Meta launched Threads with the inability to delete the app without deactivating Instagram – but the company has had a change of heart.
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri shared a post on Threads revealing the option has now been added to Settings.
To close a profile in Threads, users go to Settings, then Account, ‘Delete or Deactivate Profile,’ and select Delete.
Mosseri explained that all profile data will be hidden once deactivated and permanently deleted after 30 days.
Users were shocked in July when they learned their Instagram profile would be sacrificed when axing the so-called ‘Twitter-killer’ app due to platforms intertwining.
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri shared a post on Threads revealing the option has now been added to Settings
Meta launched Threads on July 5, gaining 100 million new users within the week.
The app was designed as an extension of Instagram – users could only register through the picture and video-sharing app.
Mark Zuckerberg’s rollout was believed to have expedited to capitalize on the chaos at the then Twitter HQ, where CEO Elon Musk had been criticized for changing many features of what is now known as X.
The text-based conversation platform is linked to Instagram, allowing users to follow accounts they are already interested in on the photo-sharing app.
But many similarities have also been drawn to Elon Musk’s X, based on its thread-like posts allowing users to share their opinions publicly.
And while users flocked to Meta’s app at launch, it is now struggling to attract new members.
The daily active user count is down 82 percent since July 31.
A September report by Insider Intelligence showed Threads near the bottom of the most popular social media platforms, ahead of only Tumblr.
It has a 3.0 out of five-star ranking in the Apple Store, showing the app having just as many one-star reviews as five stars.
And Google Play shows the app has a 3.9 ranking.
To close a profile in Threads, users go to Settings, then Account, ‘Delete or Deactivate Profile,’ and select Delete
Users quickly realized they were stuck with Threads two days after the app rolled out – they could only delete individual posts.
The news spread to X, where one user described Threads as a ‘saw trap.’
They wrote: ‘We can’t delete our threads account without deleting our IG?? They knew [people] would instantly hate it, so they made it a saw trap.’
Another said: ‘I deactivated my threads account already, but it turns out you can’t delete your threads account *without also deleting your Instagram account* so maybe just don’t sign up.’
Someone else chimed in: ‘Wish I’d known that. Guess I’ll just deactivate if I decide I don’t want it then’, while another added: ‘Thanks for the warning. Never gonna create a threads account, then.’
Amid the frenzy, Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, took to Threads to clarify the situation surrounding account deletion.
‘I’ve been getting some questions about deleting your account,’ he said.
‘To clarify, you can deactivate your Threads account, which hides your Threads profile and content, you can set your profile to private, and you can delete individual threads posts – all without deleting your Instagram account.
‘Threads is powered by Instagram, so right now it’s just one account, but we’re looking into a way to delete your Threads account separately.’
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
