Threads, the rapidly growing social networking platform, is set to introduce a feature that allows users to delete their Threads account without affecting their Instagram profile. This development, while still in the works, holds promise for Threads users seeking more flexibility and independence. This has been awaited for many months now by Instagram users as they wanted to delete their Threads accounts without touching their Instagram accounts. Meta is finally making it available in December, and probably thousands of people will use the feature. We recently covered it as a data miner on X found it in the files, and now the information is official!
Independent account deletion on the way
According to TechCrunch, Threads‘ development team is hard at work on a solution. They hope to provide customers the option to deactivate their Threads account independently from their Instagram account. This functionality is planned to be available in December. Until then, those who want to leave Threads can deactivate their account, make it private, or, as a last option, erase their Instagram account as well.
“Technically, it was extremely challenging to allow deletion of a separate Threads account without also deleting your overall Instagram account out of the gate. So we paid particular attention to ensuring the user could still exercise their deletion rights, by deactivating the account to sort of hide all content, setting it to private or deleting individual threads,” Meta’s chief privacy officer for product, Michel Protti, said to TechCrunch.
Threads made an impressive start
Threads made headlines earlier this year with its explosive launch, amassing an astounding 100 million user sign-ups in just days. Surpassing even ChatGPT, Threads became the fastest service to reach the 100 million users mark. This rapid ascent can be attributed, in part, to Threads’ seamless one-click account creation for existing Instagram users.
The interconnection of Threads and Instagram accounts, however, posed a challenge for consumers. Due to Meta’s control of both platforms, deleting one meant losing access to the other. But there is some good news on the way.
Threads confronts the problem of sustaining its original pace as it expands. Analysts expect that Threads will have around 23.7 million active users in the United States by the end of the year. Threads’ competitor, X (previously known as Twitter), is expected to have 56.1 million active US users within the same time period. These figures illustrate the natural progression of a younger social network vs a well-established platform.
In the fast-paced world of social media, user empowerment and privacy are critical. The impending separate account deactivation functionality in Threads is a significant step in this regard. As Threads evolves, it’s critical to keep an eye on how this feature may impact the social networking environment. Threads, with a bright future ahead of it, is a platform to keep an eye on as it seeks to provide consumers the power and alternatives they want.
