Instagram has become the go-to app for messaging friends for many users. The image-sharing platform offers a fun experience that doesn’t involve family groups and makes it easier to share photos, videos, and now Reels. Instagram then decided to offer close friends a safe space with the launch of the standalone Threads app earlier last year.
Well, if you are a regular Threads users, then you should know that the app has bagged an update that dilutes the core experience by allowing you to message any and all users via the app. Earlier, the app let you select ‘close friends’ and stay in touch with them via this camera-focused app. You could also set a status update to let them know what you’re up to.
The new change was first spotted by app reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong. As you can see in the screenshot above, the Threads app will prompt that ‘you can access all of your Instagram messages’ here after the update.
The inbox, accessible by a swipe down on the main camera screen, now has a tabbed interface. Threads still prioritize your close friends and first displays new messages, images, videos or status updates from them. You can tap the ‘Everyone Else’ button to open messages sent by everyone else, as shown above. Your Status updates are only visible to close friends, which is great.
It is a big change that defeats the whole purpose of the app but the core ‘close friends’ messaging experience remains pretty much unchanged. This could instead be a boon for Instagram users who absolutely dread the upcoming Messenger integration. If you are not aware, Facebook has decided to integrate the Instagram and Messenger chatting experience to enable you to text friends via any platform.
With the Instagram and Messenger integration afoot, I think I’m going to test out and make a switch to Threads in the next few days. It does take a bit of time to get used to the more camera-focused UI and swipe gestures.
