Threads has just introduced several new features aimed at giving users more control over their experience and enhancing content discovery on the social media platform and X rival.The update includes the ability to add up to ten "Topics" to your bio, which can be used to showcase your interests and connect with like-minded users.When someone visits your profile, the topics will be prominently displayed and can be tapped to view related conversations.
Meta says this feature is a test, so it might not be around for ever.Meanwhile, for content creators, Threads is now suggesting trending topics when drafting posts.According to Meta's internal data, posts with tagged topics generally receive more views than those without, so this could potentially offer a boost to creator reach and engagement.
The platform is also expanding its privacy controls.Users can now restrict replies and quote posts to followers only, building on the Quote Controls feature introduced last November.Meta says the aim is to give users more granular control over who can engage with their content.
Video consumption is also getting an upgrade with a more sophisticated media player.Meta says the improved interface includes new pause, play, and skip buttons, along with a pinned progress bar that allows users to navigate more easily through video content.And in a policy shift, Threads is beginning to reintroduce political content to the platform "in a more personalized way," following their previous announcement about changing how civic content appears in feeds.
Lastly, users will also gain the ability to customize the order of their feeds, including setting a custom feed as the default view when opening the app.