Meta’s microblogging platform, Threads, has introduced many new features since its launch last year. However, its latest feature doesn’t seem to be winning users over. Meta recently announced that Threads will soon allow users to see when others are online, sparking widespread discussions.
According to Instagram and Threads head Adam Mosseri, who shared the news on Tuesday, Threads will roll out a feature that displays a green dot next to a user’s profile when they are online. Mosseri explained that the purpose of this feature is to encourage real-time interaction, making it easier for users to find online friends and engage in conversations.
“We’re rolling out activity status as a way to help you find others to engage with in real-time. Only people who have activity status turned on will be able to see when you’re online, and you can turn this off within your settings at any time,” Mosseri said.
Fortunately, the feature will be optional for now. Similar to Instagram, Threads will allow users to disable their online status in the settings, but doing so will also prevent them from seeing when others are online.
A few years ago, Twitter also considered introducing a similar feature but eventually decided against it. Judging by the replies to Mosseri’s post, many Threads users are not enthusiastic about this addition, questioning its necessity.
The online status feature is still in its testing phase, and whether further adjustments will be made depends on user feedback.
