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# Threads Is Not Chat
- URL: https://spyglass.org/threads-chat/
- Published: 2024-10-16T16:48:20.000Z
- Updated: 2024-10-16T18:46:49.000Z
- Description: You want real-time? Shove a status indicator on that shit!
- Author: M.G. Siegler
- Tags: meta, threads, tech, social media, twitter, #nodate

[Threads will start showing others when you’re online by default | TechCrunchThreads is rolling out a new “activity status” feature that will let you see when someone on the social network is online.![](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/cropped-cropped-favicon-gradient.png?w=192)TechCrunchAisha Malik![](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Instagram-Threads-GettyImages-1795093602.jpeg?resize=1200,728)](https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/15/threads-will-start-showing-others-when-youre-online-by-default/?ref=spyglass.org)

What on Earth is Threads doing?

> Meta’s X rival Threads is rolling out a new “activity status” feature that will let you see when someone on the social network is online. Instagram head Adam Mosseri [announced](https://www.threads.net/@mosseri/post/DBJwcFby-41?ref=spyglass.org) the feature on Tuesday in a Threads post, noting that it’s meant to act as “a way to help you find others to engage with in real-time.”

Look, [I want Threads to be a real-time information network as much as anyone](https://spyglass.org/real-time-threads/). But not like this. [Not like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGc-iPc-9dE&ab%5Fchannel=FelipeContreras&ref=spyglass.org). 

I could see Meta building such a feature in 2004 when AOL Instant Messenger was a dominant form of communication, but in 2024? Was Meta confused for a minute? Did they think they were pushing an update to Messenger? I get that they love the conversation element of replies in Threads, and presumably they thought such a "live" signal would supercharge usage. But Threads ultimately is still a asynchronous service. It's not a chat app because it's not a chat app. Meta has enough chat apps. Threads is different. 

[Do they understand that?](https://spyglass.org/threads-turns-one/) Sometimes [I'm really not sure](https://spyglass.org/real-time-threads-meta/). 

If anything, I wonder if that green dot doesn't *dissuade* some people from replying because it adds a weird pressure to what should be a passive conversation. Unless you're a Reply Guy or just a troll, then this feature is awesome! "Hey, look that person is over at the watercooler **right now**, let's get them!"

> Thankfully, you can turn the setting off, and only users who have the feature turned on will be able to see when you’re online.

Phew.

Men will literally shove a status indicator into Threads rather than just building direct messaging capabilities. 

[Without Real Time Information, Threads is PointlessUnleash the feeds![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/10/Spyglass-Rings---Multi.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/size/w1200/2024/05/ChatGPT-Image-2.webp)](https://spyglass.org/real-time-threads/)

[Threads is Thinking and Acting More in Real TimeWhich is great, but one year in, what needles Threads?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/10/Spyglass-Rings---Multi.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/2024/07/DALL-E-2024-07-04-17.56.57---A-detailed-illustration-of-a-needle-with-a-thread.-The-needle-is-metallic-and-sharp--with-a-small-eye-through-which-the-thread-is-passed.-The-thread-i-1.webp)](https://spyglass.org/threads-turns-one/)

[Internally at Meta, Threads Fails the Real-Time Test TooThe lazy river of Threads meets the white water rapids of politics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/10/Spyglass-Rings---Multi.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/2024/07/Mark-Zuckerberg-Suit-Chain-1.png)](https://spyglass.org/real-time-threads-meta/)