Threads is a new app built by the Instagram team that allows users to share text updates and engage in public conversations. The app requires users to log in using their Instagram account, and posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. The team behind Threads is also working to make the app compatible with open, interoperable social networks in order to shape the future of the internet.
With Threads, users can follow and connect with friends and creators who share the same interests. This expands on the features that Instagram offers and creates a positive and creative space for users to express their ideas. The app also includes Instagram's existing suite of safety and user controls, providing users with a familiar and secure experience.
Getting started with Threads is easy – users can simply use their Instagram account to log in. Their Instagram username and verification will carry over, with the option to customize their profile specifically for Threads. For users under 16 (or under 18 in certain countries), they will be defaulted into a private profile upon joining Threads. Users can choose to follow the same accounts they follow on Instagram and discover new people who share their interests.
Threads offers a feed that includes posts from people users follow as well as recommended content from new creators they haven't discovered yet. The app allows posts of up to 500 characters, including links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes long. Users can easily share their Threads post to their Instagram story or share it as a link on any other platform of their choice.
The app also provides tools to enable positive and productive conversations. Users have control over who can mention or reply to them within Threads. Similar to Instagram, hidden words can be added to filter out replies to threads that contain specific words. Users can also unfollow, block, restrict, or report a profile in Threads by tapping the three-dot menu. Accounts that have been blocked on Instagram will automatically be blocked on Threads as well.
User safety is a top priority, and Instagram's Community Guidelines will be enforced on Threads. The Instagram team has invested over $16 billion in building teams and technologies to protect users, and they are dedicated to advancing integrity efforts and investments to safeguard the community.
In the future, Threads plans to be compatible with the open social networking protocol called ActivityPub, established by the World Wide Web Consortium. This compatibility would allow Threads to interoperate with other apps that also support the ActivityPub protocol, such as Mastodon and WordPress. The vision is to create new types of connections that are currently not possible on most social apps. The decentralized nature of the protocol would also provide users with more control over their audience on Threads.
The benefits of open social networking protocols extend beyond follower connections. Developers will be able to build new features and user experiences that seamlessly integrate with other open social networks, leading to accelerated innovation and experimentation. Each compatible app can establish its own community standards and content moderation policies, giving users the freedom to choose spaces that align with their values. Threads aims to be Meta's first app compatible with an open social networking protocol, joining an ecosystem of interoperable services that help users find their community across different apps.
Threads allows users to share text updates and engage in public conversations. The app offers a positive and creative space for users to express their ideas and connect with friends and creators who share their interests. Threads also prioritizes user safety and is working towards compatibility with open social networking protocols to shape the future of the internet.
