Threads, the competitor to Meta on Twitter, is getting some new features “this week,” according to a post from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. New features include the ability to share a Threads post to your Instagram direct messages, a way to add custom alt text to photos and videos you include in posts, and a new “mention button” that lets you “mention easily someone’s account in your Thread,” Zuckerberg says. (For some reason this link only works for me on mobile.)
To share a post via Instagram direct messages, tap the paper airplane-like icon on a post. To add alt text, start a post, attach photos or videos using the clip icon, and then tap the “Alt” button that appears on the image. It looks like I don’t have the mention button, maybe I’m missing it! – but you can mention another user while composing a post by entering the @ symbol and then typing someone’s username or selecting one of the suggested options. And I should note that my iPhone recently updated the Threads app, so if you’re not seeing the new features, make sure you have the latest version.
These updates are nice – the custom alt text in particular feels like one that should have been in the app at launch – but I guess many are still waiting for bigger updates like a web client and improved search. On Friday, Zuckerberg said those features will be available in “the next few weeks,” so I hope we don’t have to wait too long for them. At least the app has a tracking feed, though I still wish it didn’t force you to leave it.
