Threads Rolls Out First Feature Update After Losing Half its Active Users
Threads has rolled out its first major feature update since its launch two weeks ago — after reportedly losing half of its active users.
On Tuesday, Cameron Roth, a software engineer for Instagram, shared a Threads post announcing additions to Meta’s Twitter-rival as part of an update to Apple’s iOS app.
Post by @camrothView on Threads
The new features include a translation button and a new “follows tab” on the activity feed, the section of the Threads app that collects interactions like replies and mentions.
The addition of a follows tab will seemingly make it easier for Threads users to see who is following them. Meanwhile, users will also be able to access a translate button to read text in other languages and more easily read posts from people they don’t follow.
The updates also include the ability to subscribe and receive notifications from accounts a user does not follow and a “+” button that lets users follow new accounts from the replies on a post, as well as bug fixes and other improvements.
Threads Needs Momentum
Threads users have been eagerly awaiting an update — since Meta’s Twitter-killer became the fastest growing app ever after hitting 100 million users barely a week after its launch.
However, there are still several key features missing in the app even with Threads’ new update. Threads users are not yet able to use a chronological feed, direct messages, or hashtags. There is also no robust search function and no full web version of Threads — features that heavily contribute to Twitter’s popularity.
Meta may be hoping that this new update works to maintain momentum — after it was reported that the Threads app had lost half of its active users since its release.
A study from data-tracking site SimilarWeb found that the number of daily active users has dropped from 49 million to 23.6 million in a week, meaning people who rushed to sign up are not coming back regularly.
The news comes after prior data revealed that the engagement on Threads had dropped off – with the time spent on the app by users plunging by 50%, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.
Post by @mosseriView on Threads
However, Instagram head CEO has suggested that the company is not particularly focused on engagement metrics on the Threads app at this stage.
In a Threads post on Friday, Mosseri writes: “Our focus right now is not engagement, which has been amazing, but getting past the initial peak and trough we see with every new product and building new features, dialing in performance and improving ranking.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
