Threads, Instagram’s Twitter/X rival, is getting more competitive with the expansion of its keyword search feature to all markets where the app is available. The feature was initially tested in English-speaking markets, including Australia and New Zealand, in August before expanding to most other English- and Spanish-speaking countries, including the United States, in September. Now, according According to Instagram director Adam Mosseri, keyword search will be “compatible with all languages.”
That will make the app, now used by nearly 100 million people a month, more useful to a broader global audience.
The news also comes on the heels of reports that Threads is nearing its EU launch. The Wall Street Journal suggested that the app could launch in the EU next month, noting that it could also launch a read-only mode that would allow users to read posts without creating an account.
Offering search capabilities to EU users would be a key aspect of serving that market, where many different languages are spoken. But it would also make Threads more useful for the more than 100 countries where the app is already available, beyond the US.
The Threads team has been rapidly iterating on the app in response to user feedback, adding features like a chronological tracking feed, a web app, a way to see your likes, polls, GIFs, hashtag support (without the hash) and an edit button. , profile change and more in the months after its launch. The company also promised an API for developers and plans to integrate with ActivityPub, the decentralized social network protocol that also powers Mastodon and other networks.
However, Threads has not yet adopted a core feature that powers X: Trending Topics, although it has been spotted in development. In fact, the company seems to want to be a less real-time version of X, as its algorithmic feed often features posts from days ago. Mosseri has also stated directly that the company does not intend to amplify news on the platform, differentiating the app from X’s focus on breaking news. That said, many former X users are joining Threads. which may ultimately dictate the direction of the application.
In today’s note, Mosseri said more search improvements were coming soon.
For now, Threads continues to block terms like “long Covid” and related phrases in search, referring users to the CDC website for current information.
With nearly 100 million monthly users, Threads is even smaller than X, which has nearly 550 million monthly active users as of September, according to X owner Elon Musk. But it’s also not yet available in all markets that X supports, limiting its growth. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains optimistic about the app’s potential, recently telling investors that Threads could be the next Meta app for a billion people within a matter of years.
