Deleting Threads? Meta has catch, your entire Instagram will be deleted

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's newly launched Twitter alternative Threads, introduced on July 5, has garnered an estimated 11 million users in just seven hours. The new app, which is designed by Meta's photo-sharing app Instagram team, allows users to share text updates and join public conversations.

What's notable is that Threads is inextricably linked to Instagram. Meta uses one's Instagram credentials to sign-up on the Threads app, which it calls "Instagram's text-based conversation app." And though a user can have a different handle for Threads than they have for Instagram and choose to follow different audiences, one cannot delete their Threads profile without deleting their Instagram.

This, for all intents and purposes, implies that once a user creates their Threads profile, there's no way to delete it. Should a user decide to delete their Threads account, Meta has a catch—your entire Instagram will also be deleted! Meta at this point gives Threads users only one alternative - to "temporarily" deactivate their Threads profile. 

“You may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account," explains Meta in its ‘Supplemental Privacy Policy.' 

✨ Threads is here – a new app where you can share updates and join convos ✨

Use your Instagram account to log in and get started 🎉 https://t.co/eEyTigO7WB pic.twitter.com/mCNsx33ZVg

— Instagram (@instagram) July 5, 2023

Threads profiles part of user’s Instagram account

According to Meta's policies, Threads profiles, by default, become a part of the user’s Instagram account. "Threads is a service provided by Instagram and is part of the Instagram platform," the social media giant explained in a statement. Threads service allows the users to create their profiles "as part of their Instagram account" in order to then share, view, and interact with content on the app and website, Meta elaborates.

Threads also integrates with third-party services that allow the users to share content with the audience outside of the platform. This provision, however, isn't instantly available at launch but will be introduced later, according to Meta. Users are allowed to view, manage, download, and delete their Threads information by visiting the Instagram Settings.

A look at a Threads profile. Credit: Meta

Speaking about his new venture in the context of its clear competition with Elon Musk's Twitter, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg said: “I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully, we will.”

He stressed that the strong sign-up reception  - 10 million sign-ups in just 7 hours - makes Threads the fastest-growing consumer offering in the market. "We are working toward making  Threads compatible with the open, interoperable social networks that we believe can shape the future of the internet," Meta said.