Threads is sometimes criticized for not prioritizing real-time content in its recommendations. Now, Meta is adding status indicators that can show when a particular user is online in an apparent effort to address that need.
The optional feature, called “activity status,” will display a green bubble alongside someone’s profile photo when they’re online. The indicator is meant to help users find “others to engage with in real-time,” according to an update from Instagram boss Adam Mosseri. “We hope that knowing when your people are online makes it easier to have conversations.”
It’s an interesting choice for a platform that still doesn’t have direct messaging capabilities. Such indicators are more common in chat apps like Discord (Instagram, which does have robust DM capabilities, also has a similar feature). But Meta has said repeatedly it doesn’t want to bring in-app messaging to Threads, with the app’s head of product recently telling Bus
