Mark Zuckerberg said today that Meta has started testing a feature to show Threads posts on Mastodon and other ActivityPub protocol-supported networks, TechCrunch reported.
Mark Zuckerberg posted on Threads: “Starting a test where posts from Threads accounts will be available on Mastodon and other services that use the ActivityPub protocol. Making Threads interoperable will give people more choice over how they interact and it will help content reach more people. I’m pretty optimistic about this.”
According to TechCrunch, while this is an important step for Threads to be part of the federated social network, Zuckerberg didn’t provide any detail on how the integration might work just yet.
It’s not clear what is the roadmap for Thread’s ActivityPub integration might let you easily cross-post between Mastodon (or other ActivityPub-powered networks) and Threads or move your data around.
The Verge reported that joining the fediverse – the decentralized world of social media that includes Mastodon, Pixelfed, and other services that all interoperate through ActivityPub – has been on Threads team’s to-do list since the very beginning.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri told The Verge in July that he believed decentralizing the platform was the key to making it relevant to a new generation of creators. “I think we might be a more compelling platform for creators, particularly for the newer creators who are more and more savvy, if we are a place where you don’t have to feel like you have trust us forever.”
According to The Verge, skeptics have long held that Threads would never actually federate, even as Zuckerberg, Mosseri, and others at Meta kept promising they would. For the largest and most centralized social service on the web, suddenly throwing open the gates to other platforms seemed like an unlikely pivot.
And as Threads got bigger and more mature, ActivityPub integration became a bigger project – and as the platform became more successful, there were reasons for Meta to try and back off its decentralized plans. But it appears the company might actually do it.
Engadget reported Meta is taking its first step toward making Threads compatible with the fediverse. A new test will make some Threads content available on Mastodon and other apps for the first time, Mark Zuckerberg announced in a post on Threads.
It wasn’t immediately clear how this would work or how much Threads content might be available on Mastodon or other services. But the company previously introduced the ability to verify your Threads profile on Mastodon, so Meta does have some insight into Threads users who are also active in the fediverse.
Personally, I think it might be interesting to see Threads content on the Fediverse. It might be good for people who are on the fediverse to see posts from friends who chose Threads over Bluesky.
Personally, I think it might be interesting to see Threads content on the fediverse. It might be good for people who are on the fediverse to see posts from friends who chose Threads over Bluesky.