Following user feedback, Instagram made significant changes to the thread to address the concerns of its user base. A key change allows users to turn off automatic sharing of Threads posts with other apps, including Instagram and Facebook. The decision follows protests from Threads users who automatically choose to have their posts shared externally. It sparks frustration among those who want to separate Threads readers from their friends and family, especially on Facebook and Instagram.

Many users expressed frustration with the default sharing settings, and some considered leaving a thread once their posts were shared with their Facebook family audience. Complaints have also been raised about the quality of recommended streams. These feeds have been criticized for being designed solely to generate comments or as clickbait without proper context. Instagram’s parent company Meta initially aimed to increase Threads’ visibility and user engagement by adding the Threads carousel to other Meta-owned apps in late August. Meta has looked to capitalize on Instagram and Facebook’s large user bases to fuel its growth. This is a strategy we’ve used successfully in the past with products like Reels and the cross-app communication feature between Messenger and Instagram.

In response to user concerns, Meta introduced a new privacy option that allows users to turn off automatic sharing. Users can access this option by going to “Privacy” in the two-line menu at the top right of the thread’s profile page and then selecting “Suggest posts from other apps”. From here, users can individually disable thread sharing. Instagram and Facebook. The sharing feature is not yet available and its implementation has not been made public by the Threads team, and it is important to highlight Meta’s strategic approach to driving growth. Despite the app’s initial success, reaching 150 million downloads at a record pace, Meta Threads continues to improve based on user feedback, address user concerns, and develop the app to meet user expectations.