New Facebook features that borrow from Snapchat seem like a weekly occurrence, whether in the form of experiments or full-fledged apps. The company’s latest attempt at imitating its younger rival comes in the form of custom “frames,” which borrow the concept of geofilters from Snapchat.
Facebook now lets users create their own frames (essentially, graphics that can be overlaid on images and videos) via its new Camera Effects platform. The move sees Facebook take an existing feature — in this case it’s the profile frames the social network introduced last year — and add personalization to the mix. Users will also be able to add location details to their designs in order to visually represent places such as cities, neighborhoods, and landmarks — much like Snapchat’s custom geofilters.
If you’re game, you can start by creating your graphic using the design tool of your choice. Make sure to save your masterpiece as a PNG with a transparent background and then upload it to Facebook. Next, you’ll have to arrange your design to fit Facebook’s template, after which you can preview your frame in both landscape and portrait mode. As previously mentioned, Facebook will also give you the option to add location details. When you’re happy with your creation, you can submit it for review. Once activated, other people will also be able add your frame to their own images and videos. Additionally, Facebook will allow you to keep track of your frame’s popularity using analytics.
In general, the tool doesn’t sound like its meant for individual use. Like custom geofilters, frames are aimed toward people planning events or special occasions (such as weddings, and birthdays) where multiple attendees can use the graphic. It’s easy to see business Pages, brands, and companies taking advantage of the Camera Effects platform to promote causes, products, and conferences.
At launch, the tool is only available in the United Kingdom, Colombia, Mexico, and Taiwan. Facebook is also integrating frames within its experimental camera function — itself a Snapchat clone — currently being tested in Ireland.
Discord is trying to push more visibility on the internet for some of its biggest communities, and there's a good chance your messages could end up in a Google Search. The platform is preparing to make conversations from certain public servers searchable on the web, so there's a privacy setting you might want to check before the rollout begins.
According to Discord's official announcement, the changes will roll out in two stages. Starting November 16, qualifying servers will have public web pages featuring automated summaries of conversations. By mid-December, individual messages from eligible public channels could also appear word-for-word in Google and other search engines.
You just opened X and started typing your thoughts. Imagine the jump scare when a hand suddenly pops up on your screen, pointing at the promote button. It doesn’t say a word and simply points. For a growing number of X users, this isn’t a made-up scenario but something they have been seeing since yesterday, and very few of them are amused.
Most of us have learned to tune out the usual in-app upsells, whether it’s a glowing upgrade banner or a pop-up about a premium plan. A floating hand hovering over your draft is much harder to ignore, and that’s probably the whole point.
Scroll through any app for five minutes, and you’ll find someone maxxing something. Their skin, their sleep, their protein intake, even their Friday night on the couch. That little suffix has been everywhere this year, and now it has a trophy to show for it. In a recent announcement, Dictionary.com named maxxing its 2026 Word of the Year.
What are people actually doing when they’re maxxing?