Thread's latest update lets you hide replies from your profile
With this, users can have a bit more control over how public their posts become.
Recently, Threads announced an upgrade to its search functionality that saw it challenge the likes of X and Bluesky. Now Threads has decided to once again take a page right out of X's playbook but tweak things a bit.
A while back, X removed the "Likes" tab from profiles, allowing users to keep their engagement private. Now, Threads is rolling out a similar feature, but instead of hiding likes, it lets users hide their replies from public view.
The "Replies" tab, as the name suggests, previously displayed all of a user's replies to others’ posts in one place. While replies could sometimes appear in the main feed or “For You” page, they weren’t typically favoured by the algorithm, meaning it was rare to come across them unless you actively sought them out.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
With the new update, Threads users now have the option to remove the "Replies" tab entirely from their profile, adding another layer of privacy. This means that while users’ replies won’t appear on their profiles, they could still be found if someone scrolls through a post’s replies, although this is less likely to happen with the algorithm’s current behaviour.
This move might seem like a subtle change, but for some users, it could offer a bit more privacy without the need to make their profile entirely private, which would limit visibility to only followers. For those who prefer to keep things low-key, this new feature offers a more controlled environment to manage what others can see, especially when it comes to personal interactions that might not be meant for public viewing.
Similar to how X made likes private earlier this year, Threads is allowing users to curate their profiles more selectively. While the impact of hiding replies may not be as significant as it would be for likes or posts, it’s still a welcomed option for those who want more control over their online presence.
As privacy continues to be a growing concern across social media, these kinds of features show that platforms are beginning to realize the importance of letting users determine how much they want to share.
