Threads Tests Interests Display on User Profiles

Threads is working on another way to encourage people to follow other users in the app, with a new “Interests” field now available on some user profiles.

As you can see in this example, shared by app researcher @faslu_35, some Threads users are now being prompted to “Add interests” to their profile via a pop-up notification. Tap through on that prompt, and you can add topics that you’re interested in, and are thus likely to post about, which will then be displayed on to profile visitors.

Threads has been experimenting with the option for the last few weeks, with app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi also noting the feature in development.

And it’s looking pretty polished, pretty close to final sign-off, so it does seem like this will be coming to all users some time soon.

Which, ideally, will help Threads to address a core retention problem that it’s found with the app, in that if creators can’t build an audience, and see their follow count go up, they’re less likely to keep posting.

Due to the shift to AI-based recommendations, and the prioritization of the “For You” algorithmic-defined feed in almost every social app, following has become less of a focus, because users no longer need to follow individual profiles, as they can rely on the algorithm to show them the most relevant content each time they log in.

That, of course, is by design. The apps benefit from having users rely on recommended content because it enables them to showcase more of the best material from across the app, as opposed to being confined to only displaying posts from each users’ explicit follows. It also means that there’s a never-ending stream of posts that each app can show to users to keep them engaged.

So it makes sense that the platforms have shifted in this direction, but the downside then is that people are following fewer profiles as a result, because they no longer need to be so intentional to populate their feed.

Which has annoyed many creators, who’ve complained that growing an audience on Threads is much harder than it had been on Twitter back in the day, while most have also found that their follower counts have plateaued, and even declined over time, ultimately leaving them less aligned to the app.

And when you consider that only a fraction of any social platform’s user base actually ever post anything at all (100% of the content on X is generated by just 20% of its audience), losing their favor can have a significant impact on overall usage and engagement.

That’s why Threads updated its algorithm back in November to put more emphasis on content posted by accounts that you follow, in the hopes of enhancing the connection between creators and users.

Anecdotally, speaking to creators who I know and follow, this hasn’t had a huge impact, but maybe, by highlighting topics on profiles, that’ll be another way to drive more people to hit “follow”, which will then see more creators gain more exposure to these users.

I can’t hurt, as it’s a fairly unintrusive display element. I doubt it’ll have a huge impact either way, but it could be another way to help drive topical community engagement.