Since Elon Musk took over the company in 2022, a growing number of viewers, old and new, have been eager to try newer social networks as an alternative to Twitter. Mastodon, Bluesky, Spill, and T2 are some of the social media platforms that people use. Meta's Threads platform is no different.
What is a thread? How do I create an account?
Threads is Meta's text-based Twitter rival. It's tied to your Instagram account, so you can log in and create an account using your Instagram credentials.
How is it different from Twitter?
Currently, there are no paid quotas or ads in the app. However, even if you pay for Meta Verified, you still carry the verification mark from Instagram. Users can use the Instagram network to find people to follow.
The app was released over a year ago and doesn't have Twitter-like features such as long-form videos, direct messages, or live audio rooms.
How do I use threads?
The platform is currently available on iOS and Android in over 100 countries. However, due to privacy concerns, the app is currently unavailable in the EU until December 2023. At that time, Meta launched Threads in the region with the option for users to browse social networks without an account and without the ability to publish or interact. Along with other posts.
Since you are logged in through your Instagram account, you can follow everyone you follow. It also imports settings such as username, name, and blocklist.
How many users does this have?
As of November 2024, Threads has over 275 million monthly active users.
We have achieved steady growth. Threads surpassed 10 million sign-ups within hours of launch and reached 100 million users within just five days of launch.
What restrictions are there on posting to threads?
Users can post up to 500 characters in a single post on the app. This post supports images, videos, and GIFs. Threaded posts support up to 10 media items. As of July 17th, Threads announced that due to spam attacks, it had to tighten rate limiting, or limiting the number of posts a user can see.
Can I use threads on the web?
Yes, you can view and publish posts from Threads.net.
How do I delete my Threads account?
You can deactivate or delete your Threads account. According to Meta's Supplemental Privacy Policy, until the end of 2023, you had to delete your Instagram account to delete your Threads account. Meta stores your data for 30 days after your initial deletion request. If you change your mind, you have 30 days to cancel the deletion.
How can I customize my threading experience?
Threads allow you to pin search terms and tags as feeds. The company is also testing ways to create custom feeds by adding specific profiles or terms to new feeds. For a long time, users' default feed was the social network's own algorithmic “For You” feed, but now they can set any feed as their default.
Meta's latest social platform also took inspiration from rival social network Bluesky, which created its own version of “starter packs,” or lists of people to follow based on different themes.
Can I DM others on a thread?
You cannot send messages to users on the app. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the goal is to “rather than build yet another inbox and instead allow users to send threads to other apps.”
Do threads have an API?
After testing the API for several months with select partners, Threads finally launched its public API in June 2024. Developers can build tools to publish users' posts, retrieve their own posts, and gain insights into engagement. These tools cannot yet delete posts.
Does that mean there are third-party clients?
Currently, Threads' API has limitations, including the inability for developers to retrieve timeline data. Therefore, it is not possible to create an alternate client for threads at this time.
Are Threads part of the Fediverse?
Partially. In early 2024, Threads began experimenting with allowing users to share their posts to the Fediverse. Therefore, when a user turns on fediverse sharing, users on other compatible ActivityPub networks, such as Mastodon, can also follow the user and see their posts. Threads also allows users on fediverse to like posts on Threads.
In 2024, Meta will introduce a way for Threads users to see replies to their posts from fediverse users, support for posts generated through the Threads API and distributed on fediverse, and even more information about who can follow them from other servers. We have expanded our support for fediverse by adding a way to check if the
In December 2024, the company began allowing Threads users to follow profiles from other fediverse servers.
What features are currently missing from threads?
Full Fediverse integration Scheduling posts (coming soon) Direct message list support Third-party client support
How does Threads collect data?
Since you're logging into Threads using your Instagram account, Meta says, “It's part of your Instagram account.” Considering the privacy labels mentioned in the App Store, users are already questioning the app's data collection.
Rob Sherman, Meta's acting chief privacy officer, responded to a question last year about privacy labels for apps on the App Store, saying those labels are similar to the company's other apps.
“Labels are similar to our other apps, including Instagram, where our social apps receive any information you share within the app, including the categories of data listed in the App Store.” said. time.
This story was originally published on July 6, 2023 and has been updated with recent updates.