If you’ve been posting some especially strange messages Threads, thinking that only the few people who follow you will see them, I have some bad news for you.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Threads was created by Instagram. Unless you’ve been living in a cave system underneath that rock, you also know that Instagram is owned by Meta. And, unless you’ve been living in a metal container near the core of the Earth, you hopefully know that Meta also owns Facebook.
Now that we have all of those connections established, this next sentence will make more sense. As spotted by TechCrunch, users on Facebook have noticed something new on their News Feed: content from Threads. It appears that Meta is now showing Facebook users a new “For You from Threads” section on the News Feed that contains recommended content from the sibling social media platform.
Post by @mattnavarraView on Threads
This isn’t a new strategy. The company already made a similar move and started showing Threads content to Instagram users back in August. However, this is the first time that Meta has brought the content to Facebook, where all of your friends and family live. The integration comes a week after the company rolled out voice posts and an edit button (for free!) to the Threads app.
Personally, I don’t have a Facebook account anymore, and the only reason that I have one on Instagram is due to the fact that you currently need one in order to have an account on Threads. While I am really enjoying Threads so far, I don’t want my posts showing across Meta’s other social media platforms that I am not a part of.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a setting in Threads or Instagram that blocks posts from showing up outside of the app. It looks like, for now, you have no control over what apps your posts show on. I really hope that the Meta team adds the ability for users to decide this for themselves.
Right now, it’s been unclear if showing Threads content across Instagram and Facebook has led to a notable increase in the number of users that have signed up for the X (formerly known as Twitter) competitor. This isn’t the only way the company has tried to encourage users to sign up for Threads, either. Right now, you can also tag an Instagram user inside of Threads and pre-follow them for when/if they actually join the platform.
I’m all for having a competitor to X, and I’m fine that Meta is using its network effect to try and grow it. I just hope that it gives Threads users the ability to opt in/out of exactly how their content is used to do it.
