Privacy concerns and ad-dominated feeds have mainstream social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram facing a ‘trust crisis’. Subscription-based platform Vero offers an alternative with the promise of transparency and control – but is it so different from established industry giants?

Just five days after the new of the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook, an upcoming message app Telegram Messenger has surpassed WhatsApp in the App Store rankings. Is this a sign of the growing mistrust of Facebook?

User confidence in social media giants has been plummeting in the wake of data privacy scandals and the rise of ‘fake news’. As a result, many are choosing to connect with like-minded individuals in micro-spaces that they believe can offer better security and a sense of community.

A survey of 14- to 25-year-olds has revealed that the majority of young social media users in England want their profiles to be automatically private. The study, which focused on mental health, highlighted this group's desire for better protections from addictive social media practices and cyberbullying.