Threads update adds "Activity status" feature to show you when someone is online on the platform

Threads is now adding status indicators that can show when a user is online in an attempt to address criticism. The social media platform has been accused previously of not prioritizing real-time content in its recommendations. Meta is now adding this new feature to address part of this issue. Of course, it's an optional feature.

The feature is called "activity status" and displays a green bubble alongside your profile photo if you're online and active on the app. This is meant to help users find other people to engage with in real time, as indicated by Instagram head Adam Mosseri. He states that hopefully, this update will help you have conversations with others more easily.


This new feature isn't particularly the best answer to the criticism demanding a more real-time information and conversation-based feed. There's also no clear way of finding people who have the green bubble alongside the profile photo, so I'm unsure as to how this will help you seek users who are currently active to start a conversation.

Meanwhile, Threads has recently been reported to be working on a Community feature. The feature is said to work similarly to groups, and I reckon this will be a great place to take advantage of the green bubble next to someone's profile picture. Communities will likely offer a way for people to unite under common interests or hobbies, and the online status indicator will help you while communicating there.

But for now, the Community feature has not been made available and seems to be under development. We'll see how this progresses, hopefully soon. Although Threads' main aim is to be an alternative to X, there are plenty of things the platform should fix to be able to better compete with X, in my opinion.