Threads will now let users decide what feed they want as their default when opening the app. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the news in a post, saying that you’ll be able to choose between For You, Following, or any custom feed that you’ve set up. Zuckerburg’s post notes that Threads is “testing” this option and will also make different feeds “more visible” in the app, The Verge reported.
It took over a year to get here, but Threads is finally doing the obvious thing and allowing people to use the app however they prefer. Hopefully this test expands to all users before long.
Increased competition from Bluesky has sparked many recent improvements to Threads, including a reworking the For You algorithm to focus on accounts you actually follow and less on suggested content. The service’s search feature is also being overhauled to be more useful. Oh, and there’s landscape video now, too.
Competition truly works wonders.
Engadget reported Meta’s Threads is pushing out another test that could address a major long-running complaint about the service. The company is experimenting with allowing users to set the non-algorithmic “following” feed as the default, Mark Zuckerberg shared in a post.
The change, according to Zuckerberg, will allow users to select any feed as their default, including the newly announced custom feeds. But longtime Threads users will likely to be relieved to finally have the ability to make “following” their default view.
Up until now, Meta has pushed users to its “for you” algorithmic feed, which has long been criticized for its problems with engagement bait and its uncanny ability to push a mix of bizarre posts from strangers to the top of users’ feeds.
As part of the test, Meta will also make the ability to change your feed “more visible” in the app. Zuckerberg didn’t share how many users it might take for the feature to become official. “Interested to see how and if people use this,” he wrote.
Mashable reported Bluesky, the formerly Jack Dorsey-affiliated, decentralized answer to Elon Musk’s X, is closing the gap with Threads at breakneck speed. The browser version of Bluesky surpassed Threads in total usage weeks ago, but now the Bluesky app has exploded to 3.5 million daily active users, putting it just 1.5 times behind Meta’s Threads — an impressive feat considering the Threads app had 5X Bluesky’s active users at the start of the month.
Why Bluesky over Threads? Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to downplay political content on Threads appears to have turned off many users seeking vibrant public discourse. Critics see it as an attempt to stay in President-elect Donald Trump’s good graces, effectively neutering the platform’s potential as a forum for political and cultural debate.
In my opinion, it is a good idea for the various social media sites to start a competition with each other. It will be interesting to see how many users make the switch from the service they are using now to one they want to try out.