Anyone who’s fallen victim to the “Well, actually” reply needs to use this new Threads feature.
Meta announced Thursday that it’s introducing a number of controls and personalization features. The most important tools include the ability to limit replies and quote-posts to just your followers, and a new option to add up to 10 tagged topics to your bio. That means when you create a new post, you can choose is allowed to reply to it: anyone, just your followers or nobody at all. Which means that it should make it easier to control who is allowed to annoy you online.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg boosted the announcements by adding three new topics to his Threads bio: AI, MMA and memes. In a blog post, Meta said that Threads posts that include a topic “generally receive more views” but didn’t offer any specific stats or examples.
Threads has gotten a lot of product updates in the past few months. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri announced adjustments to Threads’ algorithm to prioritize accounts you follow over ones you don’t — a shift from its original “discover” strategy. Threads has also introduced a trending topics area, custom feeds and custom lists.
The timing of these updates isn’t coincidental. Bluesky, a federated text-based platform, has exploded in popularity, and Meta has often moved to match its most popular features. Some people cheered about how Bluesky separated discover and follower feeds, then Threads later introduced new updates to its feeds. Plus, Threads’ custom lists are basically Bluesky’s starter packs (Meta’s Version).
Meta had an extremely rocky start to 2025. Significant changes to the companies’ hateful conduct policy and the abolishment of its independent third-party fact-checking program had many users seriously concerned about safety on the platforms. Leaks from the company also report that it is considering spinning off its Meta AI chatbot and Instagram Reels into separate apps, both of which would mean big changes for Meta’s future and for the millions who use those services.
For more, check out what to know about Instagram teen accounts and how to schedule DMs.
