Threads by Meta Could Soon Allow Users to Delete Account Without Deleting Instagram

Threads was launched by Meta in July this year as a rival to Elon Musk-owned microblogging platform, X (formerly Twitter).

Written by Richa Sharma, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 28 September 2023 18:31 IST

Threads by Meta Could Soon Allow Users to Delete Account Without Deleting Instagram

At the time of launch, Meta tightly integrated Threads with Instagram

Highlights

Threads gained over 10 million users within first few hours of the launch
Users could also mute Threads account to not receive any notifications
Threads would be compatible with the ActivityPub protocol, Meta said

Threads by Meta will soon allow users to delete their account without disrupting their Instagram account. A Meta executive has said at a recent event that the company is working to release separate delete option for Threads, and may roll this out by December this year. To recall, Threads was launched by Meta in July this year as a rival to Elon Musk-owned microblogging platform, X (formerly Twitter). It gained popularity in no time, with over 10 million people signing up for the app within the first few hours of the launch.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Meta-owned Threads was the account deletion policy. The company tightly integrated Threads with Instagram, and it meant that to delete a Threads account, the user would also be forced to delete their Instagram account. However, it seems like the company is now working on this drawback.

According to a TechCrunch report, Meta's Chief Privacy Officer (Product) Michel Protti recently stated at TechCrunch Disrupt that the company is working to launch a feature that would allow users to delete their Threads account separately without affecting their Instagram account. The feature is expected to roll out by December this week.

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While he didn't mention if the feature will be limited to Android or iOS apps, or also be extended to the desktop version, he elaborated that the task to make this feature is extremely challenging. As of now, users can only deactivate their Threads account and hide the content, with no harm to Instagram. Users are also able to also mute their Threads account to not receive any notifications.

He also said that the company is working on integrating Threads with the fediverse, which is an interconnected network of independent servers designed to communicate with each other. This isn't new as the company has also previously mentioned that Threads would be compatible with the ActivityPub protocol. However, Meta is evaluating the situation wherein a user decides to delete a Threads post after it has gone to another server.

As mentioned previously, Threads was launched by Meta in July this year and gained over 10 million users within first few hours of the launch.

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