In the first version of Instagram Threads, likes are not public information. In fact, the following list is not public information. Whether or not this will continue to be the case with future updates of the app is uncertain. One of the biggest complaints about Twitter was the fact that users “likes” or “favorites” were public if their account was public. This got many celebrities, athletes, stars and politicians in a lot of trouble.
Instagram Threads has done everything right in the first week of the app being available. Over 100 million people have downloaded the app and used their Instagram account to sign up for a Threads account. Twitter is a complete mess and getting worse every single day. Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly stated there is a need for a social media based app that is text based.
It is safe to say that most people that enjoyed Instagram can remember following the Boston Marathon bomber chase on Twitter. They can remember watching live sporting events and award shows on Twitter and laughing at all the funny, “in the moment” comments and Tweets. Those days are long gone and it will be interesting to see if Instagram Threads can bring those memorable moments back.
There will be many updates along the way, but hopefully hiding the like count and the following list will remain for the duration of the app. At least allow users to choose to show who they follow and the Threads they like. Twitter has been on a downward spiral since around 2019. Twitter had every opportunity to be the text based news and events app; especially during COVID. Instead, the amount of hate and vitriol continued to increase and the trolls took over the platform. This will be the main objective for Instagram Threads – keep the conversation fun and exciting. If Meta is able to do that, Instagram Threads will likely exceed Twitter’s 450m users in less than a year.