DM, list, polls… the functions Threads lacks (by Instagram)
Meta has just launched its Twitter-killer: Threads by Instagram. While the app has a lot of potential, it also lacks a number of features. We take stock.
Does Twitter have anything to worry about? With Threads, Meta has managed the feat of offering a viable alternative to Elon Musk’s social network. Thanks to its link with Instagram, this Twitter-killer has registered more than 30 million users in a few hours.
To work and really shake Twitter for a long time, Threads by Instagram will nevertheless have to evolve and become more versatile. Today, the social network still lacks a large number of features to even imagine competing with Twitter.
Private messages
Originally, Instagram was also devoid of private messages. Either way, these social networks are designed around public sharing, but reaching out to someone privately can still come in handy. If Meta understood it and ended up adding it to Instagram, Threads is still devoid of it for the moment.
Polls
Do you like Threads or not? To answer this question on Twitter, it is possible to use a survey module which will take care of aggregating the results and producing a small histogram. On Threads, you will have to ask the question directly to your community and read all the answers one by one. Good news: at the moment, you shouldn’t have enough users for this to be too much of a pain.
A chronological display of your subscriptions
Heir to Instagram, Threads logically adopts the same philosophy. Meta’s new social network only offers an algorithmic timeline, where the posts displayed are most likely to please you. If Twitter has tried to comply in turn with the display “for you“, the network with the blue bird nevertheless makes it possible to return to a chronological display of tweets, where the most recent are necessarily displayed at the top of the screen.
The lists
Twitter is an extraordinary tool for staying informed on very specific topics. For this, using lists can be very practical by segmenting the information by categories of people. This can also make it possible to separate professional use from personal use on the same account.
A Web/PC interface
Currently, forthreadfrom a computer, you have to emulate the application or display your smartphone screen. Manipulations that are not necessarily known to everyone. A direct interface from the Web would be welcome to export usage outside our phones.
Hashtags / search by topic
One of Twitter’s great strengths is being able to follow a specific topic through a hashtag, or simply by searching for a particular word. On Threads, the search only allows you to find accounts. For information, Twitter is therefore far superior.
More settings (browser, dark theme…)
We can also regret the absence of certain options in the settings of Threads by Instagram. In bulk, being able to open a link in an external browser or third-party app rather than the in-app WebView would be a huge benefit. Also, many users are unaware that there is a dark/light theme since Threads defaults to the system theme. It would be good to separate the two.
Delete his account
Threads by Instagram is, as its name suggests, an extension of Instagram. You can therefore connect to it with your account of the famous social network dedicated to photos, but if you want to delete your account, you will have to… delete your Instagram account. As for the messages you have sent, you will have to delete them one by one.
Bookmark a message
Finding a specific message on Threads today requires scrolling endlessly, since it is not possible to search for a particular term. We would therefore like to see a favorites function appear, or at least a place where we could find our likes…
Direct access in Europe
If you’re using Threads by Instagram today, you’ve probably gone through a roundabout way. And for good reason, the application is not available on the official application stores (Google Play Store and App Store) in Europe. We would therefore like to see the application easily accessible to everyone in order to grow our networks more easily.
The corollary is that Meta would be obliged to respect the GDPR, which would limit the use that the firm makes of our data. Because after all, don’t forget that if we like the idea of leaving Twitter, it’s still the company that allowed the Cambridge Analytica scandal…
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