Many people are turning toThreadsandBlueskyas alternatives to Elon Musk’s X, which has changed significantly since the billionaire took over the appformerly known as Twitter. Threads is Meta’s direct competitor to X, offering many similar features. With this new update, Threads is introducing ads in a manner similar to X.
The news comes from Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, whoannounced on Threadsthat Meta will be testing limited ads on the app for users based in the US and Japan. Ads on Threads will appear between posts on your home feed, similar to those on X.
“Starting today, we will begin a limited, early test of ads in Threads with a small number of advertisers to help people discover the brands they love.” Meta said ina press release. “As we learn from this test, we will monitor to see how it’s going before filling out more broadly.”
Bluesky just quietly launched its own version of TikTok
TikTok is back online in the US, but plenty of alternatives are still springing up.
Threads is getting more than just ads
New features include scheduled posts and scribbling on reposts
While it’s unfortunate to see ads onThreads, given the app’srapid growthin the past year, it was inevitable that they would come at some point. But ads aren’t the only thing Meta is adding to the app. Meta is adding the ability to schedule posts, which lets users draft a post and choose a time to release it. You can access the feature by creating a new post, selecting the three dots in the top left corner, and tapping the Schedule option.
Threads is also adding a new feature that lets users “markup” posts they want to reshare. This feature lets you highlight, scribble, and add arrows to a post before you reshare it. Mosseri says the intent behind the feature is “so you may add your creative take” on posts. The feature will be rolling out soon in “a few countries with more to come soon.”
Threads is still facing user backlash afterMark Zuckerberg announcedthat Facebook, Instagram, and Threads would drop third-party fact-checking in favor of a community notes system similar to X. Zuckerberg also announced that users on Threads would start seeing more recommended political posts. It’s only a few weeks into 2025, yet Threads is already seeing lots of change, for better or worse.
Facebook is about to become a lot more like X
Mark Zuckerberg has announced major changes coming to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads soon.
