Threads
Instagram's Twitter clone — with all of Meta's data infrastructure
⚠️ Privacy case
Threads collects extensive data: health and fitness data, financial data, location, browsing history, search history, identifiers, usage data, and sensitive information. Apple's App Store privacy label for Threads is one of the most extensive data collection disclosures in the App Store. It uses your Instagram social graph and feeds Meta's advertising infrastructure.
What it is
Threads is Meta's text-based social network launched in July 2023, directly integrated with Instagram. It gained 100 million users in its first week, largely from the Twitter/X exodus. It is built on Instagram's infrastructure, which means your Threads account is linked to your Instagram account — you cannot delete Threads without deleting Instagram.
What you lose
- Your Threads posts and replies
- Threads-specific followers
- The Instagram account that Threads is linked to (they cannot be separated currently)
Honest assessment
Threads is the easiest Meta service to leave if you're already leaving Instagram — they're linked, so Instagram account deletion includes Threads. If you use Instagram but want to leave Threads specifically, you can deactivate Threads without deleting Instagram.
Data to export first
- Use Instagram's data download tool — Threads data is included
- Instagram → Settings → Your activity → Download your information
Alternatives
- Mastodon — Decentralized, open-source, no algorithm, no ads. Threads is building ActivityPub federation (same protocol as Mastodon), so your Mastodon followers can eventually follow Threads accounts — but not vice versa in terms of data portability.
- Bluesky — Jack Dorsey's decentralized Twitter alternative. AT Protocol. Growing community. More mainstream feel than Mastodon. No ads yet. Best Twitter/Threads replacement for casual users.
- Post.news — Journalist-focused social platform. Smaller but high-quality community for news and analysis.
Migration steps
- If leaving both Threads and Instagram, proceed with Instagram account deletion — Threads is deleted with it
- If keeping Instagram but leaving Threads — Settings → Account → Deactivate or delete Threads profile
- Note that as of 2024, deactivating Threads is separate from deactivating Instagram
- Export your data before deactivating
- Sign up for Mastodon or Bluesky and post your handle before departing