Meta Reveals Video Editor, Threads Ads & Smart Glasses Updates Amid Criticism

As the number of social media users keeps growing, platform providers find themselves obliged to update their offerings with new features, applications, and enhanced experiences, and for Meta—the leader of the social media game—it’s even more imperative if it wants to remain ahead of the pile.

As such, Meta controls the lion’s share of the market—when comparing monthly active users—through Facebook (3 billion), WhatsApp (2 billion), and Instagram (2 billion), which makes up the first, third, and fourth positions respectively.

Although the FTC is out to change this, righting wrongs it committed over ten years ago.

The second position is held by YouTube (2.5 billion monthly active users).

Either way, Meta is keeping up to the requirements of creating new products and services, as well as upgrading its current portfolio with new features. 

Edits: Meta’s New Video Creation App

Under the “new products” category, Meta announced the launch of Edits, a new video creation app that allows users to capture and edit videos directly on their phones, using just one app.

The app is not designed exclusively for Instagram, Facebook, or any other Meta-owned application specifically. It rivals ByteDance’s CapCut app.

“Our goal is to build the most compelling creative tools to help creators express themselves freely in all the ways they can imagine, not just on Instagram and Facebook, but on any platform out there,” said Meta in a news release.

Meta’s Edits brings users features such as longer camera capture (up to 10 minutes); easy project management; the ability to share directly to Instagram and Facebook from within the app; export and post videos without added watermarks; powerful editing tools; auto-enhance options; gain inspiration from reels; use trending audio; and effects such as green screen and transitions.
It will also help users gain real-time data-driven insights for factors such as skip rate, success rate, and more.

Meta plans to introduce more features in the future, including some based on feedback from users. These include the ability to pinpoint exact moments for adjustments based on a video’s timing, motion and effects; modify videos using AI effects; streamline collaboration with friends, other creators, or brands; and access more fonts, text animations, transitions, voice effects, filters, and music options, including royalty-free.
 

Threads Ads Goes Global

Building on a previous announcement to introduce ads in Threads to a small group of businesses and consumers in select regions as a testing phase, Meta revealed that it’s now expanding ads in Threads to all eligible advertisers globally.

However, the delivery of these ads will see a limited rollout, initially touching select markets and eventually hitting additional markets as Meta continues to “test and learn.”

The feature will be on by default for new campaigns using Meta's Advantage+ or Manual Placements plan while advertisers can opt-out via Manual Placements.

It also come with access to inventory filter, which allows users to control the sensitivity level of the organic content their ads appear next to for Feed ads (Facebook and Instagram Feed ads, Reels feed ads and ads in Threads feed), In-content ads (Facebook in-stream videos and Ads on Facebook Reels) and Audience Network ads.

WhatsApp’s New Advanced Chat Privacy

Through a blog post, Meta introduced Advanced Chat Privacy, its latest layer for privacy.

This new feature is available for private and group chats, and allows users to block others from exporting chats, auto-downloading media to their phone, and using messages for AI features—when the setting is on. Essentially, it prevents others from taking content outside of WhatsApp.

Users can turn on the feature by tapping the chat name, then tapping on Advanced Chat Privacy. Meta plans to add more controls in the future.

The new feature is available to all users on the latest version of WhatsApp and forms the platform’s latest measure to enhance user privacy.

“The foundation of privacy on WhatsApp is that your personal messages and calls are protected by end-to-end encryption so that only the sender and recipient can see, listen to or share them. From there, we’ve built multiple layers of privacy, like disappearing messages and chat lock, that take privacy one step further,” reads an excerpt from the blog post.

Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Expansion

On November 18, 2024, Meta announced that its Meta AI would be available on Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in France, Italy, Ireland, and Spain.

Now, Meta is expanding access to Meta AI on these smart glasses, bringing it to Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Users from these countries can now interact with Meta AI using their voice to get answers to general questions. This includes gaining access to its live translation feature and real-time responses.

A week after this move, users will also be able to ask Meta AI about the things they’re looking at.

Meta also plans to bring these smart glasses to India soon.  

Meta Criticizes Meta’s New Policy

Meta’s own Oversight Board criticized the company’s decision to do away with a fact-checking policy, one that reduced regulation and reporting on sensitive topics such as immigration, gender identity, and more.

Furthermore, the Meta-funded independent board claimed the changes were taken “hastily, in a departure from regular procedure, with no public information shared as to what, if any, prior human rights due diligence the company performed.”

It also urged Meta to consider “potential adverse effects” accruing from the changes, which were made just before President Donald Trump took office for his second term.

Aside from this, Meta also found itself being sued by French media companies such as TF1, France TV and BFM TV, for unlawful business practices spanning market dominance in the digital advertising sector, illegal collection of personal data, and using such data for targeted advertising. The lawsuit includes a group of 67 media companies representing 200 publications.

On the user front, Meta faced flak for its new AI feature that can’t be removed, despite being “entirely optional.”

What do you think about the updates announced by Meta and the criticism it’s facing?

Let us know in the comments below!