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Micro.blog now lets you post videos

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This video is going to look great on your Micro.blog.
This video is going to look great on your Micro.blog.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you’re sick of YouTube’s ever-shifting terms, or you don’t like how lame Instagram has become, and you just want somewhere to post your videos without interference, then why not post them on your own microblog? Thanks to an update to Micro.blog, you can now do just that, as easily as posting a photo.

Facebook admits hundreds of millions of passwords were exposed

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
The issues keep piling up for Facebook.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s time to change your Facebook and Instagram passwords again.

Facebook revealed today that it unknowingly stored hundreds of millions of passwords in a readable format on its internal storage systems. There’s no information yet that the passwords were accessed by any nefarious people, but you should probably update yours, just in case.

Instagram removes tool that let users see who’s ‘stalking’ them

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Instagram lawsuit
It just got harder to tell who's Insta-stalking you.
Photo: Pixabay

The Instagram viewers list — a popular feature for keeping tabs on who’s stalking you on the photo-sharing service — quietly disappeared overnight.

The move infuriated some Instagram users after they lost the ability to see the full list of who viewed their Stories after 24 hours. Users also can no longer see who viewed their Highlights, causing some to take to Twitter in anger.

Zuckerberg explains benefits of WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger merger

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facebook-logo-file
It won’t happen until 2020 at the earliest.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed plans to merge WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger — but says it probably won’t happen until 2020 at the earliest.

In a fourth-quarter earnings call this week, Zuckerberg also explained the reasons behind the plan, such as increased security with end-to-end encryption. Many questions still remain unanswered, however.

Facebook could merge WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger by 2020

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Facebook messaging apps
Mark Zuckerberg was to integrate Facebook-owned, Instagram, WhatsApp and messenger.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook will merge its messaging apps, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, by 2020 under a new plan ordered by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Under the plan, the three apps will remain separate but integration would allow an Instagram user to directly chat with someone on Messenger.

Boost your Instagram presence without lifting a finger [Deals]

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This Chrome extension automatically follows, likes, and more to grow your following while you do other things.
This Chrome extension automatically follows, likes, and more to grow your following while you do other things.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’re on Instagram, you want more followers. But if you aren’t a paid social media manager, or maybe even if you are, you probably don’t have time to do all the liking, following and commenting that’s required to build a following. So you might as well let this app do it for you.

Boost your Instagram marketing game with automation [Deals]

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Take control of your Instagram marketing with this powerful automated tool.
Take control of your Instagram marketing with this powerful automated tool.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Instagram is one of the most powerful platforms for promoting a product, service, or brand. By sharing images that relate to waht you do or sell, you can form powerful connections and make a strong impression. But unless you hire a full-time social media manager, staying on top of it can get overwhelming fast.

Instagram continues to boom. Make money at it with this master class [Deals]

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Instagram marketing course
Learn to grow your follower count on Instagram with this crash course.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Sure, it’s nice to have a gaggle of Instagram followers to like your pics. But building an audience on the world’s fastest-growing social media platform is more than just a vanity project. When Kylie Jenner turns her 121 million followers on to a product, she makes a cool $1 million per post.

Instagram just slid a walkie-talkie feature into your DMs

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Instagram lawsuit
Instagram Direct is becoming one of the biggest communication platforms out there.
Photo: Pixabay

The biggest photo and video sharing social network in the world is doubling down on voice messaging.

Instagram launched a new feature today that gives all users the ability to share short voice messages with other people through the Instagram Direct section of the app.

Instagram uses AI to make app accessible to visually impaired users

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Instagram fact checking
Instagram will use fact-checking teams to identify false information.
Photo: Instagram

Instagram will be more accessible to the visually impaired thanks to new changes the photo-sharing platform launched today.

“With more than 285 million people in the world who have visual impairments, we know there are many people who could benefit from a more accessible Instagram,” the company wrote on its Info Center page announcing two new tools.

Instagram goes to war against fake follows and likes

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Instagram lawsuit
Instagram is fixing its fake likes problem.
Photo: Pixabay

Using a third-party app to gain followers and likes on Instagram are about to become a lot less effective at artificially growing audiences.

Instagram revealed today that it is going to war against fake follows and likes by using AI to identify accounts that engage in the practice. Starting today, Instagram says it will remove inauthentic likes, follows and comments from accounts that use third-party apps to boost their popularity.

This is the message you’ll see if you’re guilty:

Aw Snap! ‘Influencer’ sued for not wearing Spectacles on Instagram

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Snap Spectacles
Luka Sabbat wearing Snap Spectacles. He is being sued for not wearing them in more Instagram posts.
Screen shot: Luka Sabbat/Instagram

Life as a social media influencer has its share of heavy lifting.

But a 20-year-old actor and model is facing a $90,000 lawsuit because he allegedly failed at the seemingly easy job of wearing Snap Spectacles in a few posts on Instagram.

Score a social media marketing certification for under 20 bucks [Deals]

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Take a deep dive into social media marketing, earning certification that'll boost your resume and marketability.
Take a deep dive into social media marketing, earning certification that'll boost your resume and marketability.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Making money online means knowing how to leverage social media. Whether you’re trying to get an idea out, elevate a brand, or sell a product, social media marketing is essential. So this massively discounted social media certification course is a must-see.

Enter to win 6 awesome iPhone XS cases [Instagram giveaway]

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Protect your new iPhone XS, plus it's on us.
You've already spent a fortune on your new iPhone XS, let Cult of Mac cover the rest literally.
Photo: Kristal Chan/Cult of Mac

For the next several weeks, we’re giving away dozens of brand new iPhone XS cases on Instagram. We’re kicking off with a bundle of six sexy cases from Spigen, Urban Armor Gear, and Casemate. The six cases all fit the latest iPhone XS (not the Max), and together are worth a tasty $245.

Download Instagram photos with this Siri shortcut

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Download Instagram
You can download any Instagram photo -- even this one.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you like a photo or video on Instagram, you can like it, or you can save it to your collection. But what about just saving it? You just can’t download Instagram photos.

This week, a friend of mine posted some awesome videos he shot on tape back in the 1980s. I don’t want to dig around in Instagram’s ever-more-convoluted app just to watch them. I want to save them to my iPhone’s Photo Library. Instagram doesn’t let you save an image. Even if you copy the Instagram link using the share feature, then open that image in iPhone Safari, you can’t get at the image.

So I made a shortcut to do it for me. Check it out.

Instagram wants to tap out on infinite scrolling

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Instagram lawsuit
A Chrome extension can bring your hidden "Likes" out in the open.
Photo: Pixabay

The days of scrolling through your entire Instagram feed may soon be coming to an end.

Instagram is reportedly testing a new feature that would allow users to move through posts by tapping on the screen. The feature works similar to the way you currently navigate through Stories and could make people spend even more time in the app.

How to use Instagram’s new secure two-factor login

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Here is yet another lazy photographic metaphor for computer security.
Here is yet another lazy photographic metaphor for computer security.
Photo: Jon Seidman/Flickr CC

Instagram has finally added proper secure authentication to its iPhone app. Previously, you could have Instagram send you a one-time login code via SMS every time you signed in. But SMS isn’t secure, making it relatively easy for people to hijack.

Now, you can use your favorite authenticator app — Google Authenticator, for instance — to generate a one-time code any time you need to sign in to Instagram.

How to customize and use your Instagram Nametag

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What should you never do to the Hoff?
This is what The Hoff's instagram tag could look like.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Instagram just added Nametags to its app, to make it easier to share your account with other people. Instead of forcing them to try to remember your Instagram username, you can just show them your Instagram Nametag, and they scan it from their own Instagram app.

It’s a neat feature, already in use on Snapchat. And — of course — you can customize your Nametag. Lets check it out.

Facebook wants to secretly snatch your Instagram location data

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Instagram lawsuit
Facebook wants your Instagram data.
Photo: Pixabay

Instagram is starting to integrate more closely with Facebook when it comes to your personal location data.

The app is reportedly testing a new feature that would allow Instagram to share all of your GPS coordinates with Facebook without ever opening up the Facebook app. This would allow Facebook to gather more information on you so it can serve up more targeted ads and content, but that might piss off some Instagram fans.

Grow and optimize your Instagram account with this assistant [Deals]

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Appz Instagram Assistant
Growing an Instagram presence doesn't have to be difficult with Appz Instagram Assistant.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Whether you are aspiring to become an influencer or starting an online brand, building a presence on Instagram is full of challenges. The name of the game when it comes to Instagram growth is work smarter not harder.

Appz is an easy-to-use software solution that will automate tasks to generate more engagement for your personal or brand Instagram account.

Instagram wants to be your favorite place to shop

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Instagram lawsuit
Instagram wants you to shop more.
Photo: Pixabay

Shopping is about to become an even biggest focus on Instagram with a new update coming out today that makes it easier to find what your favorite accounts are peddling.

The photo-sharing app revealed that it is rolling out its Shopping in Stories feature to businesses in 46 countries today, allowing users to tap on an item to quickly learn about it and possibly purchase it through the business’ website.

This is what it will look like:

Instagram tests user tagging feature in videos

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Instagram lawsuit
Hopefully it won't be long before it rolls out for all users.
Photo: Pixabay

Instagram is testing a new feature which lets users tag their friends in video posts, instead of simply still photos. The feature is currently being trialled with a small number of users, although hopefully it won’t be too long before it rolls out to everyone.

The feature works in a similar way to tagging photos, only that instead of overlaying tags on top of the content, there is a page titled “People in this Video” that shows everyone in a video.

Learn how to make Instagram into a marketing powerhouse [Deals]

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Instagram fact checking
Instagram will use fact-checking teams to identify false information.
Photo: Instagram

Instagram is a great way for you and your friends to find expression through images. With a billion monthly users, it’s also one of the most relevant social media platforms, and so a true marketing powerhouse. You might know just which filters to use, but do you know how to market on Instagram?