Threads Introduces New Features for Users

Threads by Instagram has been fighting the good fight to retain its daily users following an initial dip shortly after its launch. The way it’s been going about it is by regularly adding new features to excite its community, and this week is no exception.

As announced today via the official @threads and Instagram boss Adam Mosseri (@mosseri)’s Thread accounts, there are two new features that will be rolled out this week. First, and more importantly, you will now be able to edit a thread for up to five minutes after you’ve posted it. Second, you will now be able to start or reply to a thread using your voice.

The ability to edit a Thread has been a popular ask among the app’s users, particularly those that flocked to it seeking an alternative to X (formerly Twitter) and its tendency to lock away its most useful features behind a paywall. Currently, users on X have to subscribe to the Premium plan in order to edit a post. On Threads, the famous “edit button” will be available for free to all users and it rolls out beginning today.

To edit a post or reply, simply tap or click on the “…” menu on the top right. The option to edit will only be available for the first five minutes your post is live, and it works to both fix or add text, as well as to add images.

Similarly, Threads is rolling out “voice threads,” or how I believe most people will refer to them – “voice notes.” To use your voice in order to start or reply to a thread, simply tap on the microphone icon. Then, when the recorder appears, tap (or press and hold) the record button to start. Recordings will also include auto-generated captions that you can make changes to before you finalize your post.

What’s missing?

However, as great as having both of these new features sound, there are some things to take into consideration. Although, there is no app update required to get them, I noticed that voice notes don’t seem to be available on the web app. This may by design or simply a matter of the feature not having completely rolled out yet.

Additionally, once a post is edited, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that the post has been changed or any edit history to speak of. Hopefully, this is in the works as this lack of transparency could lead to misinformation.

All in all, this is a huge win for Threads and a great incentive for new users to join the platform and existing ones to become more active. The team seems to be listening to user feedback and, slowly but surely, giving them the features they want.