Threads

What is Threads?

Threads is a microblogging platform developed by Meta. It is similar to X (Twitter). The app allows you to post messages of up to 500 characters and include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long. You can like, repost, reply to or quote a ‘thread’, and the number of likes and replies a post receives is shown.

You must have an Instagram account to log in and adhere to Instagram’s Community Guidelines on behaviour. You can unfollow, block, restrict and report a profile, and you can also control who can mention you and filter out replies that contain certain words.

Threads accounts are open to the public by default unless you are 16 (or 18 in certain countries), in which case your account will be set to private by default. You can choose to make your account public or private, meaning it is only visible to people you follow. Using Threads is free but a lot of personal data on users is collected.

Website: threads.net
Apps: Android app, Apple iOS app

How do people use Threads?

Learn more about the benefits and risks associated with how people use content sharing services like Threads.

Threads is used for: content creation, location sharing, messaging/online chat, online relationships, photo/video sharing and screen capture.

Social media age restrictions for under-16s

Meta announced that from 4 December 2025, Australians under 16 will no longer have access to their Threads accounts or be able to create a new account. This change is in response to the Australian Government's social media age restrictions.

Users aged 16 and older who mistakenly receive a notification or lose access to their accounts have the option to confirm their age through Meta’s third-party partner, Yoti, by providing a video selfie or government-issued ID. Yoti deletes this information once the age check is complete.

These links are provided by Threads:

• About the changes
  Find out about what this means for Australian users under 16.
• How does video selfie age verification work on Threads?
  Advice about how to have your age verified on Threads.

How can you report online abuse, ask for content to be removed or block someone?

These links are provided by Threads:

• Safety and reporting
  Advice on how to report something, remove a follower or block someone on Threads is on the Threads help page.
• Restrict someone
  Advice on how to restrict someone, meaning you won’t receive any more notifications about that person even if they like, reply, repost or quote your content, is on the Threads help page.

How can you moderate comments and tagging?

These links are provided by Threads:

• Manage who can mention you
  Advice on how to choose who can mention you is on the Threads help page.
• Hide replies that you don't want to see on Threads
  Advice on how to filter out common offensive words or add custom words to hide replies that contain these words is on the Threads help page.

How can you protect your personal information?

This link is provided by Threads:

• Manage your privacy, visibility and account settings
  The Threads help page has advice on how to switch your profile to private and manage privacy settings. There is also advice on keeping your account secure.

Key safety links

These links are provided by Threads:

• Instagram’s community guidelines
  The community guidelines you should adhere to when using Threads.
• Instagram's terms of use
  Instagram’s terms of use which also apply to Threads.
• Supplemental terms of use
  The Terms of Use specific to Threads.
• Meta's privacy policy
  The privacy policy for Meta products including Instagram and Threads.
• Supplemental privacy policy
  The supplemental privacy policy specific to Threads.