Meta’s Threads is getting its own version of ephemeral posting with a new feature the company calls “ghost posts.” Temporary posts will be posted to the main Threads feed like any other post, but will disappear after 24 hours. And while other users can interact with ghost posts, only the original poster will be able to see the likes and replies.
Instead of traditional public replies, ghost message replies will be routed directly to users’ inboxes, where they can choose to reply privately. In some cases, this could also mean that replies to ghost posts are more limited than replies to normal posts, because Meta’s default messaging settings limit DMs to followed accounts only (these settings can be changed in the Threads app).
In some ways, it’s not surprising that Meta would add temporary posts to Threads in order to encourage users to share more. On Instagram, Stories are used much more than permanent posts on a grid. In a blog post, Meta describes the new feature as a way for users to “share unfiltered thoughts and fresh takes without the pressure of permanence or polish.”
But ephemeral formats haven’t always been successful on text-based platforms like Threads. Twitter briefly experimented with a short-lived Stories format called “Fleets.” Then-CEO Jack Dorsey reportedly “began to despise” the feature, and it was removed less than a year after its launch.
