Threads is poised to receive a significant upgrade from parent company Meta, as it is testing a cross-posting feature that would allow Facebook users to post to both platforms simultaneously. This new feature utilizes the same tool that was originally available for cross-posting from Facebook to Instagram.
A limited test of this feature has commenced on iOS, with the exclusion of the EU. According to a Meta representative, the feature will enable users to share both text and link posts from Facebook to Threads.
The addition of this feature could streamline the posting process for content creators, freeing them from the hassle of posting on multiple platforms. Additionally, it further integrates Threads into Meta’s larger app ecosystem, potentially boosting the app’s user base if the test expands more widely. Currently, Meta’s family of apps reaches 3.98 billion users. Even if only a fraction of these users utilize the cross-posting feature for Threads, it could significantly increase the app’s available posts.
Facebook introduced the option to cross-post to Instagram in 2021, following earlier options to cross-post Stories between the two platforms. With last summer’s launch of Threads, the company capitalized on its larger social networks to rapidly grow the new service’s user base.
Initially, new Threads users were automatically connected with others they knew or followed on Instagram, allowing the network to quickly surpass 100 million users within five days of its launch, and soon reaching one-fifth of the weekly active user base of Twitter/X. As of Meta’s most recent quarter, Threads reached over 130 million monthly active users, partly due to the company showcasing popular Threads within the main feeds of Facebook and Instagram.
Image Credits: Screenshot from @whimchic (opens in a new window)
The Facebook cross-posting feature has been observed in action within Facebook’s iOS app, as demonstrated in this example posted by Threads user @whimchic (Ljiljana Grujicic). This user tested the feature, with the post automatically published to both accounts associated with the same profile, without indicating that it was cross-posted. This lack of disclosure could be concerning for users who have a full name on Facebook but a more anonymous handle on a public platform like Threads.
This is not the first time Threads has experimented with cross-posting. Previously, users were unhappy to find their posts automatically shared on Facebook and Instagram, where their audiences differed from those on Threads. In response to this feedback, Meta added an option that allowed users to disable automatic sharing by default, quelling the backlash.
Facebook is not only testing cross-posting features – Grujicic also shared a photo on LinkedIn showcasing a test of a “Write with AI” writing assistant to help users compose their posts.
Image Credits: Ljiljana Grujicic via LinkedIn (opens in a new window)
