KEY POINTS
- Threads users can't delete their profile without deleting their Instagram account too.
- Instagram boss says "we're looking into a way to delete your Threads account separately".
- Threads launched on Thursday and has already gained 30 million users.
Already thinking of deleting your Threads account? You won't be able to do so without terminating your Instagram profile too — at this stage at least.
The and features short text posts that users can like, re-post and reply to, much like Twitter, although it does not have any direct message capabilities.
Users can log into Threads by using their Instagram credentials. But once signed up, there is no way to delete a Threads profile without deleting the linked Instagram account too, although that could change in the future.
"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," wrote Instagram boss Adam Mosseri in a post on the new app.
Some said that this was enough to stop them setting up a Threads account.
"I was going to make a threads acc just because but then i found out that apparently you can’t delete it unless you delete your insta acc???," one person wrote on Twitter.
Another said: "The fact that you have to delete your instagram account to delete your threads profile and data is enough to make me not download it."
Mosseri said Threads accounts could be deactivated, which would hide the profile and any content shared. But the account will reactivate if you log back in.
Threads is available in more than 100 countries on both Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, wrote Meta, the parent company of Threads and Instagram, in a blog post.
The app — which gained 30 million users on its launch day, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — collects a wide array of data from users, including health, browsing history, location, and financial information.
Threads is available in more than 100 countries, and gained 30 million users on its launch day. Source: AAP / Davide Bonaldo/Sipa USA
Musk bought Twitter for US$44 billion ($66 billion) last October, but its value has since plummeted amid and that have alienated both users and advertisers.
Analysts have said Threads' ties to Instagram might give it a built-in user base and advertising apparatus. That could siphon ad dollars from Twitter at a time when its new chief is trying to revive its struggling business.
"Investors can't help but be a little excited about the prospect that Meta really has a 'Twitter-Killer'," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment firm AJ Bell.
How to deactivate Threads
- While on your profile page, tap the two lines in the top right to navigate to settings.
- Tap "account".
- Tap "Deactivate profile" and then "Deactivate Threads profile".
- With additional reporting by Reuters via the Australian Associated Press.
