Shortly after its addition of direct messages this summer, Instagram Threads is adding support for group messaging with up to 50 people. The Meta-owned competitor to X, which now has more than 400 million monthly active users, is making group chats available to global users starting today. It will also bring its messaging experience to users in the EU, where it was initially delayed.
Within the group chats, Threads users ages 18 and up will be able to share text posts, videos, GIFs, and emojis, as they can on the public timeline.
Threads VP of Product Management Emily Dalton Smith explained during a group chat session with reporters earlier this week that, as with individual direct messages (DMs), group chats will not be encrypted. Rather, the company views Threads DMs as a way for people to connect about things they’re talking about now — like a football game or TV show they’re watching, not as a secure messaging service.
“We see messaging as a way for people to connect more deeply with the people they’re already having conversations with — it’s really about going deep with people who share your interests,” Smith said in the conversation as she showed off the new feature and answered questions about its functionality and purpose.
The changes also come as Threads’ parent, Instagram, is refocusing its app around Reels and DMs because the company found these were the features that users engaged with the most. Not surprisingly, it’s now making messaging a core part of the Threads app, too.
Its top competitor, X, has done the same, but its focus has been shifting its users to an end-to-end encrypted chat service, XChat; security researchers have said it’s not as trustworthy as Signal.
Threads says its users will have some control over who can start group chats with them, as they can with DMs. Users have to be following the person for them to add you to the group chat, Smith said. This is more restrictive compared with how Threads DMs work, as individual messages from people you don’t follow are simply directed to your Message Requests folder, not your main inbox.
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Individual DMs have other restrictions, however. Links and media are also disabled in message requests, and users are limited in how many requests they can send. In addition, users can turn off message requests from people they don’t follow, while potential spam is further filtered to a hidden folder.
Users will also be able to give their group chats a name, and will later be able to invite others by sharing a link to the chat, instead of adding them individually. This could make it easier for members to connect with others in a particular Community — a newer feature for finding interest groups on the app.
Smith also pointed out that people use Threads to connect with a different set of people than they do on Instagram. For instance, more than a third of those who use Threads daily follow less than half the same number of people as they do on Instagram, she said. The company believes that this suggests people are making more “Threads-first” connections on the app.
In addition to group chats, messaging will arrive in the EU over the next few days, giving users in this market access to both individual and group chats at launch.
