‘Divine’ is a Jack Dorsey-backed Vine reboot for 2025

Nearly a decade after going offline, Vine is (sort of) back and, in a truly bizarre twist, Jack Dorsey is at least partially responsible. An early Twitter employee has released a beta version of a rebooted Vine — now called "Divine" — that revives the app's six-second videos and includes a portion of the original app's archive. 

The project comes from Evan Henshaw-Plath, a former Twitter employee who goes by "Rabble," and has backing from Dorsey's nonprofit "and Other Stuff," which funds experimental social media apps built on the open source nostr protocol. Rabble has so far managed to resurrect about 170,000 videos from the original Vine thanks to an old archive created before Twitter shut down the app in 2017. In an FAQ on Divine's website, he says that he also hopes to restore "millions" of user comments and profile photos associated with those original posts as well. 

But Divine is more than just a home for decade-old clips. New users can create six-second looping videos of their own for the platform. The app also has many elements that will be familiar to people who have used Bluesky or other decentralized platforms, including customizable controls for content moderation and multiple feed algorithms to choose from. The site's FAQ says Divine plans to support custom, user-created algorithms too.

Divine is also taking a pretty strong stance against AI-generated content. The app will have built-in AI detection tools that will add badges to content that's been verified as not created or edited with AI tools. And, according to TechCrunch, the app will block uploads of suspected AI content.

"We're in the middle of an AI takeover of social media," Divine explains on its website. New apps like Sora are entirely AI-generated. TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are increasingly flooded with AI slop—videos that look real but were never captured by a camera, people who don't exist, scenarios that never happened. Divine is fighting back. We're creating a space where human creativity is celebrated and protected, where you can trust that what you're watching was made by a real person with a real camera, not generated by an algorithm."

While all that may sound intriguing, Divine has a long way to go before it can accomplish all that. The app hasn't made it onto either app store yet, though it's already added 10,000 people to an iOS beta, according to its founder. In the meantime, you can also browse some of the app's videos, including some old Vine posts, on its website, though not all of the videos are working properly at the moment.

Still, any kind of reboot is good news for fans of the original, who have long hoped the app might make a comeback. Elon Musk has suggested more than once that he would revive Vine in some way, but has yet to follow through.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/divine-is-a-jack-dorsey-backed-vine-reboot-for-2025-192307190.html?src=rss

Meta is trying to make Facebook Marketplace a social shopping experience

Meta is revamping Facebook Marketplace in an effort to make it more appealing to "young adults" on the platform. The updates includes new collaborative shopping features, as well as AI-generated suggestions and "insights" about specific listings. 

Now, would-be buyers can create Pinterest-like "collections" of Marketplace listings and invite friends to join. These collections can then be shared elsewhere on Facebook or on WhatsApp and Messenger. People will also be able to invite their Facebook friends to join messages with sellers, which Meta says will make it "easier to coordinate pickup, negotiate prices, and get answers to your questions." Facebook is also making Marketplace listings themselves more social, with the ability to add comments and reactions. And while I'm not sure many Facebook users are clamoring for this, it seems like it could seriously up the meme potential for accounts like @insanefbmarketplace

Meta will provide AI-generated insights about vehicles listed on Marketplace.
Meta will provide AI-generated insights about vehicles listed on Marketplace.
Meta

And, because it's 2025 and AI is in just about every other part of Facebook, the company is also adding "AI insights" to listings. This will allow Meta AI to offer up suggestions for questions to ask sellers about the items they've listed. (Importantly, though, it looks like the default first-message suggestion is still a variation of "is this still available," which I've always found to be one of the more annoying quirks of using Marketplace.) The company is also experimenting with vehicle-specific "insights" from Meta AI as car shopping is apparently one of the most popular use cases for Marketplace among younger adults. 

All of the updates are part of Meta's years-long mission to make Facebook cool — or, at least, useful — for "young adults." And the company has long touted Marketplace as one of the more popular features among that demographic. The company has also experimented with local events, a friends-only feed and bringing back the Facebook "poke." 


This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-trying-to-make-facebook-marketplace-a-social-shopping-experience-170000682.html?src=rss

The best Secret Santa gift ideas for 2025: Affordable gifts from Lego, Apple, Yeti and others

Secret Santa gift exchanges are supposed to be fun, but it’s easy to overthink it. You want a gift that feels thoughtful without being awkward, useful without being boring, and most importantly, affordable. The sweet spot is under $50, which is plenty to find something that fits your recipient’s personality. Whether you’re buying for a co-worker you only chat with at the coffee machine, a friend who already has everything or a cousin who never gives you ideas, there are clever options that will make them smile. These picks prove you don’t need to spend big to win at Secret Santa.

Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-secret-santa-gift-ideas-for-2025-affordable-gifts-from-lego-apple-yeti-and-others-130014081.html?src=rss

Meta is killing off the external Facebook Like button

Next year will see the end arrive for two of Facebook's external social plugins. The platform's Like button and Share button for third-party websites will be discontinued on February 10, 2026. The blog post from Meta explains that site admins shouldn't have to take any additional steps as a result of the change, although they can choose to remove the plugins before the discontinue date. Any remaining plugins will "gracefully degrade," which sounds much more dramatic than what will actually happen, which is that they'll render as a 0x0 invisible element. 

Ending support for these features marks the end of an era for Meta and Facebook. External Like and Share buttons were introduced in 2010. The tools were promoted as ways for sites to generate more traffic through the social network, which was a major way that people shared and saw articles at that time. The company's official line is that the plugins "reflect an earlier era of web development, and their usage has naturally declined as the digital landscape has evolved." But Facebook also plays a much smaller role in the broader Meta business operation than it once did, and anecdotally, it's less common to see sites running only integrations with a single social network.

Update, November 10, 2025, 4:45PM ET: Corrected the original release date for the plugins.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-killing-off-the-external-facebook-like-button-205207354.html?src=rss

Snap is bringing back 2D Bitmoji for Snapchat+ subscribers

Snap is offering Snapchat+ subscribers the chance to have 2D Bitmoji avatars once again. In the coming days, they’ll be able to activate a setting called Comic Bitmoji. Snap said this will revive “the charm of classic avatars, while keeping all the benefits of today’s 3D infrastructure.” If you turn on Comic Bitmoji, all Bitmoji avatars that you see in Snapchat will be rendered in 2D. You’ll also be able to send stickers to your friends in that style.

Snap switched from 2D to 3D avatars back in 2023. The company said the move allowed it to offer a larger array of customizations, including more body types, hairstyles and makeup looks.

However, many users yearned for a return to a 2D look. Nearly 100,000 of them signed a Change.org petition demanding the return of 2D Bitmoji, and Snap said it listened. CEO Evan Spiegel signed the petition too.

Snap says Comic Bitmoji effectively applies a filter to the 3D avatars. To make the animations and expressions work properly in the 2D format, the team had to make adjustments to proportions, shading and outlines, according to Fast Company. Snap said that more than 320 million people use Bitmoji every day, so getting the 2D renders right was important.

It’s a little disappointing that Snap is locking the the Comic Bitmoji setting behind a paywall. However, it seems like just the kind of feature that might prompt more users to sign up for a Snapchat+ subscription.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/snap-is-bringing-back-2d-bitmoji-for-snapchat-subscribers-202257144.html?src=rss

Patreon is adding a discovery feed to help creators avoid social media platforms

Patreon has spent the last few years pitching itself as a healthier alternative to algorithmic social platforms for creators. Now, the membership service is adding a bunch of new social features for its creators in an attempt to make its platform more of a viable alternative to mainstream social media.

The updates include a new post format, called Quips, that allows creators to share non-paywalled updates that can include text, photos or video. Patreon users can browse quips from creators via the app's redesigned "home" feed, which now includes recommended posts. (Patreon says users can opt to only see posts from creators they're already following if they wish.) The company is also working on a saved posts feature and a tagging feature so creators can @-mention each other in their posts. 

All that may sound a lot like social media, but Patreon CEO Jack Conte says the updates are meant to give creators a way to grow their audience without relying on platforms that aren't as invested in their success. "I don't think of it as competing with Instagram …  I feel like we're competing with what Instagram should have and could have become, but did not," he said in an update shared on his Patreon. 

Patreon's "Quips" will make the service feel more like social media.
Patreon's "Quips" will make the service feel more like social media.
Patreon

With the updates, the company is also walking a fine line between offering creators an alternative to social media and becoming the type of algorithmic platform it has railed against. Conte seems aware of this tension, noting that the membership-only tab will still deliver updates only from creators people are already following. "If we pivot too much to discovery and you don't see the creators that you're subscribed to and love, then we're not doing our job of helping you cultivate long-term relationships, and we have to fix that," he said.

At the same time, he says there are early signs that the changes will be positive for creators. According to Conte, creators who have tried a beta version of Quips have already seen a significant rise in new free memberships from the feature. So far, there's been a much smaller rise in paid subscribers, with "somewhere in the 5 to 10 percent" range of new paid memberships coming from Quips, though Conte says he's "optimistic" about its potential to drive paid growth,

Patreon plans to roll out these updates slowly, with full availability coming sometime next year. In the meantime, creators who want access to Quips sooner can join a waitlist to be added to the beta.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/patreon-is-adding-a-discovery-feed-to-help-creators-avoid-social-media-platforms-173000049.html?src=rss

Amazon Music’s Fan Groups are a refreshingly old-school way to share and find tunes

Amazon is in the middle of rolling out Alexa+, the long-awaited, AI-infused update for its voice assistant. At the same time, the company has also been giving a fair bit of attention to Amazon Music, adding things like Alexa+ integration and AI-powered playlists. And as of today, Amazon is rolling out a new community-focused feature called Fan Groups. As the name suggests, Fan Groups are a way for users to connect around different musical interests — and what makes this more fun to me is that these aren’t limited to Amazon-curated groups.

Once Fan Groups fully rolls out, anyone will be able to create a public group in Amazon Music based around a genre, region, time period or anything else you want to focus the group on. Right now, Fan Groups are only available in Canada during a a beta period, but they’ll come to other countries (including the US) early next year. Amazon has had testers building out some Fan Groups in the meantime so that testers don’t walk into a ghost town.

When you first open the Groups tab, which will be part of Amazon Music’s bottom navigation, you’ll see a top rail with Groups you’ve joined and a scrolling list of ones you can check out. Some of the examples Amazon showed off include “K-pop Now,” “Red Dirt Americana” and “Indie Insiders,” all of which feel pretty self-explanatory. Each group includes a “featured” playlist at the top and then a scroll of posts by people who’ve joined the group.

Members can share any song, album or playlist on Amazon Music along with a comment; you can then have a discussion on the post. It’ll be familiar to anyone who has used a Facebook Group over the years. Somewhat interestingly, Amazon is also letting you share external links Beyond the “posts” view, there’s also a music-only tab that just shows everything that has been shared to the group. One of the more intriguing features in Fan Groups is the ability to just hit “play” and listen to everything that’s been shared over time — it’s something that should be good for exploration as well as just seeing if the group’s tastes are aligned with your own.

In the quick demo I saw of Fan Groups, it felt like the rare new social tool that could be useful. Music is obviously an extremely social art, one that so many love sharing with other fans. Discovery is also a huge part of being a music fan, and I appreciate the fact that Amazon is building a way to get recommendations from other human beings and not just algorithms and AI. The only issue is that getting traction for a social network built inside of a specific service isn’t the easiest thing to do — you could just as easily share music on Facebook or any number of other apps. But the potential for finding new music and sharing what you’re into with other fellow obsessives make this feature worth a look once it fully launches.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-musics-fan-groups-are-a-refreshingly-old-school-way-to-share-and-find-tunes-150000084.html?src=rss

Meta is making billions of dollars from scam ads on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, report says

Meta is making billions of dollars every year from ads marketing scams and illegal products on its platform, according to a new report from Reuters. The report details the staggering numbers behind scam ads on Meta's platform, and raises fresh questions about why the company has failed to get the problem in check. 

Last year, Meta estimated that scam ads could account for as much as 10 percent of its revenue, a total that would amount to about $16 billion, according to documents reported by Reuters. This includes ads for "fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos, and the sale of banned medical products." In fact, scams on Meta's platform are so far-reaching that researchers at the company estimated that its apps "were involved in a third of all successful scams in the U.S."

The report also outlines how Meta has at times made it harder for its own teams to fight such ads, and how its own processes allow for repeat offenders to continue buying ads. It says that a "small advertiser" caught "promoting financial fraud" wouldn't be blocked until they were flagged "at least eight times." Meta has been even more lenient with "bigger spenders," which have reportedly been permitted to "accrue more than 500 strikes" without being removed from the platform. 

That may sound shockingly permissive, particularly compared to Meta's standards for users on its platform, but the Reuters report highlights how high the stakes are for Meta. The report notes that just four ad campaigns removed by Meta this year accounted for $67 million in revenue for the company. The report says that internally, executives have grappled with how to bring scam ads under control without adversely affecting the company's bottom line. At one point, managers were reportedly told not to "take actions that could cost Meta more than 0.15% of the company’s total revenue."

In response to the report, Meta told Reuters that the estimated 10 percent of revenue from scam ads was "rough and overly-inclusive,” but didn't share an alternative figure. "Over the past 18 months, we have reduced user reports of scam ads globally by 58 percent and, so far in 2025, we’ve removed more than 134 million pieces of scam ad content,” spokesperson Andy Stone said.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-making-billions-of-dollars-from-scam-ads-on-facebook-instagram-and-whatsapp-report-says-184128645.html?src=rss

Discord gives parents more insight into their teens’ activity through Family Center

Discord has been trying to strike a balance between affording teen users their privacy and allowing for parental oversight. Over the next week, the platform is rolling out some updates for its Family Center with the aim of helping parents gain more understanding of what their teens are doing on Discord, while giving them the ability to manage certain settings. 

Parents and guardians were already able to see an overview of some of their teens' Discord activity. Now, they'll be able to view all purchases for the previous seven days; exactly how long teens have spent in voice and video calls across direct messages, servers and group DMs; and the five users and servers that a teen has called and messaged most often over the last week.

Teens will have the option to notify a guardian when they report another user or a piece of content to Discord. The guardian will receive an email telling them that their teen filed a report but not the details. The idea behind that is to have a conversation about the report and for the guardian to lend their support.

In addition, Discord is adding guardian-managed settings to Family Center. These include the ability to determine who can DM a teen and if sensitive content filters are enabled. Guardians will have access to some data privacy controls too.

Discord said it designed the updates with teens in mind and to make sure they can maintain their independence while having the parental support they might need. Guardians can't see the content of messages that their teens send. Teens can also view the same information as their guardians in Family Center. 

To use Family Center, guardians and teens need to link their accounts. They can do so by going to User Settings > Family Center in the Discord app.

As with other social platforms, Discord is under the spotlight when it comes to the safety of young users. Earlier this year, New Jersey's attorney general sued Discord, claiming that it "misled parents about the efficacy of its safety controls and obscured the risks children faced when using the application." 

Update, November 5, 2025, 1:01PM ET: A previous version of this story indicated that Australia was considering banning under 16s from using Discord. This is not the case, as Discord will not be considered an age-restricted social media platform by Australian officials. We regret the error.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/discord-gives-parents-more-insight-into-their-teens-activity-through-family-center-170000419.html?src=rss

Reddit will be included in Australia’s looming under-16 social media ban

Reddit won't escape Australia's child social media ban. The Guardian reports that Communications Minister Anika Wells announced Reddit's addition on Wednesday. The nation's law, which blocks children under 16 from major social media sites, is scheduled to go into effect on December 10.

Alongside Reddit, Wells said Australian streaming site Kick would also be included. They join the previously announced Facebook, X, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. Australia considers the list to be a starting point for the ban and won't rule out adding more.

YouTube was initially excluded because it was considered an educational tool. But after protests from other companies on the list, Australia ultimately added it.

The ban passed in late 2024. The legislation puts the onus on the platforms, rather than parents, to police underage use. Companies that don't take reasonable steps to prevent under-16 users from accessing their platforms can face penalties of up to AU$49.5 million (around $32 million).

"There's a time and place for social media in Australia, but there's not a place for predatory algorithms, harmful content and toxic popularity [meters] manipulating Australian children," Wells said. "Online platforms can target children with chilling control. We are mandating they use that sophisticated technology to protect them."

Update, November 5 2025, 1:09PM ET: A previous version of this story indicated that Australia was considering banning under 16s from using Discord, GitHub and Roblox. This is not the case, as Australian officials do not plan to treat those as age-restricted social media platforms. We regret the error.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/reddit-will-be-included-in-australias-looming-under-16-social-media-ban-213052856.html?src=rss