How to use Threads, Facebook’s new Twitter alternative, without sacrificing your privacy

This isn’t the Twitter replacement you were looking for

Meta first started testing thetrending topics on Threads in Februarythis year. The company says its algorithm will show up to five trending topics based on engagement across the platform and is not personalized according to your taste. The topics will not be limited to news articles but what people post on Threads.

Three renders of Meta’s Threads app on iPhone display set against a black background.

Meta’s content specialists review the trending topics and search results to ensure they don’t violate the community guidelines. If you don’t like a suggested topic or feel it violates the guidelines, you can manually report it to Meta. This will help the company refine its AI system to surface more appropriate topics.

Like some Threads' features, the Trending section is also currently limited to the US, including the selected trending topics. This will eventually change, but the precise timeframe is not clear.

Trending section in Threads

Threads' search tab has grown in functionality since launch

When Threads initially launched, the search tab only provided one function: the ability to search for user profiles. But in the months following its debut, Meta has increased its usefulness by adding keyword search functionality and through improvements.

This is just one of the many improvements Meta has made to Threads recently. Last week, the company released a Threads desktop app for Windows PCs, though it turned out to be a web app in disguise.

Threads app running on Nothing Phone 2a

While the addition of a trending section is a welcome change, Meta still has its task cut out as it needs to add many more features to Threads to bring it to feature parity with its main rival, X.