Threads, Meta’s text-based social media platform, is currently testing a new feature that allows users to set a 24-hour expiration timer on their posts. Once the timer runs out, both the post and its replies will vanish, similar to how Stories function on other platforms. This feature was first spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi earlier this summer and has been confirmed by a spokesperson to be in testing with a select group of users.
This move towards ephemeral content echoes Twitter’s now-defunct Fleets feature, which didn’t gain much traction.However, it could appeal to users who frequently delete their posts, offering a more streamlined way to manage their content.
This development follows Threads’ earlier experimentation with auto-archiving, a feature that would allow users to automatically hide posts from their feed after a specified date. However, user feedback on auto-archiving was largely negative, and it hasn’t been widely implemented yet.
Threads recently reached the 200 million user mark in early August and introduced an analytics tool called Insights to help users track their performance. Meta has also announced that the option to schedule posts is in the pipeline.
