Meta recently launched its Threads app as a competitor to Twitter X, and now the company is addressing one of the main complaints about the early version of the app. Mark Zuckerberg announced that Threads is rolling out a new chronological “Following” feed today.
This update allows Threads users to view posts only from the
people they follow. The posts will be arranged in a reverse-chronological feed,
eliminating any “suggested” posts from users that they don’t follow.
Essentially, the feed will only display content from the followed accounts.
However, accessing the dedicated “Following” tab requires
users to tap the “Home” button in the bottom toolbar or tap the Threads logo at
the top of the feed. This reveals two separate tabs: “For You” and “Following.”
Unfortunately, the option does not remain active when the app is closed, so
users will need to repeat the process each time they open Threads.
Meta seems to be encouraging users to utilize the “For You”
algorithmic timeline option while still providing a “Following” tab for power
users. Although not ideal, this update is a step in the right direction and
offers a compromise.
It is important to note that the new “Following” tab is not
yet available to all Threads users as it is rolling out gradually. Additionally,
another change in the Threads for iOS update is that the app will no longer
reset the entire feed when refreshing. Instead, new content will be added to
the top, maintaining the user’s position in the feed.
Overall, these updates improve the user experience of
Threads and address some of the initial concerns. As Meta continues to refine
the app, additional features and improvements can be expected in the future.