Image: Oriflame
Here’s everything marketers, creators and brands need to know about the latest social media updates for November 2025.
This month, Instagram is doubling down on Reels, AI-generated content is on the rise with OpenAI’s Sora, and TikTok’s viral ‘Group 7’ trend is taking over feeds.
Missed last month’s roundup? Catch up on the October 2025 social media updates here.
Instagram reaches 3 billion users and tests Reel-first feed
Instagram has hit 3 billion monthly active users and is testing one of its biggest layout changes yet: turning Reels into the main feed experience. For some users in India, the app now opens directly to Reels, with Stories still sitting at the top.
The platform has also introduced new ways to fine-tune recommendations, showing users the topics they interact with most and letting them choose to see more or less of that content. Alongside this, a redesigned bottom bar makes navigation between Reels, the main feed and DMs faster.
TikTok’s Group 7 trend takes over feeds
TikTok’s latest viral moment, Group 7, has captured the attention of both everyday users and celebrities, including Madelyn Cline. The trend originated with musician Sophia James, who posted seven videos of her new song ‘So Unfair’, each tagging viewers with a group number. Group 7 quickly became the most coveted, representing the ‘coolest’ users on the platform.
@sophiajamesmusic Group 7 who are you
♬ So Unfair - Sophia James
Fans can discover their group when one of Sophia’s seven videos appears on their For You Page, with Group 7 likely showing up first due to its viral popularity. The trend has even spawned real-world connections, with Sophia organising a Group 7 meetup this Friday at a pub in London, bringing the online community into reality. For more on the biggest TikTok trends in November 2025, click here.
Check out how we jumped on the trend with a reactive post for our client HASK:
@haskunitedkingdom 5 benefits in 1 product? Defo group 7 ✨ #group7 #hairtok ♬ original sound - dj auxlord
Instagram adds ‘Watch History’ for Reels
Instagram is adding a Watch History feature for Reels, allowing users to revisit content they’ve previously viewed.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri explained: ““If you go to ‘Profile’, and under ‘Settings’ under your ‘Activity,’ there’s ‘Watch History’ now, so you can see every Reel that you’ve ever watched,”
“You can sort it from oldest to newest, or newest to oldest, you can go to a specific date or date range, and you can even filter it down to a specific person or account that posted that Reel, so hopefully now you can find that thing that you were trying to find that you couldn’t find before.”
The update supports discovery, letting users save or re-engage with creators and trends they might have missed. It also gives brands and creators a second chance at being seen, with users more likely to return to entertaining or useful clips.
Meta launches ad-free subscription in the UK
Meta is introducing an ad-free tier across Facebook, Instagram and Threads. UK users can now pay £2.99 a month on desktop or £3.99 on mobile to remove ads and gain extra privacy controls.
The free ad-supported model remains, but the move marks a new phase in Meta’s response to European privacy regulations and could influence how users engage with branded content over time.
Mini-me trend stops the scroll
The trend involves a creator recording a pre-recorded video on their phone in which perform an action, like blowing out a candle. At the same time, off-screen, the creator synchronises the real-world impact of that action, so it looks like the mini version on the screen is doing it.
Popular on TikTok and Instagram Reels, the juxtaposition of digital and physical worlds, combined with the playful illusion, gives it a whimsical, slightly surreal quality, like a tiny alternate reality spilling into the real world.
Instagram expands control over the Reels algorithm
Instagram is giving users more power over what they see with a new ‘Your Algorithm’ control panel for Reels. The feature, now rolling out to select users, shows a personalised breakdown of the topics Instagram thinks you’re interested in and lets you manually add or remove them. You can even tap into each topic to preview example videos before deciding whether to keep or delete it from your preferences.
The update marks one of Meta’s most transparent algorithm tools to date, designed to ease concerns about AI-driven recommendations and give people greater control over their feeds.
OpenAI’s Sora hits 1 million downloads
OpenAI’s AI video generator, Sora, has surpassed one million downloads just five days after launching in invite-only beta on iOS. The tool allows users to create short, AI-generated videos from text prompts, many of which are already trending on social media.
While it’s fuelling a new wave of creator experimentation, it’s also drawing scrutiny from major studios like Disney and the Motion Picture Association, which are calling for clearer AI video regulation.
YouTube expands creative AI with Ask Studio
YouTube has rolled out ‘Ask Studio’, an AI chatbot built into YouTube Studio that helps creators analyse data, interpret audience sentiment and brainstorm ideas.
It acts as a creative assistant rooted in a channel’s own analytics, giving tailored insights and content inspiration. This follows YouTube’s wider integration of AI editing tools, including improved Shorts workflows and automatic inspiration prompts.
Instagram introduces Assistive AI for creation
Instagram’s new Assistive AI lets users restyle visuals, edit photos and even generate new creative elements with voice commands. Creators can speak naturally, and the AI will perform edits or translate their voice into other languages across Meta platforms.
It’s part of a broader push to make content creation more inclusive, faster and more dynamic across Stories and Reels.
TikTok tests related trend analytics
TikTok is testing a new analytics tool highlighting trending topics related to a creator’s niche. The feature suggests ideas, keywords and adjacent themes based on audience engagement data, helping creators identify what to post next.
Combined with TikTok’s growing suite of AI tools like Smart+ optimisation and TikTok Symphony, it gives marketers a clearer roadmap for staying relevant during Q4’s shopping surge.
Instagram tests shareable performance PDFs for creators
Instagram is trialling a new way for creators to showcase their performance to potential brand partners: downloadable PDF summaries of account and content metrics. The tool highlights key stats, including Reels views and engagement, giving advertisers an at-a-glance view of a creator’s reach and impact.
With Reels now accounting for roughly half of all time spent on the platform, this feature could make it easier for experienced creators to secure sponsorships and demonstrate their expertise.
The update builds on Meta’s broader creator monetisation tools, including on-profile Creator Insights and Partnership Ads Hub recommendations, offering multiple ways to connect talent with brands and maximise on-platform revenue opportunities.
Instagram strengthens teen safety with PG-13 content filters
Instagram is rolling out new parental controls that automatically place all users under 18 into a ‘PG-13’ content setting. This limits exposure to sexually suggestive material, graphic images, alcohol, tobacco, and other mature topics, while still allowing mild language or humour. Teens under 16 receive the strictest default protections, and parents can enable an even tighter Limited Content mode that further restricts comments, posts, and AI chatbot interactions.
The update aims to make Instagram safer and more age-appropriate by default. Alongside these filters, Meta’s Family Centre lets parents monitor activity summaries, approve content settings changes, and set supervision rules, though direct messages remain private. The rollout begins in select countries this year, with plans for global expansion.
YouTube updates Shorts editor
YouTube is rolling out a new timeline editor for Shorts, bringing clips, overlays, and audio into a single workspace. Creators can now trim, reorder, and zoom on clips via drag-and-drop, eliminating the need to switch between multiple modes. The update responds to long-standing requests for more precise in-app editing controls.
Future enhancements include slip editing, clip splitting, and the ability to add media directly from the timeline. YouTube will also continue expanding Edit with AI, its Gemini-assisted tool that generates first-draft edits with music, transitions, and voiceovers.
Threads rolls out Communities globally
Threads has officially launched Communities to all users, offering topic-based spaces for focused discussion. Posts from joined Communities now appear in the main feed with clear tags indicating their source.
The update builds on Threads’ growing ecosystem of keyword search and engagement features as it continues positioning itself as a calmer, conversation-led alternative to X.
Pinterest adds controls to reduce AI content
Pinterest is introducing toggles that let users limit the amount of AI-generated content appearing in their feeds. The platform says the update helps protect user trust and ensure a balance between real and synthetic imagery.
It follows Pinterest’s wider focus on curation and confidence in discovery, with recent reports showing that refined personalisation increases purchase intent among Gen Z shoppers.
Google expands virtual try-on and visual search
Google’s virtual try-on tool now includes footwear, letting shoppers upload full-body photos to preview shoes realistically using AI depth mapping.
The company also integrated its ‘Nano Banana’ AI image generator directly into Search, allowing users to create images of what they’re looking for and then find visually similar results. Together, these updates move Google Search closer to an image-first discovery engine.
Reddit releases Q4 best practice guides
Reddit has launched two new guides for marketers ahead of the holiday season, covering dynamic product ads and platform-specific engagement strategies.
- Holiday Best Practices for Dynamic Product Ads: Including all the key considerations for maximising product promotions in the app.
- Reddit’s brand playbook: Provides marketers with insights and notes on how to connect with the platform’s audience.
The guides focus on authenticity and community-led conversation, encouraging brands to lean into Reddit’s user-first culture during the busiest quarter of the year.
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About the author
Natalie Clement | Digital
Marketing Executive
With international experience as a digital marketer, writer, and editor, Natalie has worked across sectors including lifestyle, technology, and tourism.
