Threads is deepening its ties to the Fediverse, aka the open social network that powers services like X-Alternative Mastodon, Pixelfed, PeerTube, Flipboard and other apps. On Wednesday, Meta announced that Threads users will be able to see Fediverse replies to posts other than their own. In addition, posts created through the Threads API, such as those created through third-party apps and scheduling services, will now be syndicated to the Fediverse.
The latter was previously announced via an in-app message informing users that API contributions would be shared on the Fediverse starting August 28.
Following Meta’s launch of the Threads API in June, companies like Hootsuite, Sprinklr, Sprout Social, Grabyo and others have integrated access to Threads into their own platforms and services, making Threads more useful for brands, businesses and other social media marketers. It will also be important to expand the reach of high-profile accounts run by social media teams, such as the @potus account.
By comparison, Elon Musk’s X restricted access to its API last year by shutting down the free version and raising prices to boost revenue on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The other major change coming to threads today is how Fediverse replies are displayed.
Since June, users have been able to see Fediverse replies to their posts if they have Fediverse sharing enabled in the app settings. Once enabled, the sharing option allows users to syndicate their posts across the social web and then see how people have reacted on other services. Now, users can also see Fediverse replies to other people’s posts. This instantly provides more content in threads, even without a noticeable increase in the number of threads users.
A meta engineer suggested testing the feature by looking at responses from larger accounts, such as YouTuber Marques Brownlee (@mkbhd).
Here you will notice a new section that shows how many “Fediverse replies” are available above the replies posted in the threads themselves.
Note that you have to tap or click on the Fediverse Replies section to actually see what is being said on other servers and by whom. Currently, Threads users can like the replies from other servers, but cannot reply to them yet, as the feature is still in beta and under development.
While separating the Fediverse replies into their own section makes sense in the short term as users learn what it means to participate in the wider social web, the extra click required to view them also buries them somewhat in the Threads UI, making them seem less important than the native Threads replies. Of course, the Threads UI is subject to change as the product evolves.
Threads is the largest app that uses ActivityPub, the protocol behind the Fediverse. Some fear that Meta will take over the decentralized, open-source social network of interconnected servers. Although Threads is not yet fully integrated, some Mastodon server operators have already preemptively blocked Threads, preventing their users from interacting with the social network operated by Meta and vice versa.
