A portion of Threads from Instagram are still being (slowly) untangled by Meta. According to an update from Adam Mosseri, the app’s chief executive officer, users of Threads can now remove their profiles on the platform without also deleting their Instagram accounts.
Through Settings -> Account -> Delete or deactivate profile, users can get rid of their profile from the Threads app.
Users of Threads have long called for this option, as many were irritated by their inability to delete their Threads profile without simultaneously deleting their Instagram account. This update follows the introduction of another settings adjustment by Meta that lets Threads users choose not to have their posts promoted in Facebook’s and Instagram’s main feeds.
Instagram and Threads are still closely related even after the adjustments. The sole messaging function of the app, Threads, depends on Instagram’s inbox and requires an Instagram account to use. In order to provide suggestions and other services, Threads also leverages users’ Instagram presence.
There’s hope that Threads will eventually become more independent, even though Meta is unlikely to totally split the two systems. According to Meta, it plans to integrate Threads with ActivityPub, the open-source standard that drives Mastodon and other fediverse services. Though the specifics of the integration are still unknown, social media users who might otherwise avoid Instagram should find new opportunities to engage with Threads content thanks to this integration.
