Meta’s new Threads app doesn’t let users delete their account without removing their entire Instagram profile, it has been reported.
But according to an Instagram post from Meta’s chief Adam Mosseri on Thursday, the tech company is “looking into” a way in which this could be changed.
Meta’s recently launched Twitter competitor Threads utilises the same account system as Instagram, which means you can use the same username. Linked to Instagram, it allows users to post up to 500 characters of text and up to five minutes of video and links, as well as pictures.
However, it also links the apps together so that you can’t delete your Threads account, without deleting your Instagram as well.
This is a problem for users who have posted on Instagram for years, or built up a sizeable following.
Mosseri’s message indicates Meta is trying to change this. Meanwhile, the best option is to hide your Threads profile and content by deactivating your Threads account.
Simply go to your profile tab, tap the two lines icon for settings, tap “Account”, tap “Deactivate profile”, and then the “Deactivate Threads profile” button.
According to an Instagram support page, this is a temporary action, so if your account is reactivated when you log back in, your profile, threads, replies and likes will be visible again.
Since Instagram launched Threads on Wednesday on iOS and Android, more than 30 million people have signed up for the app, Mark Zuckerberg has said.
But the launch seems to have been rushed in order to make the most of Twitter’s downfall, as significant features such as DMs, a following feed and hashtags are all missing.
In an additional post, Mosseri said that many of the “basics” were on the way but that the improvements to the app will “take time”.
The new app is the latest chapter in the rivalry between Mr Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in October.
Last month, the pair – two of the world’s most high-profile billionaires – agreed to take each other on in a cage fight in an exchange that went viral on social media.
Mr Musk tweeted about Meta, saying: “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter, than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.”
