Furious social media users say they’re being bombarded with Threads notifications on Instagram – here’s how to turn them OFF on your device
- Meta has designed Threads so that it’s closely integrated with the Instagram app
- The firm has only just let people delete Threads without deleting Instagram too
It’s now been nearly five months since the arrival of Meta’s social networking service, Threads.
But rather than enjoying the new app, many people on social media seem annoyed by the mere reminder that it exists.
Instagram users have noticed they’re being bombarded with Threads notifications that try to make them switch to the new app.
One user said she’s still getting Threads notifications on Instagram even after deleting her Threads account.
If you keep seeing push notifications on Instagram about Threads, here’s how to turn them off.
One frustrated user said: ‘INSTAGRAM, please stop giving me Threads notifications’, adding ‘Your app sucks’
One user said she’s still getting Threads notifications on Instagram even after deleting her Threads account
Turn off Instagram push notifications
– In Instagram, tap on your profile photo in the bottom corner
– Tap on the three horizonal lines, followed by ‘Settings and privacy’
– Tap ‘Notifications’ and then toggle on the ‘Pause all’ option
– Select how long you want to turn off push notifications for – anywhere from 15 to 8 hours
Note that this only turns off ‘push notifications’ (the ones that appear on the smartphone screen when the app is not open)
It doesn’t stop the Instagram heart icon from turning pink whenever Meta wants to tell us about activity on Threads
Affected users took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their displeasure, with one saying Meta is ‘trying to drag Instagram users into Threads’.
Another user said: ‘INSTAGRAM, please stop giving me Threads notifications’, adding ‘Your app sucks.’
Yet another posted: ‘Threads notifications are now coming in linked Instagram account…Is there any way to deactivate the threads account?’
One X user called Threads ‘an epic failure’ because it likes to ‘force notifications through Instagram’.
When a user gets a notification on Instagram, the heart icon at the top of the app receives a little pink dot.
Usually, by clicking on the heart icon users can see activity that relates to Instagram, such as another user liking or commenting on a photo.
But now Instagram notifications are telling users that someone ‘recently posted a new thread’ – even though Threads and Instagram are two separate apps.
Meta owns both Threads and Instagram – as well as other social media platforms WhatsApp and Facebook – and may be trying to boost Threads user numbers.
Instagram users can temporarily turn off all ‘push notifications’ (the ones that appear on the smartphone screen when the app is not open) by heading to the app’s settings.
However, this doesn’t stop the heart icon from turning pink whenever Meta wants to tell us about activity on Threads once we’re in the Instagram app.
MailOnline has contacted Meta about how to stop Threads notifications on Instagram for good.
Threads – which is closely linked to the Instagram app – lets users share text posts up to 500 characters in length, as well as links, photos and five-minute videos
One X user called Threads ‘an epic failure’ because it likes to ‘force notifications through Instagram’
‘I don’t want Threads notifications on Instagram!: Users took to Twitter to share their frustration
Annoyed social media users have noticed that they’re being bombarded with Threads notifications on Instagram
READ MORE Users can FINALLY get rid of Threads without deleting Instagram too
Users previously had to sacrifice their Instagram accounts to delete Threads
It’s well known that Meta has built the Threads app so that it’s very closely integrated with the Instagram app.
For example, when people originally start a Threads account, the app just uses the username from their Instagram account.
What’s more, anyone who wants to use Threads needs to have an Instagram account – so there’s no Threads without Instagram.
And until recently, people who had signed up to Threads were stuck with it, unless they wanted to lose their Instagram account too.
It was only earlier this month that Meta started to allow users to delete their Threads account while keeping their Instagram account.
Now, with Threads notifications on Instagram, Meta may be trying to direct users towards the new app to boost user numbers and help it rival Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter).
Social media consultant Rhea Freeman said she wasn’t surprised to see Threads notifications on Instagram, having expected Meta to capitalise on the close integration between the two.
‘As Threads seems to have gone a bit quiet, it’s a way to remind people about it and also signal that things are still happening there,’ she told MailOnline.
The ‘text-based conversation app’ Threads has a very familiar text feed, profile design and even blue verification ticks, much like X (Twitter)
Threads had a decent start to life when it was released in July, but it’s since lost a fair bit of stream and looks unlikely to usurp X.
An impressive 70 million people downloaded Threads in the two days after its July 5 launch – a figure that reached 150 million within a week.
However, the amount of people actually using the app each day plummeted from 49 million on July 7 to just nine million at the start of August, according to Similarweb.
However, throughout October, Threads managed to recover by hovering around 33 million daily active users, according to Apptopia.
Still, this is little in comparison with X, which had around 240 million daily active users as of last month, according to DemandSage.
Thinking of leaving X (Twitter)? From Threads to Bluesky, here’s the best alternatives
Elon Musk once again ruffled feathers by revealing that he plans to charge everyone to use his social media app X (formerly Twitter).
The billionaire tech tycoon said he will charge all X users a ‘small monthly payment’ because it is the ‘only way to protect against bot accounts’.
X already offers a subscription version of the app that costs from $8/£9.60 per month – but under future plans all users would have to pay at least something.
Musk is notorious for not following through on statements, but if he really did charge all users it could backfire by forcing them to seek other social networks.
If you’re thinking of leaving X for good, here are the best alternatives, from Meta’s Threads to Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky and Donald Trump’s Truth Social.
Read more
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