Threads is getting a following feed, but not for a while

Threads is getting a following feed, but not for a while

Threads certainly made an entrance this week, with over 10 million new accounts reportedly being opened on Meta’s Twitter rival within seven hours of its launch. Unfortunately, the app is looking a little thin right now. Threads is missing numerous features which microbloggers have come to expect, including everything from trending topics, to emoji, to the ability to delete your profile without also deep-sixing your Instagram account.

One of Threads’ most significant exclusions is a feed that only shows you accounts you follow, with users currently condemned to scrolling through a stream of algorithmically-chosen posts by strangers. Fortunately, that may soon be rectified. 

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has posted (threaded?) that a feed for users’ followed accounts is “on the list” of features the company is looking into adding to Threads. The post came as a response to YouTuber Marques Brownlee aka MKBHD, who requested “a home feed just for people you follow.”

“[T]here are tons of basics that are missing: search, hashtags, a following feed, graph syncing, fedeverse support, messaging maybe…” posted Mosseri. “We’re on it. The (amazing) team is cranking away. But full disclosure, it’ll take time.”

A screenshot of a Threads post by Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri: "We couldn’t be happier with all the excitement about this app, so thank you thank you, but this is a race to the starting line if there ever was one. The real test is not if we can build up a lot of hype, but if you all find enough value in the app to keep using it over time. And there are tons of basics that are missing: search, hashtags, a following feed, graph syncing, fedeverse support, messaging maybe…  We’re on it. The (amazing) team is cranking away. But full disclosure, it’ll take time."


Credit: Mashable screenshot

Exactly how much time that will be isn’t clear. But in the meantime, you can manually adjust your settings one by one so that Threads will only show you posts from people you follow. It may be a bit annoying, but at least it’s some sort of solution.

You can further curate your Threads experience by hiding replies that use specific words, or pause your push notifications until the influx of new followers subsides. But it looks like it might be a while before Threads gets the full functionality that Twitter users have grown accustomed to.