Threads Is Completely Dedicated to Advertising.
In a move that shouldn’t surprise anyone, Meta – the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads – wants to monetize its websites. Threads, launched two years ago , has somehow avoided serving ads until now, only allowing them to a limited number of specific users in the US and Japan. But since then the site has become quite popular and now it’s time to contribute to the family business. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the update in a Threads post this week, saying: “Ads on Threads are distributed more widely today, and our goal remains that they improve your overall experience. We are monitoring closely and will continue to listen to your feedback as we scale.”
This post signals the end of the ad-free theme quite clearly, although it may take some time to fully develop in all markets. When your feed starts to fill up with companies vying for your attention, you can probably expect the same thing as Instagram or Facebook ads, as the ads currently running on the site clearly indicate that they are sponsored and are using your data to try to increase their relevance to you.
But it’s not all bad news: Threads also has some new features. My favorite thing is the best way to write a new post. Topics will now display a + button in the bottom right corner of the site, which you can click at any time to start creating a new post. Previously, the compose window was located at the top of the feed and wasn’t as easy to access if you scrolled down a bit on a post. The update allows you to create and publish new posts without losing your position on the timeline.
I’m also excited to start using the copy post as image feature, which allows you to take a screenshot of any post in Threads to share elsewhere. Yes, you can easily use the built-in screenshot tool on your device, but I really like it when services provide the ability to copy screenshots to the clipboard. It’s just much easier and faster. To use this feature, tap the Share button below any message and select Copy as Image . Threads will let you choose a dark or light theme for the image, as well as its aspect ratio. There’s also a button to show or hide post metrics, which allows you to hide the number of likes and shares if you wish.
Threads on the web also introduces a new way to access a Tweetdeck-style multi-column view. Click the multi-column button to the right of the channel and choose which of your channels you want to see in a multi-column layout. Meanwhile, in normal mode, Threads has added two new buttons to its main menu: “Like” and “Saved” (a two-line icon). This will make it easier for you to access posts you’ve liked or bookmarked. The web app now also has tabs for your custom channels at the top. Previously, this was available as a drop-down menu, but the tabbed layout makes it easier to access user channels.
The company is also testing a way to import your followers from other services, starting with X (formerly Twitter). Once this becomes widespread, you may find it easier to attract people from non-Meta services. Finally, Threads itself has moved to a new domain – Threads.com . When the service launched, it was launched on Threads.net since Meta did not own the .com domain. It seems that the situation has now changed.