to your avatar so it looks flat in a throwback to the early days of Snap, but still keeps all the same details and expressions as your current 3D Bitmoji.
The move stems from a petition users signed to bring back the original avatar, Snap says.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at [email protected].
