Despite facing user opposition, the Threads team is moving forward with an experiment to introduce an auto-achive option on the platform. This option would allow users to set a time for their posts to be automatically archived from public view. Threads chief, Adam Mosseri, clarifies that this feature is optional and can be manually activated for individual posts or all posts to be archived after a certain period of time. The idea for the auto-archive feature was initially proposed by Mosseri back in February, and despite negative feedback from a poll, the team is still working on implementing it.
The concept of auto-archiving posts aligns with the trend of users moving towards private group chats and away from public posting on social media platforms. Mosseri himself has observed this shift in user behavior, with more friends posting to stories and sending direct messages rather than posting to the feed. The idea behind auto-archiving is to address concerns about posts being permanently available on the internet and potentially being used against users in the future. This approach aims to alleviate hesitancy around sharing personal thoughts and opinions online.
Mosseri sees auto-archiving as a potential solution to address the issue of users being hesitant to share their thoughts publicly due to fear of criticism and trolling. The prevalence of argumentative discussions and negativity on social media platforms has led to a decline in public sharing and engagement. While the initial excitement of having a personal platform to share thoughts and opinions with a global audience was prevalent in the early days of social media, the constant flow of negative feedback and junk posts has turned users away from public sharing.
The auto-archive option on Threads may encourage users to share more openly, knowing that their posts will not remain public indefinitely. While users should still be cautious about the potential permanent nature of online content due to screenshotting, the auto-archive feature could provide an additional layer of privacy and control over shared content. The option to automatically archive posts after a certain period of time may appeal to users who value privacy and wish to limit the potential long-term consequences of public posting. By offering this feature as an alternative, Threads aims to cater to a diverse range of user preferences and privacy concerns.