Threads by Instagram, in its quest to become a formidable contender to X/Twitter, has been steadily releasing new features since its launch last month. However, one crucial feature has been noticeably missing – a search function. Fortunately, this will soon change.

Mark Zuckerberg confirmed today on a post on Threads that a keyword search feature will be added to the app in the near future. Soon after, Instagram Head Adam Mosseri posted that testing for this feature has already begun in Australia and New Zealand.

The testing phase for the keyword search feature commences today and will subsequently be rolled out to other English-speaking regions. Although no specific timeline was provided for its stable release, Mosseri did mention that they are also working on incorporating more languages and encouraged feedback from users who are currently testing the feature. This is significant progress since currently, the only searchable item within Threads is other user accounts.

Remarkably, the announcement comes just days after Threads introduced its much-requested web app. Although it remains unclear how the web version has impacted the platform’s user base, public feedback in response to this feature has been generally positive.

Threads initially experienced a decline in active daily users following its successful debut. Many attributed this to the lack of feature parity with its competitor, X (formerly known as Twitter). However, it is evident that Zuckerberg, Mosseri, and the Threads team are actively addressing these concerns and diligently working to bring most of these features to the platform as quickly as possible. With the inclusion of highly requested features like the web client, following feed, and now keyword search, the team can now focus on implementing direct messages, hashtags, and other features that their competitors already offer.