Instagram is expected to surpass 111 million users as 2019 nears an end. Facing changes in user mindset and content consumption, and a quickly evolving social media landscape, the app is shifting focus towards authenticity, connection with community and content creation.

Last week, thousands gathered in Silicon Valley for Facebook’s annual F8 conference. Although the conference is largely for developers, its announcements can help marketers better prepare for upcoming changes to the algorithm, updated features, and app redesigns.

This morning, Instagram announced a new feature for the platform called Checkout. Checkout makes it quick and secure for users to buy the products they discover on Instagram.

Pinterest is now shop-able, creating yet another place for retail therapy and one click shopping.

For those of you that spend hours on the site, you know who you are, you’re now able to purchase your favorite items without ever leaving Pinterest.

Pinterest recently introduced new tools that allow brands to upload catalogs and the users to purchase what is available for sale on directly on the website. The goal is to match users with products they might be interested in buying as they surf through Pinterest. Ads will be placed according to the users taste, making it easier for them find items. There will be another tool allowing users to search for specific products they are thinking of purchasing, and with one click, they will be able to see many items that fit their search, and pay for them right there on the site!

These new features have opened the door to the world of e-commerce for Pinterest, who is taking the necessary steps to make the shopping experience as easy and customized to individuals as possible – and we know that social users, especially Millennials and Gen Z, are expecting custom experiences.

There are three new functions which will provide shopping inspiration for users.

1. The first focuses on generating other items from the searched brand that the user might like.
2. The second will be called “more ideas” and will suggest similar items not necessarily from the same brand but anything that is available on the website.
3. Last, but not least, users will be able to find stock information regarding unique items using the search tool.

Pinterest joins the ranks of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, who are also introducing ways for their users to buy from the platforms.

Online shopping just got better and let’s face it a lot easier! For those of us that have countless boards filled with cute outfits to dream kitchens, let’s get shopping.

Read more on this topic direct from Pinterest.

Zuckerberg strikes again! His recent announcement of Facebook’s new vision and ways to make the platform more secure amid controversy that millions of users’ security has been breached. If you don’t remember the drama, users’ personal information was leaked and improperly used by the UK-based consultancy Cambridge Analytica in 2018.

In a lengthy statement, Zuckerberg described the end-to-end encryption they want to implement on Facebook messenger as well as their other messaging platforms such as Instagram’s direct message. The end-to-end encryption is a way to ensure that the messages exchanged between individuals will stay private to the messaging parties, and won’t be exposed to any other person including the government and/or Facebook itself. The method is already in use on WhatsApp, which by the way, Facebook also owns.

While building WhatsApp, the focus was on the privacy so that users would have a platform where they don’t have to fear their conversations are being creeped on by unwanted parties, thus allowing the individual to be more comfortable expressing himself. So, to get Facebook to a level of security that would compare or exceed that of WhatsApp, Zuckerberg and his team started working on strategies to implement changes.

Although it wasn’t clear how long the entire process would take to implement these safety measures, here’s what we know:

1. Zuckerberg wants to transform the messaging platforms from a “town square” to a “digital living room” where users feel comfortable having conversations
2. Sensitive information will be kept for a shorter period of time such as a month or a year, and the users might even have the option of choosing how long they want to display a specific message on the recipient’s device before they send it.
3. While end-to-end encryption is a perfect way to ensure benign conversations stay private, it is a bit of a hiccup because it also allows malignant content and intentions to be shared through a highly encrypted server, making it much harder for these conversations to be detected.
   • To make sure they still have a way of identifying these harmful conversations, they’ll be working with cybersecurity firms and the government to develop the right level of encryption to make sure their good intentions doesn’t cause them any more headaches.
4. All messaging platforms such as Facebook’s Messenger, Instagram’s Direct Message, and WhatsApp will be integrated so that the users can have the opportunity to pick the platform they want to be messaging on, and use all three interchangeably.
5. With regards to data centers not being installed in countries where human rights records are weak, and where privacy and freedom are more likely to be invaded by the officials or harmful parties will stay the same – Zuckerberg stated that this is a trade-off Facebook is willing to take to ensure top security.

Finally, Zuckerberg admitted on his statement that people don’t have much faith in Facebook’s abilities to increase safety, due to its reputation that has been stained by numerous events, the latest being the data breach discovered in late 2018. Despite, the statement is very detailed and shows initiative that Facebook hasn’t taken before. It sounds like Zuckerberg is finally listening to the feedback and responding to the backlashes. Only time will tell if any of these promises will be possible to implement. Stay tuned!