Social Media Industry News- January 2026

Social Media Platform News and Updates for January 2026

Happy New Year! As we begin a New Year, 2026 brings new opportunities and goals, along with adaptation to an ever-evolving social media industry. Here are the latest platform updates that could impact your business and its connection to your ideal audience.

Social media updates for Instagram

• You can now reshare Public Instagram Stories: Now you can share any public Instagram Story to your followers, no personal tagging required!

• Instagram Reels can now be up to 20 minutes long: The video length has increased from 90 seconds to three minutes, and it's now up to 20 minutes. Why so long? It appears that IGTV is back, but with Reels in mind. The length of the content is a perfect match for the upcoming plans for Reels, now rebranded as the Reels TV App. IG stated, “We’ve heard from our community that watching reels together is more fun, and this test is designed to learn which features make that experience work best on TV. Reels are grouped into channels that match your interests, including new music, sports highlights, hidden travel gems, trending moments, and more.”

• Instagram acknowledges AI's impact on Content Creators: Instagram's CEO, Adam Mosseri, recently shared on the platform that with AI's content becoming more realistic by the day, the platform will need to reframe its approach to content to ensure the authentic content remains a priority on the platform.

• Instagram adds an automation feature to direct messages: Similar to their affiliate partner, ManyChat, Instagram now allows for creator and business accounts to automate direct response messages to new followers.

  
  

Social media updates for Meta

• Meta considers charging business accounts for links in posts: Although currently in testing with a select number of accounts, Meta is exploring a subscription-based model for business accounts, ranging from $14.99 to $149.99 per month, contingent upon Meta verification.

• Meta Transitions from Fact-Checks to Community Notes: Beginning with the US, Meta is ending its third-party fact-checking program and moving to a Community Notes model, allowing more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse and focusing its enforcement on illegal and high-severity violations.

Social media updates for Pinterest

• Pinterest shares 2026 Predictions: Pinterest recently released its 2026 trend report, which includes the ASMR and Gummy Aesthetic trends, as well as the nostalgic return to putting pen to paper with Pen Pals.

Social media updates for TikTok

• TikTok's US division signs deal with Oracle-led investor Group: TikTok recently signed a deal to spin off its U.S. operations to a group controlled by mostly American investors, including software giant Oracle, a company run by billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison. According to TechCrunch, about a third of the newly-formed TikTok operation will be held by existing investors of ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the video app. Approximately 20% will be retained by ByteDance.

Social media updates for WhatsApp

• WhatsApp Tests Usernames as Primary Connection Display: WhatsApp is moving ahead with its usernames change, with a new update now hiding user phone numbers entirely when viewing their WhatsApp profile.