Instagram Threads is now adding support for group messaging for up to 50 people. This update comes shortly after the platform introduced direct messages earlier this summer. The Meta-owned service, which is a competitor to X and now has over 400 million monthly active users, is making group chats available to all global users starting today. It will also bring its messaging experience to users in the European Union, where the feature was initially delayed.
Within these group chats, Threads users who are 18 years of age and older can share text posts, videos, GIFs, and emojis, just as they can on the public timeline. During a session with reporters this week, Threads VP of Product Management Emily Dalton Smith explained that, similar to individual direct messages, group chats will not be encrypted. The company views Threads DMs as a way for people to connect about current topics, like a football game or a TV show, and not as a secure messaging service. Smith stated that messaging is designed to help people connect more deeply with those they are already talking to, focusing on shared interests.
These changes are happening as Threads’ parent app, Instagram, is refocusing its own experience around Reels and direct messages. The company found these were the features users engaged with the most. It is now making messaging a core part of the Threads app as well. Its main competitor, X, has also emphasized messaging but has been shifting users toward an end-to-end encrypted chat service called XChat. Security researchers have said that XChat is not as trustworthy as Signal.
Threads users will have control over who can start group chats with them. A person must be following you in order to add you to a group chat. This is more restrictive than individual direct messages, where messages from people you do not follow go to a Message Requests folder instead of your main inbox. Individual direct messages have other restrictions too. Links and media are disabled in message requests, and users are limited in how many requests they can send. Users can also turn off message requests from people they do not follow, and potential spam is filtered to a hidden folder.
Users will be able to name their group chats and will soon be able to invite others by sharing a link to the chat instead of adding each person individually. This could make it easier for members to connect with others in a particular Community, which is a newer feature on the app for finding interest groups.
Smith also noted that people often use Threads to connect with a different set of people than they do on Instagram. She shared that more than a third of daily Threads users follow less than half the number of people on Threads that they follow on Instagram. The company believes this indicates people are making more connections that are unique to Threads.
In addition to group chats, the messaging feature will arrive for users in the EU over the next few days, giving them access to both individual and group chats at launch.