Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter Killer Is Doing at Least One Thing Right

Instagram’s “Threads” platform launched on July 5 and has already amassed over 100 million users according to Facebook and Instagram owner Mark Zuckerberg, and as it grows, we will start to get a picture of Meta Man’s answer to Twitter.

And it might not be as terrible as people think. From using it myself, it actually seems easy to use. It has a similar interface to Twitter, and the vibes are just immaculate. Not only that, but Zuckerberg seems to be doing something right, something that would make Twitter overlord/ruiner Elon Musk fall to his knees retching:

That’s right! If you make comments such as “non-binary isn’t real,” your thread will be removed. Of course, this is the company behind Facebook and Instagram we’re talking about, so we’re not holding out a lot of hope that the platform will be hate or harassment free, but it’s still nice to see this happen to one of the biggest sources of right-wing LGBTQ+ hate-mongering online, Libs of TikTok. Other users have reported that you will also be asked whether you are sure you want to follow someone who has spread misinformation, like Donald Trump Jr.

However, something you are not be able to do freely is delete your account, it seems. At the moment, you can’t delete a Threads account unless you delete the Instagram account that is attached to it. You can deactivate, however, though I am aware that isn’t the same thing. Currently, in their privacy policy, they say: “You may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account.”

However, Threads has now been available to the public for nearly a week and they have taken notice of the fact that some Threaders (The correct term? I’m not sure.) aren’t happy. Though the platform was designed to work in tandem with Instagram, Adam Mosseri, Meta’s head of Instagram, confirmed that they are “looking into a way to delete your Threads account separately,” according to TechCrunch.

Also, just because Threads seems to be a better option than its predecessor doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and rainbows. Meta, and specifically Facebook, have cooperated with law enforcement in the U.S. They have handed over conversations exchanged on their messaging service when it concerns people having abortions, violating users’ data privacy.

Threads doesn’t yet have a messaging part of its service, which was probably done purposefully so you have to use Instagram DMs instead, but you should still be careful what you post if you’re in a territory where something like abortion is illegal. Just because your account is private doesn’t mean those who want to can’t access it.

(featured image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)