Meta's new Threads feature will let you find trending topics with ease

Meta is testing a new feature on its photo-sharing app Threads that will show users what conversations are trending on the platform. The feature, called “today’s top topics”, was announced by Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a post on Threads on Tuesday.

“Rolling out a small test of today’s top topics on Threads in the US. We’ll roll it out in more countries and languages once we get it tuned up…,” Zuckerberg said.

According to Meta, the feature will display “timely topics that others are discussing” on Threads, and users will be able to see them in search and in the For You feed. The topics will be selected by Meta’s AI systems based on what people are engaging with right now on Threads, said Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, which owns Threads.

“Threads Update. For those of you who have been calling for a trending feature, we’re rolling out a small test in the US to help you find timely topics people are talking about. Today’s topics on Threads will be on the search page and in the For You feed. The topics are determined by our AI systems based on what people are engaging with right now on Threads,” Mosseri said in a Threads post.

Unlike Meta’s other platforms, Threads will not limit the topics to non-political content. Meta said last week that it would stop recommending political content to users on Facebook and Instagram unless they opt-in. However, that policy will not apply to Threads’ trending feature. “Political content can be a topic,” a Meta spokesperson told Engadget. “We will only remove political topics if they violate our Community Guidelines or other applicable integrity policies.”

“Our content specialists will review the topics selected by our AI systems to make sure they’re not duplicative or confusing, but by and large, we want them to accurately represent what is actually topical on Threads. Political trends will be eligible. We’ll learn from this test and iterate over time,” Mosseri said.

The feature was previously seen in an internal version of the app, but it was unclear if Meta would launch it to the public. The feature is currently a “small test” in the United States, but Zuckerberg said that it will be expanded to more countries and languages “once we get it tuned up.”