Snapchat announced it will start charging users for storing more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting user backlash and concerns over increased costs, with plans to introduce affordable storage options and a gradual global rollout.
Instagram Threads' recent addition of direct messages has sparked user backlash, especially among women, who express concerns over harassment, spam, and lack of opt-out options, highlighting challenges in balancing new features with user control and safety.
Apple sent an unsolicited promotional notification via Apple Wallet to promote the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, offering a discount on tickets, which was met with criticism for being intrusive and reminiscent of past controversial marketing stunts.
YouTube Premium users are outraged as the platform announces a significant price increase, with some subscriptions rising to $40 per month, leading to nearly $500 annually. The price hike, which users were notified about on November 7, is set to take effect on December 7. Many subscribers expressed their frustration online, questioning the rationale behind the increase. The price surge is partly attributed to Apple's 30% cut on purchases. Meanwhile, YouTube is testing a cheaper, ad-supported version of Premium and continues efforts to combat adblockers.
Adobe faces backlash over updated Terms of Service that grant the company unlimited access to user projects for content review and other purposes, sparking privacy concerns and suspicions of AI training. Despite the controversy, Adobe has not revised the terms or commented on the situation.
Instagram is testing unskippable ads that users must watch before continuing to scroll, causing significant user outrage. Meta confirmed the test, stating it aims to drive value for advertisers. Many users threaten to leave the platform if the ads become widespread, fearing it could harm Instagram's user base.
Following YouTube's recent crackdown on ad blockers, thousands of users are uninstalling these tools in response. The platform's efforts to enforce its ad policies have sparked user backlash, leading to a surge in ad blocker removals.
Microsoft has reversed its decision to impose storage limits for photos in users' OneDrive accounts after facing significant backlash from customers. The company had planned to count photos in the OneDrive Gallery and saved photo albums separately towards the cloud-based limit of five gigabytes, which would have prevented additional files from syncing. However, due to the unexpected policy change, Microsoft has decided not to roll out the update, following feedback from users. This comes after Microsoft had already tightened its storage offerings, including a change in Outlook policy that forced attachments to count towards the OneDrive limit.
Reddit is removing all chats and messages from before 2023 as part of its transition to a new chat architecture, leaving users unable to access their old conversations. While there may be a way to recover some of the messages through a data request, many users are unhappy with the lack of direct notification from Reddit. This move comes amidst a broader backlash from users and moderators over new policies and the phasing out of the existing coin system used to recognize exceptional contributors.
Elon Musk's decision to temporarily limit user activity on Twitter in an effort to address data scraping and system manipulation has resulted in widespread backlash from users and undermined advertiser confidence in the platform. The new limits have caused usage roadblocks and functionality problems, further eroding trust in the company. Some industry experts believe this move is undermining the efforts of new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino to revive declining revenue streams and attract advertisers. Musk's decision has also driven record traffic to Bluesky, a Twitter competitor backed by Jack Dorsey.