Threads has amassed a massive following since its launch on July 5, 2023, with 10 million signups in just seven hours. Making things even simpler, you can use your Instagram account to create a Threads account almost instantly. However, there is one major caveat.
When you join a thread, you must connect your Instagram account to it to claim your user handle. As users are discovering, if you decide to delete that Threads account, you must also delete the Instagram account that is linked to it. Emily Hughes, a Twitter user, shared her own experience with this.
I already deactivated my Threads account, but it turns out you can’t delete it *without also deleting your Instagram account*, so maybe don’t sign up! July 6, 2023
I’ve muted this, but here’s a screenshot. twitter.com/Ss0Cb3554n July 6, 2023
This is also confirmed by Meta’s Supplemental Privacy Policy, which states: “You may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but you can only delete your Threads profile by deleting your Instagram account.” The policy page goes on to explain that this is due to Threads being a part of a user’s Instagram account.
If you still want to delete your account, we have instructions on how to delete your Threads account. You can also deactivate your account rather than delete it, which keeps your Instagram safe.
Threads could pose a significant threat to Twitter.
Despite this rather significant caveat to creating a Threads account, Instagram has 2 billion users that it can continue to leverage to grow its Threads user base. If this trend continues, it could be the first social media site to truly challenge, if not surpass, Twitter.
Meanwhile, it appears that Twitter, led by its owner and former CEO, Elon Musk, is committed to making increasingly bizarre and misguided decisions and policy changes that harm the user experience. The most recent blunders were daily rate limits on the number of Tweets you can view (currently 10,000 for verified users and 1,000 for unverified users) and a login requirement for viewing Tweets.
Musk quietly reversed his decision on the second, allowing for
Musk also stated on Twitter, according to Boing Boing, that it would be “infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.” Meta’s initial success is having an effect, based on his policy reversal and this statement.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, whether Meta has created a true Twitter-killer app, and how Musk responds in any meaningful way other than empty threats and hollow ‘truth’ statements.