Social Media News / May 2026

Howdy!

Social platforms have been changing faster than we can refresh our feeds. This month, Instagram is doubling down on rewarding original creators, TikTok is eyeing up your holiday plans, and Snapchat is apparently charging rent for your camera roll memories.

We’re also diving into the latest rapid-fire updates across the platforms, taking you behind the scenes of our latest partnership with Tatua, and officially launching a little something we’ve been working on behind the scenes… our new free Instagram Audit Tool 👀

From algorithm shifts to creative strategy, consider this your shortcut to everything worth paying attention to right now.

Originality is Getting Awarded and Trust is Being Tested

Instagram just dropped a major algorithm update, and for original creators, it’s a big win 🎉

Meta is officially extending Instagram’s originality protections beyond Reels and into photos and carousels too 📸 Accounts that mainly repost, curate, or recycle content without adding meaningful creative value will now lose access to recommendation spaces like Explore and Suggested Feeds.

Why does that matter? Because recommendation surfaces are where audience growth happens 📈 Instagram isn’t deleting reposted content – it’s stopping repost accounts from taking discovery reach away from the people actually creating the content 🎨

For businesses and brands, take notes ✍️ The algorithm isn’t going to do you any favours for stealing content, reposting without permission, or recycling someone else’s work with a watermark slapped on top. If you’re sharing third-party content, make sure you’re getting permission, reaching out to creators, and reposting properly using Instagram’s native features, like the Repost Button or the Collaborator feature, so that credit goes where it should and your account avoids the repercussions ⚠️Meta is also rolling out a voluntary AI Creator label, allowing creators and brands who regularly use generative AI to disclose it on their profile and content. You don’t have to use the label, but if you’re trying to build trust, community, or long-term brand credibility, transparency matters 🔍

Rapid Fire Update Roundup Across the Platforms

Alright, stay with me. There’s heaps to update you on across all the different platforms, so let’s rapid-fire through them before the apps add even more ⏳

Snapchat

• Your camera roll nostalgia might start costing you. Snapchat has confirmed premium storage tiers for Memories if you go beyond the free storage limit. Thousands of blurry concert videos? Time to pay rent on them.

TikTok

• TikTok is trying its hand at being a travel agent with their new feature TikTok GO, which now let’s users in select markets book hotels, tours, and experiences directly in app through Booking.com and Expedia partnerships. Creators can also attach booking links to content and earn commission. TikTok doesn’t just want your attention anymore, it wants to help fund and plan your holiday budget too. There’s been no word on the exact Kiwi rollout date yet, but it’s one worth watching.

Instagram

• Carousels may finally get individual slide captions. Instead of cramming context into one giant caption, creators and brands could soon add separate captions to every slide. This is a massive win for tutorials, product breakdowns, SEO, and people who refuse to swipe without context.
• Your Story Highlights might be moving. Instagram is quietly testing a profile layout that pushes Highlights below the grid instead of at the top, making your posts and pinned content your shiny new first impression.
• Remember Instants? For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with our monthly newsletters, we mentioned in our October Newsletter that Instagram was trialling instants, their latest Snapchat-inspired feature that allows you to send disappearing photos to your mutuals or Close Friends directly from DMs. The trial phase is officially over and Instants has now landed for everyone.

Try Out Our Free Instagram Audit 

Ever wondered if your engagement rate is actually something to write home about, or if your biggest competitor is quietly leaving you in the dust? Stop guessing. We’ve just dropped our brand new, completely free Instagram Audit Tool, and it is officially up and running for the public 🌐

We wanted to create a tool that cuts through the fluff and gives you insights in seconds ⏱️ 

Here is how refreshingly simple it is to get your hands on the data:

1. Add Your account: Enter your own or any Instagram handle, then throw in as many of your competitors’ handles as you like. There are absolutely no limits on how many public creator or business accounts you can compare. This makes it perfect for researching your competitors, scoping out a potential content creator partner, or running market research.
2. Get the Report in Seconds: The tool instantly emails you a beautifully visual, customised PDF report sent straight to your inbox. 
3. Track the Metrics That Matter: Once it hits your inbox, you can gauge with some top-level stats how you are going in comparison to your competitors. Your mini-audit includes clear, easy-to-read graphs comparing your follower counts, post frequency, total likes, comments, and that all-important engagement rate.

It is fast, it is visual, and it is entirely free 👉 Give it a go

Tatua’s Fresh New Drop

Tatua recently hit the market with their first new product launch in a while, and we were stoked to help them bring it to life. With a focus on the premium quality and seriously yummy textures, we rolled out a campaign designed to put the product front and centre at every touchpoint. We kicked things off with a high-end photoshoot, creating a bank of clean, eye-catching assets that stayed true to the brand while elevating the overall look and feel.

From there, we warmed up the audience with a run of teaser content, blending static posts and Reels to build curiosity and give people a glimpse of what was on the way. When it came time to launch, we backed it all with a reach driven ad campaign across New Zealand, pushing those fresh assets out wide and making sure the product got the attention it deserved. The end result was a smooth, high impact rollout that let the product shine and made sure it didn’t go unnoticed.

As always, we’ll keep filtering through the chaos so you don’t have to. Catch you next month for another round of updates, strategy shifts, and probably a few more features the apps quietly dropped overnight 💤

Until next time 👋

The Mosh Crew