Threads is trying out a few new elements to enhance engagement, including blacked out text for spoilers, new interest indicators on posts, and account status info in-stream.
First off, as discovered by app researcher Radu Oncescu, Threads is experimenting with spoiler tags within post text, that will hide your chosen words behind a black overlay.
That’ll provide a simple way to share different types of information without upsetting users who may not want to be told about whatever info you’re sharing.
Threads has actually been experimenting with this for several months, with the first indicators of the feature spotted in testing back in January.
The option would be similar to the spoiler tags on Reddit, adding another consideration when sharing potentially disruptive info.
On another front, Threads is also now showing “Interested in this post” indicators on certain posts in the “For You” stream, in order to help educate its algorithm about your interests.
As you can see in this example, some users are now seeing these in-feed notifications below certain posts, which will help to inform the Threads algorithm about your interests.
That could help to make the For You feed more personally engaging, and along with topic tags, will help to give Threads more information about what you want to see in the app.
Finally, you can now also check your account status on Threads, as you can with Facebook and IG.
As per Instagram:
“Account Status is a way to find out if you’ve posted something that goes against our Community Standards and if it may lead to account restrictions and limitations, such as certain features on Threads you can no longer use, or your account being taken down.”
So shadowban checks, if you think you’ve been shadowbanned (which you haven’t), then you can now confirm this information relating to your Threads account specifically, in addition to your other Meta app profiles.
You can check your Threads account status by heading to Settings > Account > Account Status.
Here, you’ll be able to see any content that has been removed from your account for going against Meta’s Community Standards (and could lead to your account being taken down), while you’ll also be able to check if your profile or content isn’t being recommended or shown to non-followers in places like Feed recommendations, Search and Suggested Users.
So again, shadowbans, or what people refer to as shadowbans, which are actually restrictions based on content violations.
Some handy updates/tests, which could make Threads a more relevant experience, and help you understand any reach impacts.