Topics now let you approve and filter your responses

Threads, Meta’s X competitor, continues to introduce new features at a rapid pace. Shortly after the launch of Communities and the disappearance of “ghost posts,” the social media app on Thursday introduced new tools that will give users more control over their conversations on the platform.

One of the new features, Reply Approval, will allow you to decide which other users’ responses will appear on your posts — before anyone else can see them.

While Threads, like other social networks, already offers tools that let you limit replies to people you follow, your followers, or people you mention, the new feature allows you to keep your replies open to everyone without the negative consequence of derailing discussions.

As the company explains, these tools will help you “set the tone of the conversation,” and give users more options. It’s a unique way to balance users’ interests in participating in more public conversations, but it’s a way in which the publisher — not those who respond — still has power.

Additionally, the company is rolling out new Activity Feed filters that will allow you to more easily view responses from people you follow or those who include mentions. These join other options like “Verified,” “Cites,” “Repost,” and more as other ways to filter responses.

Meta announced during its third-quarter earnings call this week that Threads has now reached 150 million daily active users, up from more than 100 million in December 2024. In August, the company said the network had surpassed more than 400 million monthly active users as well.

As the app grows, Meta is quickly monetizing its traction, now having rolled out ads on the platform globally. Now we move on to launching video ads.

Threads is still developing more consumer-facing features as well, with Instagram head Adam Mosseri announcing this week that Threads is now testing controls that will allow users to fine-tune their algorithm by adding and removing threads based on their interests.