Say Goodbye to Unwanted Profiles: Now You Can Delete Separately on Instagram!

Meta’s latest social media platform, Threads, has been introducing new features and updates rapidly. Within just four months, it has added a content feed, voice posts with auto transcriptions, and post editing capabilities, among other things. However, users have long criticized the platform for not allowing them to deactivate or delete their profiles. Since Threads is built on Instagram, users currently have no option to delete their Threads account independently and must instead delete or deactivate their Instagram account. In a significant development, the platform will soon introduce a feature that enables users to delete their Threads account separately without impacting their Instagram account.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, posted on Threads earlier today, November 14, saying, “We’re rolling out a way for you to delete your Threads profile separately from your Instagram account. To delete your Threads profile, go to Settings → Account → Delete or remove profile, then select delete He also revealed that this update was implemented based on feedback from the Threads community.

You will soon be able to delete your Threads profile on your own

It may seem counterintuitive to allow your user base to delete and leave the platform, which can ultimately lead to a significant decrease in the overall number of users on the platform. It is likely to have a positive net effect on the platform in the long term.

Consider this. Currently, the only way to create a Threads profile is if you already have an Instagram account. According to Statista, Instagram has about 1.2 billion monthly active users. With a user base of over 100 million, there is a large and untapped user base that hasn’t migrated to threads. One reason for this could be that they didn’t want to be stuck with a profile that couldn’t be deleted. Also, this would alienate people who just want to try out a new platform and see if they like it.

The ability to allow users to delete their profile will encourage them to try Threads, and therefore even after a possible user downgrade, this should increase the number of users on the platform in the long run.

At the same time, Mosseri also announced that users will soon be able to opt out of the feature that displays Threads posts on Instagram and Facebook. He said: “We recently introduced a feature that allows people to easily see Threads posts directly on Facebook and Instagram, helping to expand your audience and increase your reach. We’ve heard feedback that you want more control over the experience, so we’re introducing a way for you to opt out Outside of Threads, in Settings → Privacy.