While the Elon Musk-owned Twitter is busy rebranding itself, Instagram spinoff Threads has dropped a fresh load of features to try out. A new update to the microblogging app brings the Following tab and various other features that Instagram head Adam Mosseri assured were "on the list."
The Home feed in the app now features a new Following tab that will show you posts only from the people you follow in chronological order. On the other hand, the For You tab will have a mixture of content from recommended accounts and the users you follow.
If the Following tab doesn't show up in your app after the update, try tapping on the Threads logo at the top which hides/reveals the tabbed interface. The list of new Threads features also includes an "Approve all' button to accept all follow requests at once.
This builds on top of its first major iOS update that recently added in-app language translation and a Follows tab in the Activity feed to filter notifications. "This is just the beginning. Thanks for the feedback as always – please keep sending through as we make even more updates to improve your experience on this app," Mosseri wrote in a Threads post announcing the features.
Launched earlier this month, Threads tasted success in a short span by attracting millions of users within days of its arrival. With 150 million downloads in less than a week, it beat Niantic's Pokémon GO which held the title of the biggest app launch since 2016.
The Threads app makes its onboarding easier by allowing users to sign in using their Instagram accounts, although, it's not easy to get rid of the Threads profile after that. While the app lets you pre-follow Instagram accounts, it lacks some essential features, including direct messages. Speaking of which, Mosseri said there are no immediate plans to launch Threads DMs.
Data from Sensor Tower and Similarweb suggests engagement on the platform went down in the days following its launch. It was reported that the average time users spent on the app saw a drop of about 50%.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last week that he's "very optimistic about how the Threads community is coming together," adding that this year's focus is on "improving the basics and retention."
"It'll take time to stabilize, but once we nail that then we'll focus on growing the community. We've run this playbook many times (FB, IG, Stories, Reels, etc) and I'm confident Threads is on a good path too," he said.
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