The April Scroll Check: What’s New, What’s Testing, What Matters

Keeping up with every platform change is a full-time job, and chances are, you’re already working overtime. That’s where we come in. We round up the latest feature updates, tests, and rollouts from across the social landscape so you don’t have to chase down Threads posts or sift through press releases.

This is your monthly cheat sheet to what’s changed and what actually matters if you run social. We kept it light on the fluff, and removed all the filler. Hopefully, this’ll keep you ahead of the game.

Here’s everything you need to know from April 2025.

LinkedIn

• Video Specs Update: PSA for marketers: LinkedIn videos can now be up to 15 minutes long and 5GB big. Bring on the B2B mini-docs
• ‍Creator Hub: LinkedIn launched a mini site with best practices and examples for everything from video to polls. It's giving "corporate but make it helpful."‍
• Video Trends Feature: “A day in the life” content is trending, and LinkedIn is now surfacing it in your feed like it's 2016 YouTube.
• ‍MP4s in DMs: You can now drop video files directly in your DMs. Brands, get ready for those vibe checks in HD.

Instagram

• Edits App Launch: Instagram finally dropped Edits, their answer to CapCut. It’s got AI-powered tools, timeline editing, and seamless sharing to IG and FB. A win for creators who’ve been begging for better tools.
• Asteria Subscription (Testing): So now there’s Edits, and apparently there might be a premium tier called Asteria with even more features. Stay tuned.
• Carousel in Stories: Finally, you can tap through a carousel inside Stories without being kicked back to the feed. About time.
• Monthly Recap for Creators: Instagram’s testing a monthly summary so you can actually keep track of how your content’s doing.
• New Reels Filters: “Latest” and “Most Viewed” filters are being tested. Yes, just like TikTok.
• Lockable Posts: Posts you have to unlock with a code? Instagram’s getting a little spicy with its experiments.
• iPad App (Rumored): You won’t believe this, but after years of silence, Instagram might finally be building an iPad app.
• Teen Safety Expansion: Meta’s going full Big Sibling. They’re auto-flagging suspected teen accounts, locking down Live access, and making blur filters parent-approved only.
• RIP Notes on Feed Posts: Notes are officially gone from the feed and Reels—only sticking around in DMs. Guess they weren’t hitting like that.

Facebook

• Teen Account Experience: Facebook's expanding Instagram’s teen protections. Teens now get nudged to take breaks and are defaulted into accounts that make it harder for randos to slide into the DMs.
• Spam Demotion: Facebook is finally cracking down on caption clout-chasers. Stuff too many hashtags or stretch your caption to novel-length? You might see your reach tank.
• Downvote Button (Testing): You can now downvote trash comments. A petty dream come true.
• Referral Traffic is Back?: Publishers are noticing Facebook sending more clicks again. Who saw that comeback coming?

TikTok

• Footnotes = TikTok’s Community Notes: They're testing a new way to add context to videos. It's giving “please don’t sue us, here’s some nuance.”
• Preview Post Feature (Android): Android users might soon be able to preview carousel posts before they go live. A little more polish, a little less panic.
• Alt Text for Images: TikTok’s finally getting on board with alt text for accessibility. Took ‘em long enough.
• Reviews in Comments: They're testing native reviews inside the comment tab. Google, watch your back.
• Brand Safety Gets a Glow-Up: TikTok just gave advertisers more control over where their ads show up with two new tools: Video Exclusion Lists and Profile Feed Exclusion Lists. Basically, if you don’t want your brand showing up next to chaos (or cringe), you can now block specific videos or profiles. Handy.

YouTube

• AI Overviews in Search: YouTube’s letting AI summarize what’s in a video before you click. Basically CliffNotes for YouTube.
• Shorts Timer: YouTube wants to help you stop doomscrolling Shorts. A timer might guilt you into closing the app.
• AI Creation Tools: YouTube Studio rolled out tools that suggest video ideas and punchier hooks. For when your brain is buffering.
• YouTube’s Blurring Thumbnails Now: YouTube’s testing a thing where if a video has mature or “suggestive” content, the thumbnail shows up blurred in search. You’ll still see the title and channel, just not the cleavage clickbait unless you choose to unblur it.

Threads

• Threads.com Is Here: They moved from Threads.net to Threads.com and made desktop way more usable. Multi-column feed view, faster browsing, and yes—finally—a proper web experience.
• Threads Wants to Know Your Vibe: Threads is now prompting users to add up to 10 “topics of interest” to their profile. It’s basically Threads saying, “Hey, what are you into?” These show up in your bio and link out to related convos—so if you’re heavy into iced coffee discourse or niche memes, now’s your time to shine.

Snapchat

• Virtual Travel Inspo: 79% of Snapchatters say virtual tours help them discover new places. Might be time to rethink your travel content.
• Family Center Hub: Snapchat launched a dedicated site to help parents understand how their teens are using the app.

Bluesky

• Blue Checks (for real): Bluesky rolled out blue checks, an actual verification from legit sources like The New York Times.
• Emoji Reactions in DMs: You can now heart, laugh, or cry-react to your friends’ messages like it’s 2020 all over again.
• Explore Tab Revamp: They’re testing trending topics and suggested follows. It's giving “discoverability is a feature, not a bug.”

Pinterest

• Too Much AI? Pinterest’s On It: Pinterest is now tagging AI-generated images with “AI modified” so you know what’s real and what’s robot. Plus, you’ll soon be able to say “no thanks” to seeing AI art in your beauty and design boards.

Alright, that’s a wrap on April 😮‍💨

If you’ve made it this far…bless your bandwidth. We’ll do another recap at the end of May to help you keep a pulse on the platforms without burning out. In the meantime, if you’re using any of these new features in wild or weird ways, we’d love to hear about it.

Until next time, stay sharp and scroll responsibly.

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