Meta’s competitor, Instagram Thread, launched two new features on Tuesday as part of its plans to further integrate with the open social web, known as Fediverse. Now, thread users can view posts from other users in Fediverse in their dedicated feed if they select Fediverse to share with the thread. Additionally, people can search for Fediverse users directly in threads.
Posts from Federated users can be found in the following tabs in the threads app: However, it is not in line with other posts from thread users. Instead, tap on the link at the top of the feed to view these posts in a different feed.
Threads can attract posts created with federated apps such as Mastodon, BookWyrm, WriteFreely, and provide services that support more services over time.
According to thread engineer Peter Kotre, users can see top-level posts from the Fediverse in this feed, but they are still unable to reply. (However, Fediverse can reply to your own posts, but that’s in a different part of the app.)
Additionally, Threads users can search and discover Fediverse profiles in thread apps, including WordPress bloggers who have activated FedPress sharing, Flipboard users, Mastodon and more.
This feature is designed to make threads feel like a federated app. That is, it is an app that is connected to a wider network of interconnected social media servers that make up a distributed open social web.
Threads have not completed this integration, but with over 350 million active users per month, it is the largest app running under the ActivityPub protocol that drives X’s rival Mastodon and other federated apps.
First launched in July 2023, The Streams is inspired by traditional social networks such as X, and open source protocols such as Mastodon and Bluesky. Like Bluesky, the thread introduced the concept of custom feeds and a version of the starter pack to help users find out who to follow. And like Mastodon, threads are tied to a more direct fediverse, allowing people to connect with others who are not directly in the thread.
Since its debut, the thread has introduced the feature that allows users to choose to post Fediverse. See post replies from Mastodon contributors and follow your profile on other Fediverse servers to see who follows afterwards.
In June, the thread expanded its ability to share Fediverse sharing capabilities to the EU after being pre-released in the US, Canada and Japan. Meta says that since launching the Fediverse sharing feature a year ago, threads have interacted with over 75% of all Fediverse servers.
However, the company has not yet provided any updates on when it will fully integrate with Fediverse and when it will introduce portability for your account. This allows threaded users to move their accounts elsewhere if they believe that Meta’s policies are not to their liking. A key aspect of an open, decentralized app, as it controls the user’s hands instead of a platform.