Threads’ New Tools Calm Commentary Chaos And Enhance Discovery

Meta is enhancing its Threads platform, which competes with X, by introducing new features that allow users to increase the visibility of their profiles and content through topics. This update also provides users with greater control over post interactions. A key addition is the inclusion of profile topics.

With this update, users can now add up to ten topics in their social bios, facilitating easier discovery of accounts that share similar interests. Notably, clicking on a topic in someone else’s bio will direct you to their related posts.

This feature is supported by a new system that enables users to tag topics in their posts. “While composing posts, you’ll receive prompts to include trending topics or ones connected to your previous content, making it easier for your audience to find your posts,” Meta stated in a blog announcement.

According to internal data, Meta reports that posts featuring topic tags tend to attract more views. Furthermore, users now have options to control who is able to reply to or quote-share their posts.

Threads has introduced four interaction settings for posts: anyone can respond, only followers can engage, just followed profiles, and accounts that were mentioned. Additionally, users can customize their default feed view for when they open the app.

In an effort to enhance the video playback experience, Meta has revamped the video player on Threads. The updated player now includes pause/play functionality, along with rewind and fast-forward buttons.

Additionally, an interactive progress bar at the bottom allows users to navigate through the video content easily. A significant new feature implemented this week is the introduction of community notes on Threads, paralleling similar features on Instagram and Facebook.

Meta has recently announced the conclusion of its third-party fact-checking initiative, transitioning to a community-sourced system that allows users to flag potentially misleading content. Contributors will collectively determine whether a post is problematic.

If a consensus is reached, a public note—limited to 500 characters—will be appended to the relevant post, providing additional context through a associated link. Testing of community notes began on March 18 in the U.S., with support for six languages.

Importantly, adding a community note to a post will not result in any penalties for the post or the user who published it. “We anticipate that Community Notes will be less biased than the previous third-party fact-checking program, and will be capable of operating on a larger scale once fully deployed,” the company stated.