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Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has announced a new lineup of AI tools. Some appear to be rolling out immediately. Others are coming over time. Amongst them is a standalone version of Imagine, Meta’s AI image generation tool.
Imagine has so far been limited to Messenger. The new update brings it out as its own tool. It’s launching now for users in the USA. The company hasn’t said when it’ll roll out to the rest of the world, but I expect it’ll come in time.
Data breaches and similar violations have sent social media giants to court several times so far. But how much did they actually have to pay for their actions? Cybersecurity firm Surfshark recently analyzed it, and the results are staggering. According to the study, since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was established in 2018, half of the top 10 social media platforms have incurred fines totaling €2.9 billion ($3.1 billion) for GDPR violations. What’s more, one-third of these fines were linked to children’s data!
Some days, you just wish you could make big tech CEOs disappear at the snap of a finger. Well, apparently, now you can, as long as it’s in a photo or video.
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg recently showcased how powerful their AI software Emu is getting in a new video that he shared on Facebook. The video generator was previously called “Make-a-video” but is now known as Emu Video and Emu Edit. They may soon be giving Adobe’s Generative Fill a run for their money.
If you’re tired of the annoying ads popping up on your Facebook and Instagram, there’s good news. Well, sort of. For users in Europe, Meta is launching an ad-free subscription. But Meta being Meta, there’s a catch. You’ll have to pay for it, and the price could be significantly higher than your phone or cable bill!
Last year, Instagram launched Subscriptions, a feature for creators that lets them charge for their Stories and live streams and play them only for those who pay the subscription. And now, the platform is expanding its options, adding a tempting “holiday bonus.”
It’s hard to imagine spending a day without our phones, isn’t it? I’m sure you know that most of the apps you use daily aren’t actually great at keeping your data private. But have you ever wondered how much of it is actually shared? Which apps are the most invasive?
Folks at The Money Mongers did, so they conducted a study to answer these quesions. It’s probably no surprise that Meta’s apps have been found to be the most invasive. According to this study, Meta shares nearly all of your data with third parties, but there are other concerning statistical data to consider, too.
A bipartisan coalition of 33 state attorneys general has sued Meta, accusing the company of intentionally designing harmful features on Instagram and Facebook. According to the lawsuit, the company knowingly addicted many young users to overuse these apps.
Meta has revealed that it used public posts from Facebook and Instagram to train its new Meta AI virtual assistant. In a move to retain trust, the company emphasized that they excluded private posts shared only with family and friends to safeguard consumers’ privacy.
Meta also made it clear that private chats on its messaging services were not used as training data for the AI model. The company took additional steps to filter out private details from public datasets used during the training process.
If you separate your personal and business profiles on Instagram – you’ll be happy to know that Facebook now allows it, too. From now on, Facebook will allow you to create multiple profiles. I mean, legally. You don’t have to come up with fake names; you can make fake new profiles and just attach them to your existing account.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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