• by Colin Kirkland , November 25, 2024

As competition increases among leading microblogging apps, Meta’s Threads platform is testing the option for select users to choose their default feed, aligning its current goals more closely with the ethos and promise of decentralized social media.

“Testing the option to choose any feed – For You, following or a custom one – as your default,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Threads post.

Select users can now open the Threads app, tap and hold on their desired feed type at the top, then choose the “edit feeds” option, which will allow them to reorder the feeds. For example, the feed selected for the first slot will appear as the user's default when opening the app.

When Threads originally launched, it was intended to challenge the sudden reinvention of X after Elon Musk bought and renamed the platform previously known as Twitter. Despite Musk threatening to sue Meta for launching a “copycat app,”

Threads has tried to set itself apart by embracing decentralization, an interoperable approach to social media that theoretically allows users and developers more freedom to create their online experience while delivering more privacy over their user data.

To further compete with decentralized microblogging networks such as Bluesky, Threads is currently working toexpand posting functionality to the fediverse, or other apps and platforms integrated with the ActivityPub protocol.

However, while the decentralized social media model undergoes initial adoption and testing, the option to customize one’s default feed is an early step in challenging Bluesky, which lets users build their own algorithms, feeds, lists and content moderation controls.

Threads' announcement comes only days after it launched custom feeds, inviting its 275 million monthly active users to build feeds around specific topics and particular profiles.

Zuckerberg has also mentioned that the Threads team is determined to make these different customized feeds “more visible” in the app moving forward.

Although Threads has over 200 million more active users than Bluesky, it's likely that the latter platform's recent growth has pushed Threads to implement these updates as well as an overhaul of its Search and Trending features.