With Threads, users can finally delete their accounts without also losing Instagram
Once you’re in, you can’t get out
When Meta introduced Threads in July, intended as a competitor to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, it quickly became the fastest downloaded app in history.
But the momentum didn’t last. Users complained that the platform had fewer features than some other new platforms competing to become the new Twitter. It lacked topic tags, direct messaging, and any way to access content from a desktop. (Threads has since been introduced a web version.)
Another major complaint: Many users who had carefully managed their Instagram accounts for years joined Threads on a whim, only to find that they couldn’t delete one without giving up the other as well.
Instagram said early on that it was investigating a fix for the issue, but it wasn’t until Monday evening that Mr. Mosseri officially announced the news, “based on feedback from our Threads community.”
The privacy problem
The issue of deletion has also played a role in a larger issue of Meta’s handling of data collection and privacy.
In May, the company was fined a record $1.3 billion and ordered to stop sending data collected on Facebook users in Europe to the United States, and Threads’ debut in Europe was partially postponed due to regulations in the region around dates. according to an interview with Mr. Mosseri.
Britain’s privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office, said on Tuesday it had been “clear” to Meta that users should not have to sacrifice using one service to be removed from another.
I’m still fighting over the new Twitter
Since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter last year, users unimpressed by some of the changes have been looking for an alternative. But no clear challenger has emerged – although platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky and, yes, Threads, are still vying for their favour.
In addition to the delete feature, Mr. Mosseri unveiled another update, one that shows posts that Threads posts directly to Meta’s other platforms, Facebook and Instagram. But he shot down speculation that the app would add direct messaging, another feature common to social media apps like Instagram and, yes, Twitter.
“We don’t build DMs in Threads,” he said.