It looks like Threads is trying to help users find more relevant discussions in the app, via a new, in-development feature called “Loops”, which could make it easier to uncover topic-based communities.
And it’s a good name too. Like, a loop in the Thread, a separate element from the main thread. It’s good, I like it. But whether it catches on is another question altogether.
As you can see in the above example, shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, Threads users will seemingly soon be able to add their individual Threads into a Loop, which will then feed it into that topical community. It’s not clear if that Thread will also be shared to your main timeline, but it seems like users will be able to join these Loops, and get more relevant updates fed into their Threads feed.
Which is pretty much the same as X’s Communities, ensuring that users can join different topic groups, and have those specific posts highlighted in the app.
Communities has always seemed like a slightly odd fit on Twitter/X, given the public nature of the platform, but according to X, Community usage is growing, as more people look to limit certain engagements, and keep certain discussion separate.
Which aligns with the broader shift towards private messaging over public posting, and maybe, that’s the same impetus that Threads is using here.
According to recent updates to the back-end code of the Threads app (spotted by Chris Messina), Loop communities are set to get a range of functional options, including the capacity to join, leave, add user-specific detail, etc. But Instagram has also told TechCrunch that this is not close to live testing as yet.
Still, once it is ready, it could be a good way to sort your Threads interactions, and find more relevant discussions in the app. Threads users have been less active in adopting hashtags, which are now a largely outdated notion, as algorithms detect your interests and show you more of what you like either way.
But maybe, Loops will help bridge the gap between algorithmic matching and personal preference, and make it easier to engage in a broader range of relevant discussions as they happen in the app.
