Threads may be about to get an even bigger boost from parent company Meta, at least in terms of sources of new content. The company has been spotted testing a cross-posting feature that would allow Facebook users to post to both platforms at the same time, using the same feature that was originally available for cross-posting from Facebook to Instagram. has been done.
The company confirmed that limited testing has begun, but that testing is limited to iOS and does not include the EU. According to a Meta representative, the feature will allow users to share both text and link posts from Facebook to threads.
This addition could free content creators who regularly post photos and other media along with text updates from the hassle of posting in multiple locations. It also ties Threads more tightly into Meta's larger app ecosystem, which could potentially strengthen Threads' apps as testing is rolled out more broadly. Currently, the number of users of Meta's family of apps has reached his 3.98 billion. Even if only a small portion of Facebook's users were to use Thread's cross-posting feature, the number of posts available on the app could increase dramatically.
Facebook added the option to cross-post to Instagram in 2021, after previously offering the ability to cross-post Stories between the two platforms. When it launched Twitter/X competitor Threads last summer, it leveraged other large social networks to rapidly expand the new service's user base.
Initially, new Threads users will automatically connect with others they know and follow on Instagram, allowing them to quickly expand their network after launch, reaching a record 100 million users within five days of arrival. , and quickly reached 1/5 of the week. Twitter/X active user base. As of Meta's most recent quarter, Threads had over 130 million monthly active users. This is also thanks to the company's introduction of his popular Threads within the main feeds of both Facebook and Instagram.
Image credits: Screenshot from @whimchic (Opens in new window)
A test of Facebook's cross-posting feature was recently spotted in the wild on Facebook's iOS app. This example was shared by Threads user @whimchic (Ljiljana Grujicic). When she tested the feature, the post was automatically published to both accounts associated with the same profile, but it didn't include any account information from Facebook or a flag indicating it was a cross-post. did. The latter can be a concern for people who use their full names on Facebook but use more anonymous handles on more public platforms like Threads.
This isn't the first time Threads has toyed with cross-posting. Previously, Threads users were upset to find that their posts were automatically shared on his Facebook and Instagram, where their viewers were following him on Threads. It was different from the user. Users often connect with family and friends on their Facebook and Instagram, but as with Twitter, users do not maintain a public persona or discuss their work or political interests in threads. I will. In response to user feedback, Meta quickly added an option for users to turn off automatic sharing by default, and the backlash subsided.
Crossposting isn't the only new feature Facebook is testing. Grujic also shared a photo on LinkedIn showing a test of the “Write with AI” writing assistant that helps users write posts.
Image credits: Liljana Grujic (via LinkedIn) (Opens in new window)