Threads Launches New ‘Communities’ Public Spaces to Connect Users

Threads has launched a new ‘Communities’ feature, where users can engage in public, casual conversations with others who engage in a variety of popular topics.

At launch, there are “more than 100 of the most popular topics on Threads,” according to the company. Communities vary from anything like basketball, to TV, to books, etc. Each Community is given custom feeds and dedicated spaces to find through the social media app.

Some of the most active Communities that are being tested currently are NBA/WNBA Threads, TV Threads, and KPop Threads. The company explains that users engaging in any Communities will be public. Those joined are also pinned to your feed’s menu and tagged on your profile. All communities come with evolved topic tags and customs like emojis (like a stack of books in the Book Threads), which are exclusive to members.

All Communities can be discovered by searching by name or tapping a community tag on a post within your feed. A three-dot icon on a topic tag indicates that it has a dedicated community. Users can then tap ‘Join’ on the top right.

Meta states that not all interests have dedicated Communities yet. However, more will be “coming soon.”

Looking ahead, Threads will also be introducing new ‘special badges’ for standout community contributors. Users who are the most active and engaged within the app, establishing communities, will be given these badges. Threads is also looking into ranking communities within the For You feed, prioritizing relevant posts.

By in large, the feature sounds a lot like the Communities platform on X (formerly Twitter). This mainstay for the social media platform works slightly differently than the newly added one on Threads. For instance, on X, Communities are dedicated spaces created and moderated by X users. On Threads, these Communities are designed by the company. Additionally, on X, only users who have joined a Community can participate, whereas on Threads, it’s public.