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BUSINESS EYE DECEMBER 15, 2023 | The Indian Eye 36

TECH T@LK

Instagram Threads search now supports

‘all languages’ in recent update

OUR BUREAU central feature that drives X: Trending Topics,
though it has been spotted in development. The
San Francisco, CA
company seems to want to be a less real-time ver-
nstagram’s Twitter/X rival, Threads, is getting sion of X, as its algorithmic feed often features
more aggressive by bringing its keyword search days-old posts. Mosseri has also directly stated that
Ifunction to every area where the app is accessi- the company doesn’t aim to amplify news on the
ble. Before being rolled out to the majority of other platform, differentiating the app from X’s focus on
English- and Spanish-speaking nations, including breaking news. That said, many former X users are
the United States, in September, the feature was joining Threads, which ultimately may dictate the
first tested in English-speaking regions, such as app’s direction, according to TechCrunch.
Australia and New Zealand, in August, reported Mosseri said that more improvements to
TechCrunch. search would also be coming soon.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has an- For the time being, Threads keeps preventing
nounced that keyword searches will now be “sup- In the months after the app’s release, the searches for terms like “long covid” and similar ex-
ported in all languages.” Threads team has been quickly improving it in re- pressions, instead directing users to the CDC web-
According to TechCrunch that will make the sponse to user feedback. Features like a chrono- site for up-to-date information.
app, now used by nearly 100 million people per logical following feed, a web app, a way to view With nearly 100 million monthly users, Threads
month, more useful to a broader, global audience. your likes, polls, GIFs, support for hashtags (with- is still smaller than X, which has nearly 550 million
The news also comes on the heels of reports that out the hash), an edit button, profile switching, and monthly active users as of September, per X owner
Threads is nearing an EU launch. more have been added. Elon Musk. But it’s also not yet available in all the
Serving the EU market, where users speak The company has also promised a developer markets that X supports, which limits its growth.
many different languages, would need to provide API and plans to integrate with ActivityPub, the Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains bullish on
search capabilities. But outside of the United States, decentralized social networking protocol that also the app’s potential, recently telling investors that
it would also increase Threads’ utility for the more powers Mastodon and other networks. Threads could be Meta’s next billion-person app in
than 100 nations in which it is already accessible. However, Threads has not yet adopted one a matter of years, reported TechCrunch.

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