Deleting a New Threads Account Will Also Delete Your Instagram
An alarming detail about the newly-launched Threads app has come to light — deleting a Threads account will also delete your Instagram account.
Update 7/6: Instagram’s head Adam Mosseri has addressed the situation on Threads:
“I’ve been getting some questions about deleting your account. To clarify, you can deactivate your Threads account, which hides your Threads profile and content, you can set your profile to private, and you can delete individual threads posts – all without deleting your Instagram account. Threads is powered by Instagram, so right now it’s just one account, but we’re looking into a way to delete your Threads account separately.”
Original story below.
The new Meta app, which chief executive Mark Zuckerberg says has already attracted 10 million users, has a condition where if the user deletes their Threads app their Instagram account will be deleted as well.
The Threads app is linked to Instagram, allowing users to sign in using their Instagram details. But as people have been finding out, deleting their Threads account means losing their Instagram account.
Can You Deactivate Your Threads Account?
Deactivating is different from deleting, users can deactivate their Threads account but the terms clearly state that if you want to delete your Threads profile and data, you’ll need to delete your Instagram account.
“You may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account,” Meta explains in the Threads Supplemental Privacy Policy.
I deactivated my threads account already but it turns out you can’t delete your threads account *without also deleting your Instagram account* so maybe just don’t sign up!
— emily hughes ✨ (@emilyhughes) July 6, 2023
As noted by Tech Crunch, the rationale behind the policy is that a Threads profile is parts of the user’s Instagram account. However, some have already been caught out by this and found their Instagram account has gone after deleting their Threads account.
What is Threads?
Threads aims to capitalize on Twitter’s recent woes following Elon Musk’s takeover last year and offering users a new text-based social network platform free from all the drama.
The app, which was launched yesterday, has sparked plenty of buzz and has been able to attract so many users straight away partly because of its integration with Instagram which already has over two billion monthly active users.
What Features Does Threads Have?
Meta has promised future features but currently Threads doesn’t have the same type of search function that Twitter has where the user can look for specific words in a tweet leaving Threads users the option to search for specific profiles only — even hashtags are not supported yet.
There is also just one main algorithmic feed that shows posts from users that you follow and ones that are popular on the service. There is no option of seeing a feed of just people you follow or a chronological feed.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
