THREADS INTRODUCES ‘GHOST POSTS’ THAT VANISH AFTER 24 HOURS. (PHOTO).

 Threads introduces ‘ghost posts’ that vanish after 24 hours

Threads, Meta’s competitor to X, is rolling out a new “disappearing posts” feature called “ghost posts,” allowing its 400 million monthly users to share content that automatically vanishes after 24 hours. The feature launched Monday for users worldwide and is aimed at encouraging more casual, low-pressure sharing.

To create a ghost post, users toggle the “ghost” icon on the app’s compose screen. Posts appear in others’ timelines with a dotted conversation bubble for distinction. Replies from other users are sent directly to the poster’s DMs rather than appearing in the timeline. Only the poster can see the full count of likes and replies, which are represented by smiley-face icons to others. After 24 hours, posts disappear from the feed but remain accessible to the poster in the app’s archived section. The company notes that message request settings determine whether replies from non-followers go to the poster’s inbox or are blocked.

Meta said the feature draws on the popularity of disappearing content seen in Instagram and Facebook Stories, hoping ghost posts will inspire unfiltered thoughts, live threading, or experimental content. This follows prior attempts by other platforms to offer ephemeral posts, such as Twitter’s Fleets in 2020, which were later discontinued. Since its July 2023 launch, Threads has rapidly expanded, adding custom feeds, DMs, Fediverse connectivity, longer text support, spoiler-hiding tools, and interest-based communities.