Meta’s social community Threads, an X competitor with greater than 320 million month-to-month lively customers, is now rolling out new options associated to matters, reply controls, and video playback within the app, amongst different issues. It’s additionally making political content material options extra customized to the person, the corporate says.
Combined, the options goal to make the app extra related to customers and preserve them engaged with the community’s content material, at a time when X is now not Threads’ solely competitor. Today, Meta faces the rise of different networks like Bluesky, which now has over 33 million customers and a platform that’s inspiring rivals to Instagram, as effectively.
To assist Threads customers higher join, customers will now be capable of add as much as 10 matters they’re all for to their profile on the social community. Tapping on these matters will then present you associated posts, which makes it simpler to have interaction with others on the social community who share your similar pursuits.
The firm started testing the function so as to add curiosity to profiles earlier this month, TechCrunch reported. The function remains to be being described as a “take a look at,” with its broader launch right now.
When composing a brand new submit, you’ll now see prompts so as to add a recommended trending subject, if related, or a subject associated to different posts you’ve beforehand shared. These subject tag options goal to assist posts attain an viewers who’s additionally all for that topic, Meta explains.
Threads can also be introducing a redesigned subject tag, which seems to be like a tablet and is discovered subsequent to the posts on the For You feed. Users will be capable of rapidly faucet on the tag to see all of the posts tagged with that specific subject.
Meta claims posts with tagged matters “usually obtain extra views” than these with out however didn’t share any particular knowledge to again up that assertion.
Another new function permits you to handle how individuals work together along with your posts and the posts you see. Now you’ll be capable of permit solely your followers to answer to or quote a selected submit.
The addition builds on the quote management Threads launched again in November 2024 that permits you to restrict quote posts to anybody, profiles you comply with, or these you’ve talked about solely.
Also in November, Threads started to experiment with permitting customers to choose a default feed that’s not the algorithmic feed after rolling out customized feeds to compete with the social community Bluesky.
Now Threads will permit customers to shuffle the order of their customized feeds. That means you’ll be able to even make a customized feed the default that shows if you first open the app — a function customers have been asking for.
Another replace improves video playback on Threads. Along with the opposite modifications, Meta is launching a redesigned video participant that has easy-to-access pause/play and skip controls together with a pinned progress bar to simply scrub by way of the video.
Notably, Meta additionally mentioned that it’s began phasing civic and political content material again into Threads in a extra customized means.
The firm controversially determined in 2024 to cease proactively recommending political content material to customers on Instagram and Threads, forward of a essential U.S. presidential election. After the election wrapped, with President Trump in energy, Meta introduced it might then start bringing political content material again on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg additionally dismantled the corporate’s fact-checking program after the election, selecting to rely solely on group moderation efforts going ahead.
As part of these efforts, the corporate mentioned it might start to re-add political content material to customers’ feeds, based mostly on what Meta determines they need to see. In different phrases, it goals to re-create the echo chamber the place the person’s worldview is strengthened with out publicity to the opposite aspect.
Meta says it’s going to proceed to take heed to person suggestions because it additional develops Threads.
Additional reporting by Sarah Perez.
