Some users panicked after it seemed like Snapchat knew when they were born.
It seems, you’re the one who told Snapchat about your date of birth or place of birth. The app’s exact knowledge of a user’s exact time, date, and birth location has been an issue for users on Twitter and TikTok for the past few days. But that’s because of the Snapchat’s Astrological Profile feature, not some nefarious new skill. This feature became popular last year.
You can see your “Astrological Birthdays” in Snapchat’s settings. And if you didn’t know you’d given the app all that information, that would be a pretty alarming find. However, checking baby photos won’t reveal that Snapchat Hot Dog has been with you since birth.
“Astrological Profile feature is the cause”, Snapchat told.
As Snapchat claims. The birth date and time information shown above is actually inputted by the users to get more specific information for the astrological profile feature. This feature requires exact date and time of birth from each person in order to accurately calculate their star chart reading. In addition, Snapchat also states that it takes the privacy of personally identifiable information very seriously. And that this detailed birth date and time information is only used for this astrological profile feature.
Snapchat launched Astrological Profiles in November 2020 as a way for users to share and compare horoscopes across their stories and check their relative compatibility with friends. You shared your date of birth with Snapchat when you created your profile. The new astrology features just go a step further to ask the time and place of your birth.
One side effect of allowing Snapchat to act as an astrologer is that the app now has full details of your date of birth and place of birth stored in the “Birthday” section of your settings as “My Astrological Birthday.” Snapchat doesn’t share any birth info unless you want to (your date of birth with friends at most). And you can delete that specific birth time and location at any time with a single tap. No individual pieces of information are particularly damaging on their own. But it’s a good illustration of how apps can collect information about you over time, even if it’s never shared or necessarily used by the app.
This confusion may be because Snapchat has so many interesting but easy to forget features.
The company has acknowledged this to users via Twitter. An unknown issue is believed to be the cause of this. This issue has prevented users from logging in to the app and unable to continue accessing Snapchat. They are working on a fix for this problem.
In early June of last year, Snapchat also faced a major problem when it encountered many problems on the app after the update. However, the way to fix that is not through its servers, but something that users should do in their phones.
Now they have another problem, but it cannot be easily fixed as it is for the company.
Currently, Snapchat users can launch the app but cannot continue to sign in. Normally, everyday users would only load its app and proceed to its homepage where a camera is already waiting. ut now, well, it stuck itself on the login or sign-up page.
Users post memes and reaction photos or GIFs to Twitter to explain their current status when they check out and log into Snapchat.
It was just a normal day for people to use the app, share stories, talk to friends, and view their feeds, but it couldn’t be done due to this server outage.
Snapchat Fix
Currently, users and Snapchat are waiting for fixes and updates from their support team. And users will face the problem that they may not use the app for the rest of the afternoon. Don’t worry, as problems like this should be resolved within a few hours and it won’t take much up to a day for it to work again.
May was a successful month for Snapchat, especially as it introduced many additions to the app brought about by its innovation presentation. This includes a dark mode for Snapchat that will be enabled or disabled by the user; either default depending on the time or system of the phone.
On the other hand, this is also where the fourth generation Snapchat Spectacles has empowered itself, looking more into augmented reality, far better than its previous tech glasses.
This week in social media news, Instagram is testing three new designs to accommodate tabs for Reels and shopping; Twitch launches a suite of competitive tools for organizers called Versus; Snapchat’s new study reveals Gen Z has higher ad recall than older age groups; Facebook explains how it’ll enforce ad limits for pages in 2021 and more.
Instagram Tests Three New Designs To Make Room For Reels And Shopping
Instagram is globally testing the insertion of two new tabs on the platform. One for its newly launched TikTok clone, Reels, and one for shopping. Three new designs are in works to accommodate the new tabs; Instagram chief Adam Mosseri confirmed to The Verge.
Why it matters: Mosseri says Instagram’s goal with the addition of two new tabs is to help individual creators “earn their livelihoods on the app, whether by becoming video stars or e-commerce moguls.”
The details: To avoid making the app feel crammed, adding two new tabs will require Instagram to move at least one existing tab—which could prove tricky and fruitless given many have already criticized the app for feeling crowded. For example, writer and investor Eugene Wei described Instagram’s current design as “a jumble of formats.”
Twitch Launches Invite-Only Suite Of Organizer Tools Called Versus
Twitch has debuted an invite-only suite of competitive tools called Versus that enables competitive organizers to “build cutting-edge competitions in just a few steps.”
Why it matters: Versus marks Twitch’s latest attempt to boost its esports presence. In April, it launched an esports directory to keep viewers updated on the most recent tournaments.
The details: In closed beta for now, Versus lets organizers customize their competition with rules, banners and a profile image, plus set up participant registration, all within Twitch. Game developers, Twitch Rivals competitors and collegiate esports leagues will have access to Versus starting today. And for those not invited by Twitch, there’s a waitlist.
Instagram Creates Equity Team, To Hire Director For Diversity And Inclusion
Instagram has convened a dedicated product group that’s tasked with better understanding and addressing bias in its product development and users’ experiences, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri announced in a blog post. In addition, the company is hiring a director for diversity and inclusion.
Why it matters: The news follows Instagram’s commitment in June to review the ways it could be undeserving certain groups of people, which has led the platform to develop and update a variety company-wide policies to support communities around the world. This work includes Instagram’s removal of 23 different banned organizations and the platform’s two-month review process of its verification practices to ensure a fairer process.
The details: Mosseri says the new Instagram Equity team will work to create “fair and equitable products,” by working with Facebook’s Responsible AI team to ensure algorithm fairness.
Instagram’s director for diversity and inclusion will help it find, keep and grow more diverse talent, the post says.
Snapchat: Gen Z Shows Higher Ad Recall Than Millennials And Gen Xers
According to the results of a study Snapchat commissioned Kantar to conduct; Gen Z are more likely to recall advertising than older age groups; even when they spend less time viewing skippable content.
Why it matters: Gen Z’s shorter attention span presents a challenge to marketers who are trying to reach the consumer group that has. According to Snapchat, estimated annual spending power of $1.2 trillion.
The details: The findings show that 59 percent of Gen Z recalled a brand’s skippable video ad, compared with 57 percent of millennials and 47 percent of Gen X. The study also found that 55 percent of Gen Z who watched a skippable ad for less than two seconds correctly recalled it, compared with 46 percent for millennials and 26 percent for Gen X and baby boomers.
Gen Z also has a higher rate of brand preference, as 65 percent of them say brands help them to express themselves; compared with 40 percent for Gen X and baby boomers.
Facebook Outlines New Ad Limits For Pages
Facebook is introducing four limit tiers of advertiser categories that outline how many ads each page can run concurrently to improve ad performance. The platform says it will start enforcing these ad limits from February 2021 through summer 2021.
Why it matters: As per Facebook, “When an advertiser runs too many ads at once, each ad delivers less often. This means that fewer ads exit the learning phase; and more budget is spent before the delivery system can optimize performance.”
The details: Facebook’s four tiers to help guide ad volume include 250 ads for small to medium-sized pages; 1,000 ads for medium to large-sized pages; 5,000 ads for larger pages; and 20,000 ads for the largest pages, or those with advertising budgets greater than $10 million in their highest spending month in the last year.
Facebook Watch Has Over 1.25 Billion Visitors Each Month
Two years after Facebook launched Facebook Watch, the network says 1.25 billion people visit Facebook Watch every month; head of video products Paresh Rajwat wrote in a blog post.
Why it matters: The news comes a month after Facebook challenged YouTube’s offerings when it launched official music videos in the US on Facebook Watch. The music destination, where Katy Perry exclusively debuted her music video for “Smile,” lets fans discover music videos through filters like artist, genre and mood.
The details: Facebook Watch’s success coincides with a string of new content partnerships it formed with television and media companies in France, Germany, Italy, the Middle East, North Africa, Spain and the UK.
In the gaming category on Facebook Watch alone, over 200 million people watch live videos each month, with watch time on Facebook Gaming increasing 75 percent from Q1 to Q2 this year.
In addition to music videos, gaming and television programming, live sports has contributed to the rapid growth of Facebook Watch. Just this past weekend, the UEFA Champions League broadcasts in Latin America drew in over 13.7 million viewers; making it the most-watched soccer match in history on Facebook, according to Rajwat.
Facebook also recently launched paid online events to help struggling small businesses and creators. Facebook says it won’t collect any fees from paid online events for at least the next year.
Lastly, Facebook expanded the availability of fan subscriptions and Stars so fans can donate to their favorite creators.
TikTok Announces New Marketing Partners And Stitch Feature
As ByteDance figures out a way to sell TikTok’s US operations, TikTok announced the launch of its new Marketing Partner Program and 20 partners who specialize in areas like campaign management, creative development, branded effects and measurement. In a separate announcement, TikTok said it’s launching a new editing feature called Stitch; which will enable users to clip and integrate scenes from others users’ videos into their own.
Why it matters: TikTok’s Marketing Partner Program is the latest addition to the company’s advertising platform, TikTok for Business.
The details: TikTok’s new marketing initiative comprises partners like Bidalgo, QuickFrame, Bare Tree Media, IgniteXR, Kantar and more. The app says its goal is to “build new opportunities for marketers to be creative storytellers and meaningfully engage with the TikTok community.”
Regarding the new app’s new Stitch feature, TikTok says it’s similar to Duet in that it’ll let users reinterpret and build on another user’s content. Every video created with Stitch credits the original creator in the new video’s caption; which directly links to the original video. Users can decide in their settings whether or not others can “Stitch” their content, according to TikTok’s company post.
Instagram Launches Reels Trend Insights, Adds ‘Suggested Reels’ To Main Feed
A month after launching TikTok clone Reels, Instagram has added ‘Suggested Reels’ in the main feed of some users; as well as launched a monthly Reels Trend Report on the @creators Instagram account.
Why it matters: Despite receiving criticism for its similarities to TikTok, Instagram Reels is gaining traction. Obviously found that Reels was the second most popular short-form video platform in August after TikTok.
The details: As spotted by influencer marketing strategist Lindsey Gamble; Instagram’s ‘Suggested Reels’ display is TikTok’s version of the ‘For You’ page; once again reflecting Instagram’s desire to mimic the Byte Dance-owned company’s success.
The Reels Trend Report will “take a deeper look” at popular monthly trends. The first report, posted to the @creators account, explores the “infotainment” trend; which involves creators teaching a special skill in an entertaining 15-second tutorial.
