What's New in 1.9.0

Updated

WPMediaVerse 1.9.0 adds interests-based onboarding, a big native-app readiness push across the REST API, and several messaging and profile improvements, alongside a batch of QA-driven fixes.

Included in Free. Every item on this page applies to the free version. Pro picks up these improvements automatically because Pro builds on top of free.

Interests & personalized onboarding

New members can choose interests, get a ranked list of suggested people to follow, and request an interest-aware feed. See Interests & Personalized Onboarding for the full REST API.

Native-app readiness

A broad pass across mvs/v1 makes the API fully drivable without a browser session: the /app/config endpoint, the interest endpoints, and viewer-aware fields on media responses. This is the foundation the official MediaVerse app and any headless client build on.

Direct messages: search and moderation

  • Per-conversation message search - search message content within a single conversation via GET /conversations/{id}/messages/search.
  • Content moderation on DMs - messages now pass through the same mvs_message_content_check filter seam that guards other content types, so a host running a word-blocklist for posts and comments can apply it to DMs too.

See Direct Messages.

Followers/following modal + profile overflow menu

Follower and following counts on a profile now open a modal listing the users, instead of requiring a separate page. Member profiles also gain an overflow menu with Report.

Manage blocked members from Edit Profile

Blocked members can now be reviewed and unblocked from the Edit Profile screen, in addition to the REST API. See User Blocking & Reporting.

"Also share as a story" on upload

The upload flow gains an option to also share the upload as a story at the same time, instead of uploading and then separately posting to Stories.

Access-rules admin screen (retired in 2.0.0)

1.9.0 added an admin screen for managing per-media access rules, with the watermark display wired to the site's configured logo. This screen was retired in 2.0.0 - access-rule enforcement stays in the backend (REST API and AccessRulesService), and rules are managed via the Privacy & Access Control REST API rather than a dedicated admin UI. If you're running 1.9.0, this page still exists; update to 2.0.0 and use the REST API going forward.

AI moderation controls (carried from 1.8.0)

The Anthropic (Claude) provider, owner-configurable AI Flag Criteria, and Custom Flag Terms shipped in 1.8.0 - see What's New in 1.8.0 and AI & Moderation Settings.

Masonry default (carried from 1.8.0)

The Original-proportions masonry grid became the default Thumbnail Style in 1.8.0; 1.9.0 confirms this as the default Explore grid style with the same escape hatch back to the fixed square grid (Settings > Display, or the mvs_default_thumbnail_style filter).

Theme templates and child themes

Child themes can now override MediaVerse templates - member partials, messages, and layout pages resolve theme-first before falling back to the plugin's own templates. See Template Overrides.

BuddyNext: media links open in the activity feed

When BuddyNext is active, media links open the activity they were posted in by default instead of a standalone media page. See Activity Stream Media (documented in full under the 2.0.0 lockstep behavior, since the filter this relies on is unchanged across both releases).

Smaller fixes

  • Media comments no longer leak onto unrelated posts or pages (existing comments repaired automatically on update).
  • Competition pages (Compete, Battles, Challenges, Tournaments) keep their MediaVerse styling when BuddyNext is active.
  • Smart collections report their real item count in the list.
  • AI moderation now runs when only Auto-Moderate is enabled (it was being skipped before).
  • Theme-defense fixes for BuddyX and Reign (tab text, lightbox open); Instagram action buttons hardened against theme button styles.
  • Cloud storage display and migration are more robust across admin operations.

Under the hood

New wp mvs cert functional certification engine - a boot smoke test across every REST route plus dead-toggle oracles, gated at 100% coverage in CI. All WordPress.org Plugin Check errors resolved (30 to 0).

Upgrade notes

  • Pairs with WPMediaVerse Pro 1.9.0 - install both updates together.
  • If you use the 1.9.0 access-rules admin screen, plan to move to the REST API workflow before or during your 2.0.0 update.