Instagram will shut its standalone Threads messaging app by the end of the year. Following reports of the potential shutdown last week, the company confirmed it was moving forward with the decision in a statement to TechCrunch.
“We’re now focusing our efforts on enhancing how you connect with close friends on Instagram, and deprecating the Threads app,” a spokesperson for Instagram told the outlet. “We’re bringing the fun and unique features we had on Threads to the main Instagram app, and continuing to build ways people can better connect with their close friends on Instagram.”
Instagram will start notifying users of the impending sunset on November 23rd. The notification will direct those individuals to use the company’s mainline app to continue chatting with their friends. When Instagram discontinues support for Threads, it will remove the software from the App Store and Google Play. It will also log users out of the experience.
It’s not a surprise to see Threads join the Meta (formerly Facebook) graveyard. Despite some interesting features and the fact it’s been around since 2019, it never attracted a dedicated user base. What’s more, Meta’s messaging ambitions have evolved significantly since the app’s debut. In 2020, it started unifying Instagram and Facebook Messenger, allowing users on the two platforms to message one another. At that point, there wasn’t much of purpose to Threads.
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