What is Threads by Meta and How Does It Work?

Threads by Meta is a text-first social media platform designed for real-time conversations and community engagement, similar to Twitter but integrated within the Meta ecosystem. It requires an Instagram account to use and is closely linked to Instagram, allowing users to seamlessly set up their profile by auto-following existing Instagram contacts.

Threads focuses on public dialogues or microblogging, where users can post text up to 500 characters or videos up to 5 minutes long, which is longer than Twitter’s limits for non-paying users. Unlike Instagram, which is visually focused, Threads emphasises text-based interactions, making it suitable for casual conversations, breaking news, trending discussions, and live updates.

How Threads works:

• Integration with Meta platforms: Threads is integrated with Instagram and Facebook, enabling easy content sharing and cross-posting across these platforms without losing conversation context.

• Feed and content: The Threads feed consists of accounts you follow, suggested content based on your interests, and custom feeds where you can curate topics. It supports threaded conversations to keep discussions organised.

• Engagement features: Users can post, reply, repost, and participate in live events or discussions hosted on Threads, allowing real-time interaction and feedback.

• Notifications: Customisable notifications help users stay updated on important interactions, which is valuable for timely engagement, especially for brands.

• Community guidelines: Threads follows Instagram’s community standards, banning content like nudity, sexual intercourse, and recreational drugs.

Threads aims to be a positive and creative space for expression, offering features like post editing, multilingual translation, and an improved interface for managing multiple accounts.

In summary, Threads by Meta is a text-centric social platform built for dynamic, real-time public conversations, leveraging Instagram’s network for easy onboarding and cross-platform engagement within Meta’s ecosystem.